Ebook Brexit and British Politics Geoffrey Evans Anand Menon 9781509523863 Books

https://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1509523863&Format=_SL300_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&ServiceVersion=20070822

Product details Paperback 140 pages Publisher Polity; 1 edition (December 11, 2017) Language English ISBN-10 9781509523863

Brexit and British Politics Geoffrey Evans Anand Menon 9781509523863 Books Reviews

• Good read. Short book, giving quality insight on Brexit. Most informative was the complex relationship between the UK and Europe for decades leading up the referendum.
• I am glad to have had the opportunity to read this book.
  
  I lived in the UK for about years spanning the 1980s. I arrived just as Thatcher was taking power, and—like so many others in Britain—looked back across the pond in disbelief as Reagan was elected. I watched Britain’s higher education be gutted, saw the early consequences of privatization, and—quite generally—saw Britain fall into the consequent traps and morasses that helped lead to Brexit.
  
  I was in England and then Scotland the month before the Brexit vote; in fact I left the UK the day before the vote. No one I knew personally or professionally supported Brexit, and, though people were certainly worried, no one I interacted with thought that it would pass. It still is a shock, and, though I know how people explain the vote and the likely consequences of enacting Brexit, I can’t claim to understand it. And I worry constantly about what it will mean for England, whether it will exacerbate the tensions between Northern Ireland and Ireland, and whether it will destabilize Europe and the West, more broadly. Trump’s election and the tensions between England and his ‘Great America’ are another wildcard.
  
  I mention my background not because I think it is likely to be typical of other readers’ perspective, but rather because I suspect that it isn’t. And it certainly affected my angle of vision. I appreciate the background that the authors’ supply. But—perhaps because my questions and concerns are so different from those of the book’s anticipated audience—I did not feel, in the end, that I understood Brexit better, or could address my worries about it. For me, it remains the mystery it was when it passed.
• “Brexit and British Politics” tells the tale of the background of British politics that led to and resulted from the Brexit campaign. Authors Geoffrey Evans and Anand Menon make their case through verbal analysis supported by statistical data. They relate the relationship between Britain and Europe during the life of the European Community and the leaders on both sides from Charles de Gaulle through Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair, David Cameron and Jacques Chirac.
  
  What is so fascinating about this relatively short book about recent and contemporary British politics? I admit, I am an American and a political junkie. The interplay between the Conservatives and Labour and UKIP (United Kingdom Independence Party, I had wondered what that was before this reading) brings my superficial understanding of British politics up to date. What is seized my interest is the similarities between trends as depicted in this book and what I have seen in American politics. The realignment of parties is like watching America in a mirror. Conservatives rebrand from being the representatives of the upper classes and business to being the party of the middle class while Labour morphs from it working class roots to appeal to the middle class. Ideological wedges are dulled as politicians appeal to competency more than issues. In the wake of Brexit Labour moves back to the left and ideological/class struggle seems to be making a return. These moves provide a background against which to measure our own political odyssey
  
  I recommend “Brexit and British Politics” to anyone to anyone with an interest in the unfolding saga of Britain and Europe, recent British history and for Americans seeking a parallel political universe against which to measure our own.
• Brexit has changed the face of Britain's politics, economy, trading relationships and their current culture. In this book the authors tale a neutral view point--not taking sides. Just like our current American election has people fiercely divided so does Brexit divide the UK. The authors discuss both sides of the issue with facts and a detachment in terms of not taking sides. They discuss what happened before, during and after the passage of the referendum.
  
  I think this is well constructed analysis of a very divisive issue in the UK. The book is short (120 pages of dialogue) with a comprehensive 15 pages of notes as well as a good index.
  
  If you are interested in Brexit and how it happened, what happened and what is probably going to happen then this is a very nice summary with the authors not taking sides, not judging and not haranguing.
• "Brexit and British Politics" by Geoffrey Evans and Anand Menon is a balanced explainer for someone interested in what happened with the Brexit vote. I'm not familiar with Brexit except what was on the news so I found this book to be a good guide to understanding the different sides plus a brief history on modern British politics that lead to the vote. That part of the book may have been the most fascinating. It is a lean narrative told in accessible terms so that even a novice like me can follow the text. I also appreciate that the authors seem clear that this story of this vote and its effects is an open-ended one because the dust hasn't settled yet.
  
  All in all, a very good read on a very timely subject.
• I'm a huge fan of Polity books and to date, have probably read at least a half dozen - perhaps more. Without exception, they are always brief yet informative so as to not waste the time of the reader. Likewise, this addition gets to the point, presents a brief but relevant background for those who may not be as familiar with the events leading up to the historic vote and then delves into clear yet concise overview of the current issues. Admittedly with the current happenings here in the states it's hard to keep up with what is going on at a global level (it's hard to keep up with what's going on domestically but that is another thing entirely) so this fills a void in my current understanding of events.