Between the Waves

The Hidden History of a Very British Revolution 1945-2016

De: Tom McTague

Narrado por: Eliot Chapman

**Longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction**

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

'A lucid, thoughtful and richly provocative book' Dominic Sandbrook, The Sunday Times

'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Drawing on unpublished sources and exclusive interviews, McTague unearths the roots of ideological conflict that raged between the leading politicians of the twentieth century as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

Reseñas de la Crítica

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

<b>You&#39;ll find much to enjoy in this thought-provoking account</b> of Britain&#39;s uneasy relationship with Europe . . . even the most passionate Remainer &mdash; or Leaver &mdash; should enjoy it enormously . . . the lesson of this <b>lucid, thoughtful and richly provocative book</b> is that an issue like Britain&rsquo;s relationship with Europe can never be settled. By nature it is an argument, a debate, a choice between competing evils (Dominic Sandbrook)

<b>An ambitious history</b> of Britain&rsquo;s volatile relationship with Europe . . . <b>a great big entertaining sweep</b> of a book (Gaby Hinsliff)

<b>Sprightly</b> . . . <i>Between the Waves</i> is <b>well worth reading</b>, summarising a massive amount of information in easily comprehensible form . . . <b>an excellent entr&eacute;e into a complex and highly emotive subject</b> (Vernon Bogdanor)

McTague is interested in the ideas behind the politics and he cares about the rhythm of a good sentence . . . This is <b>a serious and weighty book from a man with a future in the writing of the past</b> (Philip Collins)

<b>A rich and incisive new history of British Euroscepticism</b>

McTague [has a] <b>mastery of narrative sweep and fresh perspective </b>. . . <b>a significant achievement</b> . . . an <b>absorbing, authoritative, original and wise chronicle of our times</b> (Michael Gove)

<b>A mesmerising account </b>of the backstory to Britain&rsquo;s eventual exit from the EU . . . <b>McTague brilliantly pieces together the twists and turns </b>in this tragicomedy of mad passions and misplaced expectations (David Runciman)

<b>Tom McTague is one of the best contemporary writers on the intersection of domestic politics with wider events</b> . . . <b>a bold sweep</b> of Britain&rsquo;s up-and-down postwar relations with the European Union (Anne McElvoy)

A <b>pacy and spirited </b>study of where the Brexiters and their ideas came from . . . <b>a worthwhile read</b> for those who want to understand the rise of British Euroscepticism (N. Piers Ludlow)

McTague has the reputation of being <b>one of the pre-eminent longform political essayists of his generation</b>. With this book, he has also established himself as a <b>serious political historian</b>. I look forward to further works and <b>highly recommend this book for general readers and Brexit obsessives alike</b> (Matthew Elliot)