From the French origin of Coca-Cola to McDonald’s sponsorship of the 2015 Milan Expo, the book presents the first comparative history of these multinational corporations in two Western European countries, addressing some compelling questions: to what extent our increasingly globalized world is persistently shaped by forms of American hegemony, and what are some of the forces that have been most effective at challenging the relationship between Americanization and globalization? Through the local history of global companies, the book tells a new story about not only the influence of American businesses in Europe but also the influence of European governments and societies on those American businesses and their adaptability.
Giulia Crisanti, Ph.D., (2021), Fordham University, is a Research Fellow at Sapienza University of Rome. Her main areas of expertise include the postwar Americanization of Western Europe and business history. She has published articles on American-Italian relations. She currently teaches a “US History” Course at the University of Pisa.
For Europeans Are Lovin'It?, Giulia Crisanti received the 2022 EAAS Rob Kroes Award.
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction: Think Global, Act Local
Part 1: Coca-Cola: North-Atlantic Crossings, 1886–1946
1 Thirst Knows No Borders: Coca-Cola Lands in Europe
2 War Goes to Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Goes to War
Conclusion: A Transatlantic Product
Part 2: The Coca-Colonization of Europe, 1947–1972
3 “McCarthyism in Reverse”
4 “The Sun Never Sets On Coca-Cola: Atop the Eiffel Tower”
5 “The Sun Never Sets on Coca-Cola: Beside the Colosseum”
6 “The Children of Marx and Coca-Cola”
Conclusion: Differences and Similarities between France and Italy
Part 3: From Coca-Colonization to McDonaldization, 1973–1990
7 The Golden Arches Join the Red Sign
8 Paninari on the Spanish Steps
9 Fast Food Generations in the McWorld
Conclusion: American Vessels of Globalization
Part 4: Glocalizations, 1991–2015
10 “Always Coca-Cola”
11 Fast Food, Fast World
12 We Are What We Eat: from le Malbouffe to Slow Food
Conclusion: The “Glocal” World
Conclusion
Archives and Primary Sources
Secondary Literature
Index
Scholars of Americanization and Euro-American relations; American cultural institutions in France and Italy; scholars of food studies; graduate and undergraduate students (late modern history, American studies, food studies, history of globalization).