Cosmopolitan Europe ─ A Strasbourg Self-Portrait

This book by John Western (School of Environmental Studies, U. of Ulster, UK) is a prime example of what geographers can do. Western conducted in-depth interviews with 160 residents of the city of Strasburg -- 80 men and 80 women, ranging in age from 20 to 101, coming from countries all over the world-in order to develop a portrait of the city. Neither the largest nor the most famous of cities, Strasburg occupies a special location at the crossroads of Europe. Told almost entirely by his interviewees, the picture of Strasburg that emerges documents both the modern history of Europe and the forces that have shaped it. The author divides the book into two sections; "City of an Old Europe" describes a city of Alsace-Lorraine, suspended between French and German nationality and language. It focuses on the years before and after the Second World War. The second section, "City of a Provisional Europe," describes two further shifts; to the idea of European unity, and from the influx of residents with backgrounds and perspectives outside Europe. Western allows his interviewees to speak at length. He adds his own narrative voice only to summarize or ask questions provoked by their memories and thoughts, and seeks answers through the responses of other interviewees. His conclusions about the city and the larger forces that shape it come visibly from what we learn directly from the people who live there. Though Western does not include his own questions in the interviews, US readers may be reminded of the "people's history" books of Studs Terkel. In asking the people of a city at the crossroads what it means to be "from here," Western reveals history and culture as the product of countless individual and family stories, unfolding over generations. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

John Western, Professor of Geography and Maxwell Professor of Teaching Excellence, Syracuse University, New York, USA