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It is commonplace today to assume that culture drives global culture, but what is not immediately clear, yet no less true, is that despite the Marshall Plan, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, EuroDisney and Baywatch, Europe has been able to preserve its cultural distinctiveness and resist embracing the American way of life. Richard Pells not only shows how the Europeans resisted and altered culture to fit their own needs and tastes, but how Americans were as attracted to Europe's fashions and consumer goods as Europeans were influenced by America's technology and mass entertainment. The issues he discusses continue to resonate today, as Americans and Europeans alike face the problem of how to enjoy the benefits of a global culture and economy while maintaining their attachments to local, regional and national institutions. With its rich historical narrative and astute cultural observations, Not Like Us provides a new paradigm for understanding the survival of local and national cultures in a global setting.The details are fascinating, the insights unfailingly illuminating. This is serious history at its entertaining best.--Allen J. Matusow, Rice UniversityA bold, beautifully written account of the impact (and surprising limits) of Hollywood and burger King, the Marshall Plan and Disneyland, on Western Europeand the great world beyond.--David M. Oshinsky, Rutgers University
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