The emotions that Mr Littell does arouse come from telling history so well.

ECONOMIST: Robert Littell's 13th novel is creeping up on America��fast

And a two-minute peal of church bells continues to arouse sleepy Germans from their beds every weekday at 7am in the towns and 6am in the villages of the countryside.

ECONOMIST: Germany

European-only defence efforts, they reckon, will work best for tasks that are endorsed by the American administration but fail to arouse enough enthusiasm from Congress to warrant direct American involvement.

ECONOMIST: The EU turns its attention from ploughshares to swords