The essays collected in this volume are based on a selection of papers from the "Europe before the European Community" conference in 2008. They examine the relationship between ideas of Europe and projects designed to create common European institutions. Organization is in four parts with a focus on the first half of the 20th century. The first three chapters are a prologue that lays out the history and context of the European question and crises of integration in the 1940s and 1950s. The second section considers the politics of history and reimagining the past, with several essays touching on Carl Schmitt's contribution to European political thought. The third section discusses the optimism of the European identity during some of the darkest times in human history. The last section briefly looks to the future and the possibility of European federalism. The contributors are professors and post-doc researchers from Europe, with backgrounds in European studies, politics and history. Annotation ©2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)