Them and Us

''In this two-hundred-page book of essays Rob Kroes, one of the most respected representatives of American studies in Europe, offers his reflections on just about everything connecting the two continents these days: human rights, cyberspace, nativism, the meaning of family photographs, Alexis de Tocqueville, the decline of the welfare state, and much more.'' -- Dorothee Schneider, Journal of American History ''Right on target, an invaluable guide to a culturally interconnected world.'' -- Richard H. Collin, International History Review. ''One of [Kroes's] central questions is how culture and politics act to create and sustain collective identities in the context of the break-up of the Soviet Union and the formation of the European Union. If you need to ask what this has to do with American studies -- the dialetic between unity and diversity -- you also need the book because it raises the discussion to a higher level.'' -- Bernard Mergen, American Studies International ADVANCE PRAISE ''Based on a lifetime of study and observation by one of Europe's leading Americanists, Them and Us is a masterful collection of reflections that will interest an American studies audience in the United States and around the world. Kroes's book will become a signal achievement in the globalization of American studies.'' -- Robert W. Rydell, author of All the World's a Fair: Visions of Empire at American International Expositions, 1876-1916 ''This is a superb book, the work of an imaginative and inventive, as well as a transatlantic, social and cultural critic. It is a real contribution to our understanding of how America differs from Europe and what impact globalization has had and will have in affecting these differences.'' -- Richard Pells, author of Not Like Us: How Europeans Have Loved, Hated, and Transformed American Culture Since World War II ''Rob Kroes's book addresses the buzzword 'globalization' from a most refreshing perspective. Kroes is worldly, well read, and erudite, a sociologist who eschews the jargon of the discipline while retaining a sociological imagination. Them and Us is packed with insights and ideas--quite wonderful to read.'' -- Peter I. Rose, author of They and We