MARSHALL PLAN

Good

This is a funny old book. It plods along and plods along and to be honest I found the writing style rather ponderous in places. Indeed there were times when I wondered whether the author really understood what it was he was writing about. Yes there is lots of detail and yes there are lots of quotes from people, but so what?...Until......you get to the last two chapters and I suddenly started falling off my chair when reading about the German debt write-down, the effective suspension of the Bretton Woods institutions in Europe in favour of the European Payments Union, and the move by the US to support German capital good exports IN PREFERENCE TO ITS OWN!So by the end, I was almost out of breath. And I would easily give the book five stars apart from none of what happens in the last two chapters is telegraphed up front, and I might so easily have given up before what - for me, at least - is the critical part of the book.Summary: this book is well worth a read, and I did like it overall, but do not give up halfway.

This is a truly brilliant piece of scholarship. The writing is exceptional, despite what might seem a rather heavy topic the writing is so good that one can hardly put the book down. The content is not only historical but highly relevant to the present state of affairs in Europe and the relationship between the West and Russia. Any young person who might be leaning towards Europe will get a valuable insight into the importance of the help Europe received after WW2 from the USA and the Marshall Plan. The book deserves to be vert widely read.

Great book. Excellent in detail, about the intricacies of the Marshall Plan, the relations between the US and Europe and the Soviet Union and the plan’s key players. Last two chapters provided an elegant analysis of the Plan’s legacy, its recent implications and how it is linked to ongoing tensions between Russia and the West. I particularly enjoyed the relationship between the Plan, NATO and the EU. Superb scholarship.

The complex overlapping influences that led to the development and implementation of what became known as the Marshall plan presented in a lucid understandable way backed by a superb grasp of detail, presenting new insights and debunking a number of myths in the process. A great read, highly recommended.

Much the most detailed account of this period so far and a must read for students of this era. Unlike Battle for Breton Woods, Steil keeps the Marshal Plan complexity of characters and chronology flowing in a very readable way whilst throwing fresh insight on policy decisions made during the post war crisis years in Europe. Highly recommended.