Product Description

In this work, Antony Alcock recounts the historical development of Europe from the Greek city states through to the 2000 Nice Treaty on European Integration and the attack on New York of 11 September 2001. Told simply and accessibly, this "Short History of Europe" provides the political, economic, social and cultural context for Europe's increasing integration. Based on the three pillars of Greek political thought, Roman law and the Christian religion, including analysis of new material, Antony Alcock brings his history fully up to date looking at such issues as the collapse of Yugoslavia, immigration and asylum seekers and finally consideration of the future of Europe in the 21st century.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1019090 in Books
• Published on: 2002-08-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 344 pages

About the Author
ANTONY ALCOCK is Professor Emeritus of European Studies at the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland. He is author of History of the South Tyrol Question, History of the International Labour Organization, Understanding Ulster and, with Brain Taylor and John Welton, The Future of Cultural Minorities. AE(00): Foreword by J. E. SPENCE

Customer Reviews

A very good textbook like overview
There have been a couple of very big name histories of Europe published in the last few years, this one compares to them suprisingly well. Whilst still providing an engaging narrative of the broad sweep of events, it does have a slightly more textbook feel, with the author regularly listing points as to why, for example, the Roman Empire fell in the west yet survived in the east. From the squabling Greek city states of ancient times, almost continuously at war with each other until exhausted and falling prey to larger neighbouring powers, to the 20th century and the european nation states doing exactly the same thing with the same consequences, the book does rather read as a convincing case for the need for european integration to compete with the rest of the world. Still, whether the modern european nation state is too 'small time' to survive and prosper, as the author feels the Greek city states were, is a question that is just too early to answer in the still early dawn of globalisation and the new boundary free information age.

I'd certainly reccomend this book, particularly for a student who needs to get a good grasp of the overview of european history as quickly as possible.