"Friedman zooms in on the region that has, for five hundred years, been the cultural hotbed of the world--Europe--and examines the most basic and fascinating building block of the region: culture. Analyzing the fault lines that have existed for centuries--and which have led to two world wars and dozens more conflicts--Friedman walks us through the 'flashpoints' that are still smoldering beneath the surface and are on course to erupt again"-- Provided by publisher.

European exceptionalism. A European life ; Europe's assault on the world ; The fragmentation of the European mind -- Thirty-one years. Slaughter ; Exhaustion ; The American origins of European integration ; Crisis and division -- Flashpoints. The wars of Maastricht ; The German question once more ; Mainland and peninsula ; Russia and its borderlands ; France, Germany, and their ancient borderlands ; Mediterranean Europe between Islam and Germany ; Turkey on the edge ; Britain.