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Philippe Legrain
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European Spring: Why Our Economies and Politics are in a Mess – and How to Put Them Right Paperback – April 23, 2014

by Philippe Legrain (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars 52
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Britain and the rest of Europe are in a mess. Our economies are failing to deliver higher living standards for most people and many have lost faith in politicians' ability to deliver a brighter future, with support for parties like UKIP soaring. Are stagnation, decline and disillusionment inevitable? Do people have to turn to the likes of UKIP for alternative solutions? As a critically acclaimed author who was until recently a senior policymaker, Philippe Legrain has a unique combination of insider knowledge, intellectual authority and independent perspective that make him ideally placed to explain why things have gone wrong – and how to put them right. In this brilliantly original and passionate book, he explains why we need a European Spring: economic and political renewal. 'Philippe Legrain provides an original and insightful analysis of what has gone wrong with Europe's economies and politics and a timely warning that the crisis ultimately threatens our open societies. Better still, he provides a blueprint for a brighter future and how to achieve it. ' George Soros
Previous page
  1. Print length
    482 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    April 23, 2014
  4. Dimensions
    5.5 x 1.21 x 8.5 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    1782924809
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1782924807
  7. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ CB Books (April 23, 2014)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 482 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1782924809
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1782924807
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.54 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1.21 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 out of 5 stars 52

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Philippe Legrain

Philippe Legrain

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
52 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

M. Petri
5.0 out of 5 stars Good analysis and reform proposals
Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2015
Verified Purchase
The author provides a profound analysis of what is ailing the European Union and the Eurozone. Many of his proposals to solve the crisis are worth looking into further, even if some are ambitious and unlikely to happen in the near future.

The benefits of the EU and Eurozone are also well articulated; together with the fact that there are no good alternatives to the objective of making the EU work better. Europe needs more people who think like the author and are willing to reform the European project.
One person found this helpful
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David Kraemer
4.0 out of 5 stars Flair for self-promotion a minor drawback in an otherwise thorough account
Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2014
Verified Purchase
Exhaustive, authoritative, and in well-written prose, this text serves as a great survey of all that is rotten in Europe while managing to remain upbeat for its future. Legrain is clearly familiar with the political bargaining, the institutional lags, and inherent structural weaknesses of European policy. For anyone interested in understanding the evolution of the 'post' Euro crisis continent, this is a must read.

Legrain has compiled a significant list of sources from which he derives his argument. He does not shy from reminding the reader of this throughout the text. Legrain also tends to push his own previous work a bit more than the reader may like, though such annoyances do not detract from the overall analysis.
3 people found this helpful
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Pat
5.0 out of 5 stars Probably THE book to read about Europe's economy
Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2015
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The author definitely holds few punches. He's extremely knowledgeable and an insider. He breaks down the causes of the crisis and offers solutions. The author has a particular disdain for German economic policy and Euroskeptics like those in UKIP. But he's very fair and balanced overall. You will learn. And you will almost certainly enjoy.
3 people found this helpful
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Albert WONG
3.0 out of 5 stars A bit dramatic and the author wrote like 'they didn't listen and hence the mess' tone
Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2014
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A bit dramatic and the author wrote like 'they didn't listen and hence the mess' tone. otherwise there are good perspectives.
One person found this helpful
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Diogo
4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting and refreshing read
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2014
Verified Purchase
Written by a competent author with both the knowledge and the courage to pinpoint the wrong decisions of European leaders, this book provides a rational and thought-provoking analysis of the fallacy of austerity, of why it is technically impossible to have every country emulating Germany, and why the UK should not even think about leaving the EU, among other things.

