KEVIN RUANE is Principal Lecturer in History at Canterbury Christchurch University College, Kent.

• Dedication Acknowledgements Introduction: Agonizing Reappraisals PART I: THE CRISIS LOOMS Britain, the United States and the Rearming of Germany: October 1950 to May 1952 Anglo-American Relations and the EDC: May 1952 to December 1953 PART II: THE CRISIS BREAKS A Parting of the Ways: The Bermuda Conference and Paris NATO Council, December 1953 French Ratification of the EDC: Competing Anglo-American Approaches, January to July 1954 The Death of the EDC: July to August 1954 PART III: THE CRISIS RESOLVED Selling the Solution: British Crisis Management: August to September 1954 Anglo-American Divorce and Reconciliation: September 1954 Phoenix from the Ashes: The Birth of the Western European Union, October 1954 to May 1955 PART IV: CONCLUSION Agonizing Reappraisals: Anglo-American Relations and the Crisis of European Defence Bibliography Index

'... an impressively researched and cogently argued study of the ill-fated treaty to establish a European Defense Community at the apex of the Cold War. No student of international history, nor observer of contemporary international politics, can afford to overlook this book.' - Professor Richard H. Immerman, Temple University, USA 'Kevin Ruane's book is a well-written and forcefully argued account of the British role in the rise and fall of the European Defense Community ... a first-class work of historical writing.' - Professor Thomas A. Schwartz, Vanderbilt University, USA 'With its thorough grasp of the sources, Kevin Ruane's book throws new light on the ill-fated European Defense Community...' - Professor John W. Young, University of Leicester 'Kevin Ruane's study of the crisis surrounding European Defence arrangements in the early 1950s makes an important contribution to our understanding of the Anglo-American relations and of British attitudes towards the early stages of European integration.' - Dr David Dutton, University of Liverpool 'This is a book well worth reading for both specialists and those with a more general interest...' - John W. Coogan, Albion '...this elegantly crafted and subtly argued book achieves a thoughtful and significant reevaluation...' - American Historical Review