Product Description

A new edition of Continuum's best selling book revised and amended to address all the issues of the forthcoming Referendum and the publication of the new EU Constitution. The first edition of "The Great Deception" was one of Continuum's biggest selling books. It told the true story of the origins and history of the European Union- revealing all the deception and skulduggery involved. Now with the publication of the new European Constitution, Christopher Booker and Richard North have condensed some of the early history in order to make space for an examination of the new European Constitution and to argue that in it are all the tricks and traps at the heart of this European Idea and the disastrous consequences.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #118748 in Books
• Published on: 2005-12-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 643 pages

Review
"'Two brave and diligent men, Christopher Booker and Richard North, have written a superb history of the EU and of Britain's relationship with it... Every MP, every senior civil servant, every journalist with any claim to understanding the current state of the country, should read it... Besiege booksellers. Ask any politician or commentator who pronounces on this subject if they have read it. If they haven't, they don't know what they're talking about.' - Peter Hitchens, The Mail on Sunday"

About the Author
Christopher Booker is a weekly columnist for the Sunday Telegraph. The author of The Mad Officials and The Neophiliacs, he founded Private Eye with Paul Foot and others. Richard North is an Economist and a Consultant to the Government on European issues.

Customer Reviews

Well-written, informative history
Throughout this book there's a great sense that the authors set upon a task to hack through the myriad of spin and complexities of the European Union to set the record straight. And whilst that does lead to a partisan reading regarding some of the characters involved, it should not distract from what is a meticulous and forensic insight into the dynamic of this organization.

Drawing upon de-classified government papers, memoirs and other sources, the history of the organization is crafted in splendid detail, weaving the many architects and actors of this story into a compelling read. In particular, it challenges some of the conventional norms that have rendered the debate in Britain chronically mis-informed and dormant. As such, it might be considered a polemic, but I find some of the dismissals of the text as "conspiracy theories" unfair given the plentiful and rigorous supporting evidence.

Overall a well-written, enjoyable book that brings a very dry subject to life.

Informative and sharp look at the history of the EU
This is the most important book that I have read. It provides an exhaustive history of the EU combined with a coherent and cogent series of arguments that persuasively describe how and why it was established and continues to operate against our national interest.

This book has been described as polemical by some of the other reviewers; perhaps so, but that does not make the content incorrect or the analysis wrong. The text is, in places, rather hard going owing to the level of detail but this does serve to underline its intellectual rigor. The final chapter provides a wonderful summary of a book that someone needed to write and everyone in the UK should read.

This book changed my view of the EU more than I imagined
This is so much the best and most informative book on the European Union yet written that I cannot commend it too highly, to Eurosceptics and Europhiles alike. Based on exhaustive research, it digs out the real story behind the 80-year long drive to integrate Europe under a supranational government as this has never been revealed before. The results are certainly disturbing and thought-provoking. But perhaps the book’s greatest achievement is to make a subject generally regarded as boring and impenetrable almost as gripping as a detective story! I cannot understand why I havent been able to find any reviews about this book? This book really is essential reading for anyone who has the slightest interest in understanding how we are now governed. I find myself referring back to it frequently.