Europa

May 14, 2018
MacLennan, director of the Cervantes Institute in London and a history professor at Oxford and Tufts universities, has written less a brief history of Europe than a study of the continent’s outsized political, socioeconomic, and intellectual influence on the rest of the world. Thus, for example, the events of the revolutions of 1848 are skimmed over; MacLennan is more interested in, and writes well about, the ideological changes they brought to Europe’s governments: “equality of men as a human rights principle” and that “government must be an expression of the people’s will.” MacLennan’s book is chock-full of interesting facts and observations—who knew, for example, that the Philippines was perhaps the first country to abolish slavery, in 1574?—yet is a bit dry, lacking colorful quotes and anecdotes. He favors western European history; the Hapsburg Empire, Poland, and Russia are somewhat neglected, except in a fascinating section on the Russian empire’s growth. In trying to cover so much, MacLennan glosses over some important matters, as when he dispatches existentialism, post-WWII critics of Marxism, and the antinuclear movement in a single paragraph. He also makes some glaring mistakes (George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” was an essay, not a novel), and his assertion that the E.U.’s “model of supranational political and economic integration... will have universal appeal” is questionable in light of, for example, Brexit. This is an idiosyncratic but fascinating look at role Europe plays on the world stage. Agent: Charlie Viney, Viney Shaw Agency.

June 1, 2018
How European culture has shaped the world for the past 500 years.MacLennan (Spain and the Process of European Integration, 1957-85, 2001, etc.), the director of the Cervantes Institute in London, worries that the European Union is being unfairly attacked and European unification eroded by revivals of nationalism. To counter those forces, he offers a sweeping history from the 16th century to the present, making a compelling case for European influence throughout the world. Aimed at readers who may wonder, "what has Europe done for us?" the author surveys Europe's achievements, synthesizing histories of different nations as well as overviews by historians such as Norman Davies, Niall Ferguson, and Felipe Fernandez-Armesto. The Renaissance, writes MacLennan, introduced decisive changes in what was "a relatively backward, inward-looking civilization." "The market economy, the state, and the knowledge-based society" propelled Europe "to take the lead over all other civilizations." Exploration was spurred by improved sailing technology and daring adventurers. With Columbus' discovery of America, Spain transformed itself into a global empire, with Portugal, France, and Britain following in overseas expansion, establishment of trade networks, and economic development between Europe and the rest of the world. The age of empire was also the age of economic, social, and political revolutions. The French Revolution, MacLennan asserts, proved transformative for the Western world by promoting equality rather than "a closed elite that monopolized power" and wealth. As European nations extended into Asia, the clash between East and West resulted in cohabitation in India, the Philippines, and Southeast Asia; Westernization of Japan; but resistance by the Chinese, who increasingly looked inward. MacLennan traces the influence of European culture through immigration, colonialism in Africa, and intellectual migration and exile after the world wars. He contrasts the American dream of individual accumulation of wealth with the European dream of a socially and economically harmonious society, underscored by the idea of soft power, "the ability to shape the behavior of others through appeal and attraction." A well-supported, wide-ranging history of the Western world.

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June 15, 2018

Brexit, mass migration, the Eurozone crisis, austerity, prevailing nationalism--each of these seems to indicate the EU is heading toward a sundering or at least a dramatic restructuring. However, MacLennan (history, London Sch. of Economics; Spain and the Process of European Integration) believes that there is still promise for the EU, and Europe generally, that the continent can be the primary positive agent in global affairs, and that the last 500 years of its history is responsible for the shape of the world today. As such, the author argues that Europeans should have both a collective identity and collective pride. Beginning with the Renaissance, MacLennan highlights European achievements, focusing on the emergence of key technologies, discoveries and philosophies, and how the people interacted with their neighbors and migrated across every continent. Some will balk at the hagiographic and reactionary treatments of men such as Christopher Columbus and Hernán Cortés, the sometimes off-hand dismissals of other achievements, and the author's great-man formulation of history. And yet, this capacious study is learned, often persuasive, and is a tincture for Western cynicism. VERDICT This broad-strokes, big-claims history will appeal to fans of Jared Diamond and those weary of postmodernist historiography.--Evan M. Anderson, Kirkendall P.L., Ankeny, IA

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