THE STRUGGLE FOR EUROPE: The Turbulent History of a Divided Continent, 1945–2002

Hitchcock, a professor at Wellesley College, is an unabashed admirer of Europe, which he views as the global center of peace, democracy and prosperity. Yet anyone who surveyed the continent in the decades before 1950 would have remarked on precisely the opposite features: a Europe torn apart by two massive wars and economic depression, and notable for the prevalence of dictatorships. Hitchcock's problem, then, is how to explain Europe's phoenix-like rise, the radical break in its history around the mid-century mark. At the outset, he provides four answers that guide his historical survey. In the face of the Communist threat, Western Europe joined with the United States and benefited from U.S. military and economic support. Europe had a "good Cold War," he writes. Moreover, because WWII had been so destructive, when Europeans rebuilt, they were able to employ the most modern technologies and free markets. Finally, Europeans were committed to democracy and chose the path of peaceful reform rather than violent revolution. The reasoning here is circular: Europe is democratic because its people have chosen democracy. But while the logic may be faulty, Hitchcock (France Restored: Cold War Diplomacy) does provide a clear exposition of postwar developments—the rise of the welfare state; the slow, steady march toward the European Union; Cold War conflicts over Poland, Berlin and so on. Readers hungering for sustained discussion of the dramatic social and cultural transformations of the postwar period will not be satiated; others might find this sober and comprehensive political history of Europe's glory years instructive. Agent, Susan Rabiner. (On sale Jan. 21)