A Cape of Asia collects eighteen of Wesseling ́s finest essays on European History, clustered around three concerns: The Wider View, or the historical European perspective on globalization, migration and decolonization; Europe ́s Identity, reflecting the shift from Eurocentrism to Americanization and Europe ́s acceptance of Japan, China and India as new key players in the global economy; and European Ideas about Education, Science, and Art. The third section includes the articles ́Johan Huizinga and the Spirit of the Nineteen Thirties ́ and ́The Expansion of Europe and the Development of Science and Technology ́. A small cape of Asia was how Paul Val©♭ry described Europe in 1919 ́ a pointed summary of the new mood that came over Europe in the interbellum years. Wesseling ́s essays hold to the original sense of the word: personal reflections on vast subjects written for an intellectual and interested but not necessarily specialized readership.