Thank you for that hint ice60. I read the text from free-europe.com and it was quite interesting. This book might be a very good one although I can't agree to every explanation given there. I don't know if the reason is that the book is written out of a British point of view or if I simply don't know enough about the EU's history. For example, I never saw the EU as an instrument of the USA in the middle of the 20th century. I was quite surprised to hear/read that! The reason for that might be found in my German education where we concentrate(d) on Germany's steps to a democracy after WW2 and perhaps did not mention the US American influence (influence != acceptance/support) in the same extent as other countries, especially the USA and GB, do.
But contradictions between the book and my "knowledge" might be a good basis to enjoy reading it. Although 600 pages are a tough job, I will perhaps read it in the course of the year. I will let you know if I will finally have decided to buy it