or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
24 used & new from £17.84
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
A Stranger in Europe: Britain and the EU from Thatcher to Blair
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside this book

A Stranger in Europe: Britain and the EU from Thatcher to Blair (Hardcover)

by Stephen Wall (Author) "In 1963, General de Gaulle issued his first veto of Britain's application to join the European Community (EC), the Common Market ..." (more)
3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
RRP: £22.00
Price: £19.95 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £2.05 (9%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Only 3 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want guaranteed delivery by Tuesday, November 24? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
18 new from £17.84 6 used from £24.78
12 Days of Christmas Sale in Books
12 Days of Christmas Sale in Books
Get up to 65% off some of our top titles. Shop now

Special Offers and Product Promotions

Frequently Bought Together

A Stranger in Europe: Britain and the EU from Thatcher to Blair + Europe: The State of the Union + Whats Wrong with the Europe Union and How to Fix it
Price For All Three: £42.27

Show availability and delivery details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Europe: The State of the Union

Europe: The State of the Union

by Anand Menon
4.0 out of 5 stars (2)  £10.88
Whats Wrong with the Europe Union and How to Fix it

Whats Wrong with the Europe Union and How to Fix it

by Simon Hix
3.0 out of 5 stars (2)  £11.44
The Return of History and the End of Dreams

The Return of History and the End of Dreams

by Robert Kagan
3.6 out of 5 stars (10)  £7.76
An Awkward Partner: Britain in the European Community

An Awkward Partner: Britain in the European Community

by Stephen George
5.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £28.47
Britain and the European Union (Poltics Study Guides) (Politics Study Guides)

Britain and the European Union (Poltics Study Guides) (Politics Study Guides)

by Alistair Jones
£10.99
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Hardcover: 240 pages
  • Publisher: OUP Oxford (24 April 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0199284555
  • ISBN-13: 978-0199284559
  • Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.5 x 2.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 117,918 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #48 in  Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Government & Politics > International Institutions > EU & European Institutions
    #75 in  Books > Business, Finance & Law > Economics > Political Economy

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

  • See Complete Table of Contents

Product Description

Product Description

For over twenty years, at the heart of Whitehall, Sir Stephen Wall worked for British leaders as they shaped Britain's European policy: Margaret Thatcher fighting to get 'her money back'; John Major at Maastricht where the single European currency was born; Tony Blair negotiating the Amsterdam, Nice and Constitutional Treaties. Stephen Wall draws on his experience to trace a journey from 1982 to the present as successive British governments have wrestled with their relationship with their EU partners. A Stranger in Europe goes behind the scenes to tell the story of how Margaret Thatcher and her successors sought to reconcile Britain's national and European interests. Drawing on the documents of the period it gives a unique insight into how Britain's leaders weighed the British national interest and the interests and personalities of their European counterparts. This is the story of Prime Ministers and Foreign Secretaries in intimate discussion with other EU leaders, of how politicians instruct and motivate their top officials to implement their political will and how those officials seek to turn political instruction into negotiating success. Stephen Wall analyses British success, and failure. He shows how, despite differences of declared aim and of personality, Britain's leaders have in practice followed very similar paths. Britain has been an awkward partner, often at odds with her fellow Europeans: a stranger in Europe. But with dogged determination and seriousness of purpose Britain's leaders have done much to shape and reform the modern Europe in which we live today.
Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
In 1963, General de Gaulle issued his first veto of Britain's application to join the European Community (EC), the Common Market. Read the first page
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
Search inside this book:

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
See all 9 tags...

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

A Stranger in Europe: Britain and the EU from Thatcher to Blair
73% buy the item featured on this page:
A Stranger in Europe: Britain and the EU from Thatcher to Blair 3.0 out of 5 stars (2)
£19.95
Europe: The State of the Union
10% buy
Europe: The State of the Union 4.0 out of 5 stars (2)
£10.88
Whats Wrong with the Europe Union and How to Fix it
10% buy
Whats Wrong with the Europe Union and How to Fix it 3.0 out of 5 stars (2)
£11.44
Britain and the European Union (Poltics Study Guides) (Politics Study Guides)
5% buy
Britain and the European Union (Poltics Study Guides) (Politics Study Guides)
£10.99
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

2 Reviews
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars thank goodness for some informed view on Europe, 12 Nov 2008
By Daniel Philips (Newcastle upon tyne) - See all my reviews
This is an excellent, informative and balanced account of Britain's relationship with the European Union. The author's perspective is clearly pro-European but it is a reasoned and well-argued position. Little Englanders and other eurosceptics will disapprove of much of the content but this is a long overdue riposte to the scaremongering that characterises their portrayal of the EU. I will recommend it to my year three university students.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
4 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars The Foreign Office mandarin's view, 24 Jul 2008
By William Podmore (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Stephen Wall worked in the Foreign Office's European Communities Department from 1983 to 1988, was Private Secretary to successive Foreign Secretaries from 1988 to 1993, Ambassador to Portugal 1993 to 1995, Ambassador to the EU from 1995 to 2000 and Blair's senior adviser on the EU from 2000 to 2004. As he writes, "It is undoubtedly true that the Foreign Office has, since the 1960s, been a pro-European department." Since retiring he has worked for `Britain in Europe'. So we know what to expect from this book.

He writes that John Major saw national sovereignty as a `commodity to be used for national advantage, not some untouchable heirloom to be hoarded at all costs' and that this `has been the policy pursued ever since'. This exposes the bipartisan policy of selling our sovereignty piece by piece.

He admits that Economic and Monetary Union, which he passionately supported, `was a step towards a federal Europe'. Even now, he claims that the EU's disastrous Exchange Rate Mechanism was good for us and he sneers at the `self-righteousness' of those who opposed our joining it.

He notes that Thatcher, Major and Blair all back the EU - truly part of the ruling class consensus. So also is the belief that Thatcher was `an undoubtedly great Prime Minister', as he puts it.

He laments that Britain is a `stranger in Europe' because of `the lack of deep-seated public support in Britain for the European project'. He believes that this is because governments, for some unknown reason, have done too little to explain to the British people the true nature of the European project. Obviously, we are too stupid to understand the sublime intentions of our dear leaders.

He describes the Danish people's vote against the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 as the `failure' of their referendum. He clearly thinks that it would be folly to hold a referendum on the EU Constitution.

Who needs democracy when we have superb mandarins like Wall to think for us? Who needs sovereignty when the wonderful EU will do everything for us?
Comment Comments (4) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject






















i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.