History is littered with failed attempts to unite Europe by force, from
the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire onwards. By contrast, the
European Union began as a small and unglamorous attempt to unite the
continent after the terrible devastation wrought by the Nazis - in the
hope that it would prevent any further terrible wars. Driven by a
handful of mainly French economists and diplomats, men like Jean Monnet,
it started out as the modest, very pedestrian-sounding European Coal and
Steel Community. Now it is a monolith with its own currency, comprising
28 nations and a total population of more than 500 million people, and
its tentacles extend into all our lives - arguably, its decisions are
more important than those of any single national government. In this
clear and compelling short book, Jane Lewis tells the story of the
European Union, from its modest beginnings to its huge bureaucratic
present. And she asks: has it gone wrong? Is it now really what the
founding fathers dreamt of? Is Britain right to be leaving it and how
will Brexit affect the EU? Can it survive? Or is it headed irresistibly
towards collapse?