In addition, the book discusses a set of ideas about how to reshape the European economy based on entrepreneurship, controversial taxation policies, and cultural diversity.
2 people found this helpful
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Sakis
5.0 out of 5 stars Clear explanations by an insider.
Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2015
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Clearly written. Full of interesting insights.
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Adelina Marini
4.0 out of 5 stars A really useful analysis of the euro area problems and possible solutions
Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2015
Verified Purchase
This book provides a valuable insight into the euro area crisis, exposing what the author sees as policy mistakes and offering ideas how to resolve certain issues. Although you may not agree entirely with the author's analysis it is worth reading it. Although some things have changed since the publication of the book, it contributes to a debate that is not going to end soon about the future of the EU.
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Mr. Adrian Mcmenamin
5.0 out of 5 stars Angry and brilliant polemical plea for change
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 26, 2014
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Philippe Legrain is about as far from an anti-European as it is possible to get, but like a true friend he is also not afraid to dispense some really quite brutal advice. This book is tough love at it's best - part polemic, part plea, all expressed with a raw and heartfelt anger at how something so precious - the European Project - has gone awry. Events since it was written have only served to show how astute an analysis this book contains (that said I don't agree with all his prescriptions).
I wish more mainstream politicians would read this - and then have the gumption to act on it.
One person found this helpful
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Kindle User Nemo ^_^
4.0 out of 5 stars 今買って春休みに読もうよ
Reviewed in Japan on February 28, 2016
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高校生、大学生にもおすすめですよ(*^ー^)ノ♪今なら￥303だよ。
　今の西ヨーロッパの経済的混乱という、近過去から今を知る良い本です。
Kindleならば豊富な時事語彙の有る、Kindle英辞郎もおすすめ。
近過去の時制構文の勉強にもなるし、iPhon でも読めるよ。
何よりも実際に意思決定権者だった「中の人」の著作は、説得力有るよ♪>^_^<
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Bill Welsh
4.0 out of 5 stars Useful background reading in the run up to the EU referendum
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 1, 2016
Verified Purchase
I bought this book as I thought it would provide strong arguments for Britain to remain in the EU. The author was an independent economic advisor to former European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and clearly is a supporter of the EU. However the first half of the book is strongly critical of the EU, its institutions and leadership. He is especially scathing about the handling of the eurozone debt crisis particularly regarding Greece. In the second half the author details measures he believes are required to fix the multitude of problems in the union for example the lack of democratic accountability there. It is only in the penultimate chapter that I found the material supporting Britain's remaining in the EU which I was looking for. Free trade between EU countries has led to most Europeans being better off than they otherwise would have been and there is certainly a wider choice of better-value products in shops. He also demonstrates that there would be a reduction in foreign investment in the UK following a Brexit.
For those of us who are sceptical about the case for austerity following the 2008 financial crisis there is plenty of ammunition here. Mr Legrain tells us how the Conversative-led Government hitched the UK to the austerity bandwagon which had started up in the eurozone and is in no doubt that this was unnecessary and economically damaging for us. There is plenty of data about UK and eurozone economic growth after 2008 comparing unfavourably with the US which did not go down the austerity route but followed a fiscal stimulus path instead. Also he provides strong evidence that the UK would have had a stronger recovery and be in a better position now had austerity not been pursued so religiously.
The chapter about Germany not being a good role model for the rest of Europe is particularly interesting. The image of Germany shared by many people including myself is certainly not the one of economic immiseration and decaying infrastructure portrayed here. The description of German wage levels being kept artificially low resulting in a drag on their economy came as a surprise to me.
Overall I would recommend this book as useful background reading for anyone who is still not sure which way to vote in the forthcoming EU referendum in the UK.
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Frank 9
5.0 out of 5 stars It's a disturbing but very useful read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 21, 2016
Verified Purchase
If you want a detailed insight into the processes and economic policies of the EU this is required reading. Legrain was an EU economic adviser and policy maker at the highest level and is a highly respected author. It's a disturbing but very useful read.
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Geejay
3.0 out of 5 stars Good in Parts
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 13, 2014
Verified Purchase
The first section is an excellent analysis of the current problems and how we got to where we are, laying the blame fairly and squarely where it belongs, on hubristic policymakers, politicians and bankers. He also blows out of the water the "German solution" and UK ministers claims that we on the road to recovery.

However, the book seems to have been published without troubling the editor as it is about twice as long as it need be and the second section, on "solutions", is a kind of projectile vomit of "all the ideas I've ever had". They come thick and fast, resulting in this reader loosing the will to live as solution follows solution, an ill-digested regurgitation of everything he's previously written.

Some stylistic editing would have been beneficial, as his use of the term "worse" to start a sentence becomes, well, "worse" as the book proceeds.

It could have been an excellent contribution, but spoiled by wordiness and some idiosyncratic notions and prejudices. Worse, too many of his ideas and opinions are presented uncritically.

Despite these reservations, worth a read.
11 people found this helpful
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