Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Few Jewels In An Exceptionally Burdensome Text, March 1, 2005
This review is from: Anti-Americanism in Europe: A Cultural Problem (HOOVER INST PRESS PUBLICATION) (Paperback)
Although anti-Americanism has been around for years, there has recently been a significant upsurge. Several worthwhile books have been published as a result such as ANTI-AMERICANISM by Jean Francois Revel. While Revel's book is more polemical in nature, ANTI-AMERICANISM IN EUROPE by Russell Berman is more empirical and analytical. Unfortunately, despite some good points, it is also extraordinarily dull.
Berman makes several points that can be found elsewhere but provides some unique analysis. Anti-Americanism has been on the upswing since the collapse of Soviet communism for a couple of reasons. Europeans have begun to define themselves against the United States as sole world superpower rather than the United States as counterweight to a totalitarian regime. Also, some European anti-Americanism can be attributed to leftovers of communist propaganda. Such post-communist attitudes may be the same as they were while the USSR was in power but are viewed in a radically different context.
Like Revel, Berman also demonstrates that anti-Americanism is an ideology rather than a political stance towards specific American policies. Although anti-Americansim may not exist as powerfully in some countries than in others, in those countries where it is prominent, it takes a similar shape even when the countries involved have very different histories with the U.S. (i.e. France and Germany). Further, as anti-Americanism existed well before the emergence of the U.S. as a global power, it is difficult to argue that a consistent anti-American stance is the result of opposition to specific policies. Berman instead attributes this to older prejudices against capitalism and democracy.
One of the better aspects of this book is that Berman examines polling data regarding European attitudes towards the U.S. to discover that, underneath legitimate expressions of support for the U.S., there exists an undercurrent of hostility. The examination of this data is particularly illuminating.
Also solid is Berman's position that, along with older strains of anti-Americanism, such as the prejudice against capitalism, is a new strain due to Europeans' willingness to surrender aspects of their autonomy and democracy to transnational organizations such as the European Union and the United Nations. The U.S.' unwillingness to go along produces friction. Berman makes the exceptionally good point that this willingness to allow bureaucracies to decide policy may make sense for some European countries given their spotty history (Germany being the obvious example) but not for the U.S. with its very different history on the world stage.
The chapter examining anti-Americanism through a comparison of Saddam Hussein to Hitler is the strong point of the book. Europe has traditionally opted for appeasement in the face of totalitarianism and often expresses hostility towards the U.S. for the simple reason that the U.S. has set a higher moral standard. In one of the better quotes on the subject, Berman states that the "United States has disrupted the blissful ignorance of a world opinion prepared to ignore suffering. Resentment results." That single statement captures a great deal of what anti-Americanism is about.
Unfortunately, there are some serious weak points to this book. Berman spends way too much time on the ideas of a couple of intellectuals, Jean Baudrillard and Arundhati Roy, without spending enough time demonstrating that their ideas actually have some meaningful impact on the shape of European attitudes. It would have been better to explain how such intellectuals may shape public opinion rather than simply present and analyze their views.
The most serious drawback of this book, however, is that it is as dull and dry as cigarette ash after a long night of hard drinking. Despite having a graduate degree, there were large sections of this book that I had to read very slowly and very carefully in order to obtain even a modest amount of understanding. Perhaps I am a bit annoyed as this is the second book I have read recently that would have benefitted if the author had taken a creative writing course (see THE FEMINIST DILEMMA by Diana Furchtgott-Roth and Christine Stolba) with ANTI-AMERICANISM IN EUROPE being an even more extreme case. Come on people, I realize I am not reading Dashiell Hammett here, but this is ridiculous. Although I would not tell someone to stay away from this book because of its dullness, I would certainly warn them of it and suggest other source material should be read first.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Compelling But Ponderously Heavy, October 30, 2004
This review is from: Anti-Americanism in Europe: A Cultural Problem (HOOVER INST PRESS PUBLICATION) (Paperback)
This book is essential to understanding the hostility to America rooted deep in European, and especially German, culture. The book places anti-Americanism in historical context in five separate free-standing, yet mutually supporting essays. The book is difficult reading given the number of references to obscure writers, philosophers, and activists who are little known outside extremist European political circles.
Each chapter deals with some different aspect of anti-Americanism, and chapter five also discusses the parallels between anti-American and anti-globalization rhetoric in Europe. The best chapter is chapter three, "Democratic War, Repressive Peace" in which Berman discusses the fundamental logical problems and lack of factual basis supplied by leaders of the anti-American movement, or as the author succinctly states in the first page of the chapter: "Drawing on long-standing cultural conditions rather than on contemporary conditions, anti-Americanism is trapped in a world of imagination. It is ideological in the sense that the ideals to which it adheres are never tested against hard facts." Numerous examples are cited to prove his assertion, and the chapter is probably the single most concise indictment of the hypocrisy present in the anti-American movement in Europe that I have yet seen.
The book lost a star for chapter five (on anti-globalization), which becomes a tangent to the book more that a topical discourse on anti-Americanism per se. He also spends quite a bit of time on the writings and political views of Arundhati Roy, a bombastic Indian anti-American propagandist. Although she is read more in Europe than in the US, her influence seems blown out of all proportion to her actual relevance, which is essentially nil.
This is a good and noble effort, although I think that "Anti-Americanism" by Jean Francois Revel is a better overall book, and is certainly more readable.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very good book on European anti-Americanism, February 11, 2006
This review is from: Anti-Americanism in Europe: A Cultural Problem (HOOVER INST PRESS PUBLICATION) (Paperback)
In the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on the United States, Europe, like much of the rest of the world, offered its sympathy. However, as time passed, the European attitude towards the U.S. hardened, and grew increasingly negative. In this fascinating book, Professor Russell A. Berman, senior fellow at the Hoover Institute, examines the anti-Americanism that has come to the fore since September 11th, 2001. European anti-Americanism is not a mere result of certain American policies, but has deep roots in European culture and ideology. In these five fascinating essays, Dr. Berman examines where this anti-American attitude comes from, and just how deep the divide between the two sides of the Atlantic Ocean is.
Overall, I found this to be an absolutely fascinating book. The author goes a long way towards proving his thesis that European anti-Americanism is not a reaction to specific American policies or actions, but forms an argument-proof prejudice that runs deep, and is getting deeper. Now, my one complaint is that the author does not provide any suggestions for what course the United States government should take in dealing with this way of thinking. I would have found that definitely worth reading.
But, that said, I do think that this is a great book. If you are interested in really understanding European anti-Americanism, then this is a very good book to read. [If there is one book that I would recommend even more, it would be Anti-Americanism by Jean-Francois Revel, a truly excellent book.]
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
