While I agree that a consolidated rulebook would be ideal, following the global game rules isn’t really as daunting as you make it sound, Craig.
The six and a half pages of global rules on pages 31-37 of the Europe Rulebook supercede the politics and National Objectives rules regarding powers from both Europe and Pacific, so you don’t need to consult those rules at all for that. Regarding general game mechanics, the Europe rules are the same as the Pacific ones, so you only need to consult the Pacific rulebook for two specific things that are unique to Pacific: China and kamikaze. That’s a total of two pages (actually one and a quarter) that you need from that Rulebook. As for the Pacific FAQ, only the setup and map errata and those questions dealing with China and kamikaze are relevant. Everything else is covered in the Europe rules, and all of the rules errata have been incorporated there.
So, while you do need to consult four different sources, the actual relevant material is not that difficult to sift through and totals around 40 pages.