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World » Europe » Britain » Brexit

Browse book recommendations:

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Which are the best books to get a better understanding of Brexit? For an economic perspective, we asked economics professor Jonathan Portes for his book recommendations in early 2017, less than a year after Britain's momentous decision. For more of a political/historical perspective, we turned to novelist Boris Starling, author of The Bluffer's Guide to Brexit. Our most recent interview on books to read about Brexit is with Anand Menon, Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs at Kings College London and Director of the UK in a Changing Europe project.

Andrew Hindmoor's best books on Modern British history includes Sunday Times journalist Tim Shipmans' second book in his highly readable (and often very funny) Brexit trilogy. It's called Fallout and follows the travails of Theresa May (and her special advisers, Nick and Fiona) as they try to implement Brexit

While on the subject of humour, if political satire is the prism through which you'd like to read about Brexit, there is a book specially for you: the Cockroach by Ian McEwan. That one of Britain's most distinguished novelists (and also a Five Books interviewee) should write a book where the prime minister and most of his cabinet are cockroaches, is a startling and rather shocking indication of the ruptures Brexit has caused in British society. The audiobook, read by British comic actor Bill Nighy, is still very funny.

Last but not least, if spy novels are your thing, it turns out even John Le Carré has written a Brexit book with his thriller, Agent Running in the Field. Le Carré died in December 2020, so it may well be the last book written by the greatest spy novelist of the 20th century.

No understanding of Brexit is, of course, complete without understanding the European Union and its single currency, the Euro.

    The best books on Brexit, recommended by Anand Menon

  • Read
    The best books on Brexit - Brexitland: Identity, Diversity and the Reshaping of British Politics by Maria Sobolewska & Robert Ford

    1

    Brexitland: Identity, Diversity and the Reshaping of British Politics
    by Maria Sobolewska & Robert Ford

  • Read
    The best books on Brexit - There's Nothing For You Here by Fiona Hill

    2

    There's Nothing For You Here
    by Fiona Hill

  • Read
    The best books on Brexit - Brexit and British Politics by Anand Menon & Geoffrey Evans

    3

    Brexit and British Politics
    by Anand Menon & Geoffrey Evans

  • Read
    The best books on Brexit - Listen, Liberal: or Whatever Happened to the Party of the People? by Thomas Frank

    4

    Listen, Liberal: or Whatever Happened to the Party of the People?
    by Thomas Frank

  • Read
    The best books on Brexit - The British General Election of 2019 by Paula Surridge, Robert Ford, Tim Bale & Will Jennings

    5

    The British General Election of 2019
    by Paula Surridge, Robert Ford, Tim Bale & Will Jennings

  • The best books on Brexit - Brexitland: Identity, Diversity and the Reshaping of British Politics by Maria Sobolewska & Robert Ford
  • The best books on Brexit - There's Nothing For You Here by Fiona Hill
  • The best books on Brexit - Brexit and British Politics by Anand Menon & Geoffrey Evans
  • The best books on Brexit - Listen, Liberal: or Whatever Happened to the Party of the People? by Thomas Frank
  • The best books on Brexit - The British General Election of 2019 by Paula Surridge, Robert Ford, Tim Bale & Will Jennings

The best books on Brexit, recommended by Anand Menon

Brexit shook British politics in 2016 and, six years on, its long-term consequences both for the UK and for the European Union remain highly uncertain. Here political scientist and Brexit expert Anand Menon recommends books to help you understand Brexit, what caused it and why, and puts those trends in a wider global political context.

The best books on Brexit, recommended by Anand Menon

    The best books on Brexit, recommended by Boris Starling

  • Read
    The best books on Brexit - The Aachen Memorandum by Andrew Roberts

    1

    The Aachen Memorandum
    by Andrew Roberts

  • Read
    The best books on Brexit - V For Vendetta by Alan Moore & David Lloyd (illustrator)

    2

    V For Vendetta
    by Alan Moore & David Lloyd (illustrator)

  • Read
    The best books on Brexit - All Out War: The Full Story of How Brexit Sank Britain’s Political Class by Tim Shipman

    3

    All Out War: The Full Story of How Brexit Sank Britain’s Political Class
    by Tim Shipman

  • Read
    The best books on Brexit - After Europe by Ivan Krastev

    4

    After Europe
    by Ivan Krastev

  • Read
    The best books on Brexit - Brexit and Ireland by Tony Connelly

    5

    Brexit and Ireland
    by Tony Connelly

  • The best books on Brexit - The Aachen Memorandum by Andrew Roberts
  • The best books on Brexit - V For Vendetta by Alan Moore & David Lloyd (illustrator)
  • The best books on Brexit - All Out War: The Full Story of How Brexit Sank Britain’s Political Class by Tim Shipman
  • The best books on Brexit - After Europe by Ivan Krastev
  • The best books on Brexit - Brexit and Ireland by Tony Connelly

The best books on Brexit, recommended by Boris Starling

Looking for a good Brexit book? Brexit is as complicated as the Schleswig-Holstein question and as vicious as Game of Thrones. Boris Starling, author of The Bluffer’s Guide to Brexit, talks us through some Brexit books that will leave you better read and even more mystified about what the future holds for Britain and Europe.

The best books on Brexit, recommended by Boris Starling

    The Best Things to Read on Brexit, recommended by Jonathan Portes

  • Read
    The Best Things to Read on Brexit - What Next: How to get the best from Brexit by Daniel Hannan

    1

    What Next: How to get the best from Brexit
    by Daniel Hannan

  • Read
    The Best Things to Read on Brexit - Brexit Beckons: Thinking ahead by leading economists by Richard Baldwin (ed)

    2

    Brexit Beckons: Thinking ahead by leading economists
    by Richard Baldwin (ed)

  • Read
    The Best Things to Read on Brexit - Branching histories of the 2016 referendum and ‘the frogs before the storm’ by Dominic Cummings

    3

    Branching histories of the 2016 referendum and ‘the frogs before the storm’
    by Dominic Cummings

  • Read
    The Best Things to Read on Brexit - Brexit: Why Britain Voted to Leave the European Union by Harold Clarke, Matthew Goodwin & Paul Whiteley

    4

    Brexit: Why Britain Voted to Leave the European Union
    by Harold Clarke, Matthew Goodwin & Paul Whiteley

  • Read
    The Best Things to Read on Brexit - Autumn by Ali Smith

    5

    Autumn
    by Ali Smith

  • The Best Things to Read on Brexit - What Next: How to get the best from Brexit by Daniel Hannan
  • The Best Things to Read on Brexit - Brexit Beckons: Thinking ahead by leading economists by Richard Baldwin (ed)
  • The Best Things to Read on Brexit - Branching histories of the 2016 referendum and ‘the frogs before the storm’ by Dominic Cummings
  • The Best Things to Read on Brexit - Brexit: Why Britain Voted to Leave the European Union by Harold Clarke, Matthew Goodwin & Paul Whiteley
  • The Best Things to Read on Brexit - Autumn by Ali Smith

The Best Things to Read on Brexit, recommended by Jonathan Portes

Why did Brexit happen? What does the future hold for Britain outside the European Union? Can trade economists help? The economist and former head of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, a non-partisan think tank, recommends the best books (and one blogpost) on Brexit.

The Best Things to Read on Brexit, recommended by Jonathan Portes

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