"The Constitution of Europe: "Do the New Clothes Have an Emperor? and other essays on European Integration" is an excellent book that I borrowed from a nearby library by chance. Truth to be told, I plan to buy this book even though I have already read it, due to the fact that it is the kind of book you just want to have. This book includes several essays and articles written by J. H. H. Weiler on European integration, from different points of view. That variety can be seen simply by reading the titles of some of the essays in this book, for example "The transformation of Europe", "Introduction: the reformation of European constitutionalism", "European democracy and its critics: polity and system" and "To be an European citizen: Eros and civilization".
Those essays were written by the author during a period of 10 years, and were finally revised, updated (when it was necessary) and compiled in this book, released in 1999. According to Weiler, he considered rewriting all these essays into a monograph, but settled on keeping their format in order to allow the reader to choose exactly what he wanted to read, according to his interests and available time. In Weiler's own words, "I expect that no one will read all the essays and articles in this book- not even my own doctoral students. But I do hope that many more will read some of its essays and articles that would be the case if this were a scholarly monograph of equal size".
I specially liked the fact that every chapter (that is, each individual essay) can be read as a standalone, because I think that allows everybody to choose exactly where to begin reading this book, and gives the opportunity of not reading something if the theme isn't particularly appealing. Despite that, if you start this book because you are interested in one particular chapter, it is highly likely you will end up reading at least some of the others, as the writer's engaging writing style will tempt you to go on reading. Also, and from the point of view of a non-native English speaker (my case), it is a pleasure to read something that is so well-written...
All in all I can say that all these essays and articles are highly interesting, and allow the reader to learn something more about European integration, as a process, an ideal and a reality everybody has to deal with. In my opinion, this book somehow manages to tackle quite well both the structure and ends of European Integration, and that is no easy task. Whether you are a student or someone who is just interested in the subject, I recommend this book as great reading material that allows you to read exactly what you find interesting and at your own pace.
Belen Alcat
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Top reviews from other countries
Maupertus
A must have for every student of European integration. ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 14, 2016