Britain's Europe: A Thousand Years of Conflict and Cooperation

'Dazzling ... a trenchant, provocative account of the intimate relations of Britain and Europe and how each shaped the other'
Prospect Magazine

'Elegant, refreshing and wide-ranging ... this is essentially a brief history of the UK but a deliciously different one'
Literary Review

Britain has always played a tangled, complex, paradoxical role in Europe's history. It has:

• Invaded and been invaded.
• Changed sides.
• Stood aloof.
• Acted with both brazen cynicism and cloudy idealism.

Every century, troops from the British Isles have marched across the mainland, pursuing a great complex of different goals—foremost among them, the intertwined defense of parliamentary liberty in Britain and the 'Liberties of Europe'. Dynastically, Britain has been closely linked to countries as varied as Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, and France.

In this bracing and highly enjoyable book, Brendan Simms explores the highlights and low-points of the Euro-British encounter, spanning from the Dark Ages to the present day.

The critical importance of understanding this history is brought to life in the final chapter, which dramatizes the issues surrounding British relations with the European Union.

Britain's Europe is a vital intervention for our times.