Anglomania:
A European Love Affairby Ian Buruma
Random House, $25.95 hard
Based on the number of recently published books exploring England’s place in the modern world, I think it’s fair to say England is undergoing a sort of national identity crisis. No longer the biggest cultural imperialist on the block (thanks to you-know-who), the country must create a new role for itself on the first-world stage. As a historian, Ian Buruma takes the position that England must understand its past in order to intelligently determine its future. His approach, part personal memoir, historical biography, and political commentary, is to recount what prominent Europeans have adored and loathed about England over the last 300 years. In doing so, he is not so much creating a checklist of English identity as deciphering why England has always been seen — and seen itself– as a place apart from the rest of Europe and the world. Given England’s flagging global clout, Buruma questions whether its classic separatist stance is wise for the country — or for the rest of Europe. Somewhat dry and erudite, Anglomania isn’t for everyone, but those with a passion for European history and current events will find compelling fodder in Buruma’s thoughtful, well-informed book.
This article appears in October 1 • 1999.