Unhappy Union

Unhappy Union: How the euro crisis – and Europe – can be fixed (Economist Books) Hardcover – June 24, 2014
Author: John Peet ID: 1610394496

Review

“This book represents one of the best overviews of the euro’s current travails and future prospects. It reflects the virtues of The Economist, where both authors work: the analysis is well informed, concise, sober, and backed by pertinent data.”—Foreign Affairs

“There is plenty of technical matter in Unhappy Union to help anyone trying to grasp what exactly has gone on in Europe these past few years. But what also emerges is the strong impression of a continent still in deep trouble.”—The Wall Street Journal

About the Author

John Peet is Europe Editor at The Economist, where he has previously been Business Affairs Editor, Brussels Correspondent and Finance Correspondent. Before joining The Economist he was a civil servant, working for the Treasury and the Foreign Office. Anton La Guardia is Brussels correspondent of The Economist, for which he writes the Charlemagne column. He previously worked for two decades as a foreign correspondent in the Middle East and Africa, and is the author of Holy Land, Unholy War: Israelis and Palestinians (Penguin, 2006).

–This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Series: Economist BooksHardcover: 240 pagesPublisher: The Economist (June 24, 2014)Language: EnglishISBN-10: 1610394496ISBN-13: 978-1610394499 Product Dimensions: 1 x 5.7 x 8.8 inches Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Best Sellers Rank: #526,114 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #359 in Books > Business & Money > Economics > Money & Monetary Policy #768 in Books > Business & Money > International > Economics #1223 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > International & World Politics > European
This intriguing account of the economic and political issues facing the European Union left me a bit cold. On the surface it appears to be a good read: a short book (180 small pages, excluding endnotes and additional reading) about a highly relevant set of issues. That, and a Wall Street Journal review, sold me.

The Wall Street Journal had said the writing was a bit too technical and I thought I could work through that. It’s a fair criticism and there’s nothing too bad about highly technical writing, though the book loses some of its interest when it gets too technical. But for me the issue was not how technical the writing was, but rather a very poor method of organization, which wound up resulting in the technical writing.

What I mean by this is the following: the EU has two basic philosophical problems: 1) it has 28 members but only 18 use the Euro, and 2) there is a gap between it and the democratic process, and associated gaps between it and national governments. Almost everything else can be explained around and through these philosophical premises, from the political aspects of those who are in the union but not the currency, between members who are in the currency, between debtors and creditors, between northern and southern countries, between austerity countries and heavy-spenders, and so on and so forth. The steps taken to address these conflicts can then be explained. So if you mention these things at the beginning, the rest of the writing process becomes much easier. You do not have to resort to the highly technical stuff, or when you do it comes off a good deal smoother. In essence, you start big, then go to details to illustrate.
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