The Resurgence of the West: How a Transatlantic Union Can Prevent War and Restore the United States and Europe

Two speculations%E2%80%94one sensible, the other potentially irresponsible%E2%80%94drive the rhetoric of Harvard professor Rosecrance's book. The first is that if the U.S. forms "[a] political link with Europe...the magnetic bonds of economic advantage would draw the great powers of the world...together." The second is that if the U.S. and Europe do not unite, the "risk of war" between developing Asian nations, specifically China, and the United States increases. Rosecrance foresees a "hegemonic transition" between the United States and China, arguing that these transitions historically act as the impetus to war, citing 10 examples from 1500 CE to the present. While the first speculation is expertly rendered, drawing upon the two continents' shared economic, industrial, and innovative history, and how a union would make it "much more likely that China would ultimately join the West," the second speculation is thinly presented with historical precedents stripped of their context. It is too simply stated to be of much use to an historian, although readers interested in current global and political economies will benefit from Rosecrance's clear prose and the breadth with which he helps the lay reader along. (June)