Recognized by historians and politicians as a model for European unity, Switzerland is nonetheless a difficult country to understand as a whole. Whereas individual Swiss cities have strong identities in the international political, cultural, and economic arenas, the country itself seems to be less than the sum of its parts. To capture the elusive s "[The book] is reminiscent of the best of in-depth journalism and can be recommended to any intellectual who ... is planning to sojourn in Switzerland."