Between the Waves: The Hidden History of a Very British Revolution 1945-2016

(Hardback)

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'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 'Britain's best political writer' Sebastian Payne 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 Drawing on unpublished sources and exclusive interviews, McTague unearths the roots of ideological conflict that raged between the leading politicians of the twentieth century as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

Reviews

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
A sweeping, impressive and ambitious history of modern Europe -- and Britain's turbulent relationship with it. With a deft touch and deep research, Tom McTague has captured a tale of big personalities -- from Enoch Powell to Dominic Cummings -- and even bigger events -- Helen Lewis, author of The Genius Myth
[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
Britains best political writer -- Sebastian Payne
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 Britains 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

Author Bio

Tom McTague is the Editor-in-Chief of The New Statesman. He has previously held positions as Political Editor at UnHerd and The Independent on Sunday, staff writer at The Atlantic and Chief UK Correspondent at POLITICO. He has been highly commended at the British Press Awards and co-anchored the geopolitical history podcast These Times. He is co-author of Betting the House, named by The Times as a 2017 Political Book of the Year. He grew up in County Durham in the northeast of England and now lives in London with his wife and three children.