Between the Waves

The Hidden History of a Very British Revolution 1945-2016

De: Tom McTague

Narrado por: Eliot Chapman

'Powerful, precise, morally engaged, wonderfully alert to character, context and the greater purpose of political life' Rory Stewart, author of Politics on the Edge

'Compelling, hugely well-informed . . . will stand for many years as the authoritative political history’ David Kynaston, author of Austerity Britain, 1945-1951

This is the definitive history of Britain’s tumultuous relationship with Europe – as it’s never been told before.

In a story of vaulting ambition and underhand politics, of nation, identity and belief, acclaimed political writer Tom McTague chronicles the battle of ideas, events and personalities that first took the country into the Common Market in 1973, only to take it out of the European Union in an explosive referendum a little over forty years later.

Drawing on unpublished sources and exclusive interviews, McTague unearths the roots of ideological conflict that raged between the leading politicians of the twentieth century as they fought for the future of Europe – Charles de Gaulle, Harold Macmillan, Jean Monnet, Enoch Powell and Margaret Thatcher.

Alongside these famous figures are the lesser-known actors in Britain’s great post-war drama: a coterie of Eurosceptic student radicals, Cold Warriors, eccentric billionaires and political strategists who turned the tide of history.

A riveting story of the clashing ideals that have pulled at Britain’s public imagination for more than seven decades, Between the Waves raises that most elemental of questions: who are we?

'A sweeping, impressive and ambitious history of modern Europe' Helen Lewis, author of Difficult Women

©2025 Tom McTague (P)2025 Macmillan Publishers International Limited

Reseñas de la Crítica

Between the Waves is powerful, precise, morally engaged, wonderfully alert to character, context and the greater purpose of political life (Rory Stewart, author of Politics on the Edge)

[Tom McTague is the] author of some of the best journalism, not just about this [Brexit] crisis, but about the crisis that has been British politics (David Runciman)

Simply one of the very best political observers reporting on our politics in the UK (Daniel Finkelstein)

Tom McTague has produced a brilliant and unique piece of historical writing which will change how we think about Britain’s schizophrenic relationship with Europe since the Second World War . . . Unfolding like a play with many acts and players, this extraordinary debut work of history is a reminder that everything is connected but nothing is inevitable (John Bew, author of Citizen Clem)