A Continent Astray: Europe 1970-1978

Today's Europe, writes Laqueur, presents "a melancholic picture of fragmentation, internal squabbles, and aimlessness." He attributes this decline to economic recession, social problems, political polarization, and, at a deeper level, widespread cultural malaise, and he is pessimistic about Europe's chances for recovery. Laqueur is a seasoned commentator on contemporary affairs, and this appraisal of causes and trends, though at times cursory in its treatment of the facts, commands consideration, even respect.