Saturday, June 30, 2007

Recommended Summer Readings


Recommended Fiction:
The Happy Prince and The Selfish Giant are two of Oscar Wilde's most acclaimed tales. They make a good B2 upper-level summer reading. By clicking on the links above, you will have full access to a digital edition of theses magical tales.

Recommended Non-Fiction:
The United States of Europe : The Superpower No-One Talks About, by T.R. Reid
From one of America's best known foreign correspondents, an eye-opening account of the ascendancy of the European Union as a global superpower and rival to the United States. The European Union, from its beginnings as an experiment in statecraft, has rapidly emerged as a resounding success, yet Americans have so far managed to ignore the geopolitical revolution under way across the Atlantic. Reid shows how quietly - and not so quietly - Europe is developing itself into an economic, political and cultural powerhouse.
Synopsis:
How did Europe become a superpower while America wasn't paying attention? Here, American journalist T. R. Reid takes an enlightening tour of the United States of Europe' - the borderless collection of countries with more people and wealth than America. With his trademark wit and wisdom he explains the often-bewildering ins and outs of the European Union and the culture its nations have come to share - from the common pastime of America bashing and the kitsch joys of the Eurovision Song Contest to the skyrocketing success of the Euro, trouncing the once-mighty dollar in strength. And he tells many individual stories of this drama, including the astonishing takeover of all-American products by European companies, the English greengrocer who became a Metric Martyr' and of the new breed of twenty and thirty-somethings known as 'Generation E'. Essential for readers on both sides of the Atlantic, The United States of Europe is an insightful and entertaining guide to a New Europe th at now makes the world's rules, whether America likes it or not.