Overview

There is much heated rhetoric about the widening gulf between Europe and America. But are the US and Europe so different? Peter Baldwin, one of the world's leading historians of comparative social policy, thinks not, and in this bracingly argued but remarkably informed polemic, he lays out how similar the two continents really are. Drawing on the latest evidence from sources such as the United Nations, the World Bank, IMF, and other international organizations, Baldwin offers a fascinating comparison of the United States and Europe, looking at the latest statistics on the economy, crime, health care, education and culture, religion, the environment, and much more. It is a book filled with surprising revelations. For most categories of crime, for instance, America is safe and peaceful by European standards. But the biggest surprise is that, though there are many differences between America and Europe, in almost all cases, these differences are no greater than the differences among European nations. Europe and the US are, in fact, part of a common, big-tent grouping. America is not Sweden, for sure. But nor is Italy Sweden, nor France, nor even Germany. And who says that Sweden is Europe? Anymore than Vermont is America?""Meticulous, insistent, and elegant."" --John Lloyd, Financial Times""A must-read...filled with intriguing facts that add nuance to what can often be a black-and-white debate.""--Foreign Affairs""An exhaustive and enthralling catalogue of our commonalities that begs a reconsideration of just what it means to be European or American.""--Publishers Weekly

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9780199836826

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Reviews

<br> Is America exceptional? Many say yes, and provide supporting statistics. Peter Baldwin looks at all the statistics; places them in cultural and political context, compares among nations and within nations. The results are surprising and compelling. America is not that exceptional. But this book is. --Sidney Verba, Professor of Government, Harvard University, and author of Voice and Equality<br><p><br> This is a most original--and indispensable--contribution to a trans-Atlantic debate as old as the American Republic. What Americans have celebrated as 'novus ordo seclorum, ' Europeans have fingered with contempt: The U.S. as haven of yokels, den of social injustice and bastion of unregenerate capitalism. The stronger the opinion, the weaker the facts. Peter Baldwin has collected them with acuity and brilliance--a much-needed first in the turbulent relationship. And, lo, these transatlantic cousins are indeed family--a lot more similar than either would want to admit. Statistics have never been more gripping. --Josef Joffe, Editor of Die Zeit<br><p><br> In this wise, fair, witty and civilized book [Baldwin] has not only cleared away a jungle of ugly chauvinist weeds on both sides of the ocean, he has made it possible for both Americans and Europeans to understand one another and perhaps even become friends once again. --Godfrey Hodgson, author of The Myth of American Exceptionalism<br><p><br> Peter Baldwin argues that the U.S. and Europe have more similarities than differences--and indeed, that Germany and Greece differ at least as much as California and Mississippi. He then goes on to explain why so much is made of transatlantic differences by the freedom-fry-serving U.S. Congress and U.S.-critical French press. Not to be missed by anyone who likes to be provoked into thinking new thoughts about old issues. --Barry Eichengreen, Professor of Political Science and Economics, University of California-Berkeley, and author of The European Economy Since 1945<br><p><br>

<br> Is America exceptional? Many say yes, and provide supporting statistics. Peter Baldwin looks at all the statistics; places them in cultural and political context, compares among nations and within nations. The results are surprising and compelling. America is not that exceptional. But this book is. --Sidney Verba, Professor of Government, Harvard University, and author of Voice and Equality<br><p><br> This is a most original--and indispensable--contribution to a trans-Atlantic debate as old as the American Republic. What Americans have celebrated as 'novus ordo seclorum, ' Europeans have fingered with contempt: The U.S. as haven of yokels, den of social injustice and bastion of unregenerate capitalism. The stronger the opinion, the weaker the facts. Peter Baldwin has collected them with acuity and brilliance--a much-needed first in the turbulent relationship. And, lo, these transatlantic cousins are indeed family--a lot more similar than either would want to admit. Statistics have

Author Information

Peter Baldwin is Professor of History at the University of California-Los Angeles. He is the author of Disease and Democracy: The Industrialized World Faces AIDS, Contagion and the State in Europe, 1830-1930, and The Politics of Social Solidarity: Class Bases of the European Welfare State, 1875-1975.

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