Out of the smoldering ruins of post World War II Europe arose the
dream of three visionary men: former British Prime Minister Winston
Churchill, whose name resonates with every American, and two others
whose names and reputations may not come so readily to mind. One
was former brandy salesman Jean Monnet and the other was post-war
French Prime Minister and underground fighter Robert Schuman.
Together, and separately, these three men were the architects and
builders of what is now the European Union. These are the names
that future European children will read about in history books and
that might be equated with Jefferson, Franklin and Adams. They,
along with other forward thinking statesmen, created the future
European Union –-- the United States of Europe.

The region had suffered two devastating world wars, with millions
dead, wounded and homeless, and hundreds of cities and towns spread
over a dozen nations laid to waste in less than 30 years.
Churchill, who led Great Britain through the ravages of all-out
assault from the Germans, believed that the only way to avert a
future calamity was to unite the former invading countries through
a common market, common currency, and united interests in peace. He
spoke often of a United States of Europe. Others would come along a
few years later and form that dream into reality. Sixty years
later, not only has the European Union been created --- complete
with a capitol, a democratically elected parliament, a flag and an
army --- but the unthinkable also occurred: they created a common
currency, the euro, which is beating the pants off the almighty
American dollar.

According to T. R. Reid, author of eight books on the economies of
Japan, China and the Middle East, while America was thundering
along, assuming its place at the head of the pack as the biggest,
the baddest and the best, the youthful European Union has sprinted
up and pulled out to pass a complacent and self-satisfied giant.
America Firsters will not take kindly to at least one early chapter
where health and longevity, income, marriage and commercial
productivity figures are compared –-- none too favorably
–-- with the European Union. Reality bites, as they say
--– and Reid shows us a reality that any thinking economist,
or any American for that matter, should chew on.

Reid is an American journalist who headed the Washington
Post’s London Bureau where he chronicled the stunning
rise of the European Union at the dawn of the 21st century. When
the euro was first introduced on January 1, 2002, the very idea of
a common currency among nations of such diverse religious, ethnic,
cultural and language barriers, many of which had been actively
engaged in slaughtering one another for two thousand years, was
laughable to many world observers. Yet today, other nations are
flocking to the euro for investment as they once relied on the
American dollar. Meanwhile, the faithful dollar is sliding
alarmingly in value against this upstart –-- and American
manufacturing and commerce are taking their lumps.

Reid introduces us to Generation E --- the less nationalist,
youthful wage earners of the European Union. Fading are the visions
of the fatherland and the motherland. Generation E bops from one
nation state to another, communicating via the broadest, unified
cell phone system in the world, their allegiance to freedom,
entrepreneurialism and success.

Did you know that you can leave Copenhagen, Denmark in your car and
drive to the toe of Italy’s boot through a dozen
“foreign” countries and never show your passport, never
exchange currency, and, for the most part, speak English? Or that a
resident of the European Union has a two-year longer life
expectancy than an American? And that the infant mortality rate is
lower, as are the rates of heart disease and cancer, and that
health insurance covers every citizen, for about half as much per
capita as the United States spends? And that doctors still make
housecalls and you never even see a bill?

While the EU has a standing army, it is envisioned not as an
invasion force but as one to go in after an invasion and rebuild.
There is a saying in America when it comes to military might: "the
United States cooks the dinner and the Europeans wash the dishes."
The Europeans see it another way: "the United States is the war
maker, and the Europeans are the peacekeepers."

Eye-popping, jaw-dropping facts fill each chapter and make for
fascinating, if disquieting, reading. All is not milk and honey in
the EU and Reid points out the differences in this fascinating look
at the giant across the waters that is the European Union. He also
slaps America around a bit for our arrogance and assumptions of
righteous power. THE UNITED STATES OF EUROPE gives fair warning
that we’re not the only Super Power on the planet. The EU is
an ally, but not one to be taken lightly or for granted.