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This is Europe
Synopsis
A Times, Financial Times and Telegraph Political Book of the Year
'Illuminates some of the great trends of our time' - Gideon Rachman, Financial Times
'Vivid, urgent and unsettling' - Tom Holland, author of Dominion
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In a series of vivid, empathetic portraits of other people’s lives, journalist Ben Judah invites us to meet some of the people who call Europe their home.
Who makes up this population of some 750 million, sprawled from Ireland to Ukraine, from Sweden to Turkey? Who has always called it home? Who has newly arrived from elsewhere? Who are the people who drive our long-distance lorries and steward our criss-crossing planes? And who risks life itself in search of safety and a new start?
Drawn from hours of painstaking interviews, these vital stories reveal a vibrant continent which has been transformed by diversity, migration, the internet, climate change, Covid, war and the quest for freedom.
Laid dramatically bare, it may not always be a Europe we recognize – but this is Europe.
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'An astonishing achievement' - Evening Standard
'Brilliantly told . . . highly readable' - The Times
'Unflinching' - The Guardian
Details
Reviews
Thrilling, first-hand tales that explore the danger and ambitions of life in Europe.The Financial Times, A Book of the Year 2023
If you wish to know what Europe is becoming without us in its club, you'd do well to read Ben Judah's This Is Europe.Telegraph, A Book of the Year 2023
Imagine Ballard and Houellebecq teaming up on a Grand Tour, and you will have some idea of just how vivid, urgent and unsettling this superbly written book is.Tom Holland
Unflinching . . . a powerful piece of reportage.The Guardian