Neal Ascherson takes on Frederick Taylor's The Berlin Wall (paperback out in September) in the London Review of Books and finds it "vivid, comprehensive" but faults it for not taking sides: "But why was it built at all? In East Berlin during the 1960s, one had to listen to a lot of blether about the Anti-Fascist Protection Barrier, which was supposed to have saved the peace of Europe and averted a third world war. This line came in two main versions. The official-speech version in the GDR spoke of the Wall simply as a defence against agents, smugglers and saboteurs coming from West Berlin. The notion that it might have something to do with East Germans who wanted to go West was barely hinted at."

In the Guardian this week: Ian Traynor writes from Brussels Britain leading rearguard fight to prevent more power for Brussels, Laura Barton asks Is the eagle a Nazi symbol? (answer: no) and Timothy Garton Ash warns that Unless Europe gets its act together, the world will continue to ignore it, "It's delightfully easy to follow the development of the European Union through the American media. Delightfully easy because there is simply nothing about it. French elections and the split between Ségolène Royale and François Hollande, yes. The latest comment by Tony Blair, for sure. And, of course, plenty in the style sections about Italian food and fashion. But the EU as a political community or a global actor? Forget it. Even well informed American newspaper readers, familiar with the latest twist in Iraq and Palestine, probably have no inkling that the EU is just going into a crucial summit that will determine its ability to be the United States' most important strategic partner over the next two decades."

[American high school student] Rachael Roach (16) noticed how "Kathleen Buermeyer puts ketchup on everything, bakes often and is very formal when speaking on the phone. Buermeyer, a German exchange student who lived with the Roach family this school year [in Griswold, Connecticut], also noticed some things about America: Strangers are very friendly; people in rural areas don't use public transportation; many teenagers hold part-time jobs; and they pay for their own gas in their cars."

Arthur C. Brooks at AEI discovers (albeit in a survey from 2002) that, contrary to popular belief and shorter vacations, American workers are generally happier than their European counterparts, "56% of Americans are 'completely happy' or 'very happy' with their lives, versus 44% of Danes (often cited in surveys as the happiest Europeans), 35% of the French and 31% of Germans. Those sweet five-week vacations and 35-hour workweeks don't seem to be stimulating all that much félicité. A good old-fashioned 50-hour week might be a better option."