Facts Are Subversive

Garton Ash (European studies, Oxford Univ.; Free World: America, Europe, and the Surprising Future of the West) is a prolific commentator on contemporary history, practicing what he calls "history of the present," a combination of historical scholarship and journalism. His concern is to ferret out the facts of prominent events and strip away the spin that the politicians and the popular media try to put on them. This is Garton Ash's third published assemblage of essays written over a previous decade. His topics here include the continuing developments in eastern and central Europe, the European Union, Islam in Europe, and the U.S. role in the world. Because he is British, Garton Ash can act as a disinterested observer of both the United States and continental Europe; his analysis and proposed solutions run to the socially liberal.