In his informative book, The United States of Europe, T.R. Reid explains how Europe has surpassed America as the new superpower and put an end to American supremacy. The book was published in 2004, before all the drama regarding the European Union put into question the very assertion Reid attempts to claim. As a well-established reporter, author, and documentary film correspondent, Reid is extremely credible. His audience is chiefly those with a prior understanding of the European Union and its role in the global community. In order to show that the European Union is the next superpower, Reid includes a lengthy appendix, uses economic statistics, and quotations from credible sources. Reid includes a lengthy appendix at the back of the book for multiple reasons to establish his ethos. The appendix lists the European Union nation countries and shares a great deal of information on each one, such as their land area, population, per capita income, and much more. Reid provides a resource that allows the readers to more deeply understand the issue. Reid also includes economic statistics to demonstrate the might of the European Union. For example, he shares, “European investment in the U.S. was almost $900 billion” (120). This large sum of money shows the influence that the European Union has on America and, as a result, the rest of the word. These statistics are an example of logos and help logically prove Reid’s argument. Finally, Reid includes quotations from credible sources to soothe any of the reader's’ doubts about his own credibility. For example, he quotes Jean-Pierre Malivoir, who came up with the symbol for the Euro. Malivoir writes, “I took epsilon and imposed two parallel lines. Then we sent it out to citizen panels all over the eurozone, and they liked it” (73). Clearly, not just Reid believes in the success and popularity of the European Union. Ultimately, Reid’s argument is extremely clear and is successfully proved through his book, largely a result of his rhetoric.
