Saving Europe

Is the European crisis over? By no means, according to economist and journalist Carlo Bastasin. In fact, the problems that developed between 2008 and 2011—described in the first edition of Saving Europe—have grown more insidious. The crisis originated when national governments failed to act openly and responsibly, putting in jeopardy not only their own countries but also the well-being of future generations and foreign taxpayers. This failure continued even after the crisis became evident; leaders did not explain clearly to their citizens why the financial crisis had occurred and what was being done about it. From a crisis of politics, it has turned into an outright crisis of European democracy, and a warning for the future of globalization.

Carlo Bastasin paints a unique, gripping picture of the events, people, and ideas behind the scenes of the European crisis. From the historic roots to the most recent developments, the author unveils an engrossing chronicle of high drama and individual personalities on the world stage, including presidents, prime ministers, and central bankers. Saving Europe is the definitive book about the financial crisis—and the history as well as the future of Europe’s economic and political union.

Praise for the first edition

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“Bastasin does an admirable job in analysing the eurozone’s economic challenges
and is a sure-footed guide through the seemingly endless European Union summit
meetings that were supposed to resolve them. He also has an eye for the human
detail that makes his sad account of institutional muddle surprisingly compelling.”

—Financial Times

 

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“Bastasin’s book is worth reading for its detailed political narrative of the eurozone
crisis to date, focusing on the interaction among decision-makers in Europe’s capitals.”

—Foreign Affairs

 

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“A reconstruction that may be considered definitive. Revelations on the European
negotiations are written with talent and go hand in hand with no-esoteric economic
analysis and with the right amount of realism to reach the political substance.”

—Corriere della Sera

 

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“Anyone looking for general knowledge and deeper understanding of the crisis,
I can recommend a formidable analysis by Carlo Bastasin: Saving Europe. The
author is a very unusual combination of a qualified economist and driven journalism.”

—Svenska Dagbladet

 

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Carlo Bastasin is a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. A journalist and an economist, he is a leading commentator for the Italian daily Il Sole-24 Ore and teaches European political economy at LUISS University in Rome.