It captures faithfully the stance of both sides of political debate in Europe. Whether you are convinced Brexiter or committed Remainer, whether you live in Europe far beyond this book will explain for you one of the most complex political decisions of our century - a fracture of European Union. Authors meticulous research, and faithfulness to the smallest detail of political events and social context can be observed on literally every page. Everyone who delves into this book will be rewarded with freedom from oversimplifications, phantasy or pure disinformation which are so prevalent in the debate on Brexit. If one wants want to be free from manipulative headlines promoted on social on media this book can be light on the path to liberty of mind. It is worthy to notice that historically populism to succeed always required manipulators and those who wanted to be manipulated. The issue of Brexit that was sloganeered by populist politicians became their tool with which they enslaved so many minds around the world. "Brexit" that reads like novel, which is made available thanks to Cambridge University Press may help in rebuilt of responsible and informed public debate.

This was so interesting! Brexit dominated Britain for a long time during the campaign and it was really interesting to see it from an academic perspective. This book looks back to the previous European vote and the change in opinion between then and now. It focuses on the rise of UKIP and the fear of immigration within the country at large, and the view of national identity. It was very interesting that when polled, compared to UKIP voters, the average person had a very similar view on immigration and different ethnicities.

This is something of a dry read, crammed with statistical analysis (unfortunately most of it unreadable on the Kindle version I had).: "Since the dependant variable is a dichotomy...model parameters are estimated using binomial logit procedures..." gives a flavour of the tone! Nonetheless, it is a fascinating read and does make you wonder why the pundits & pollsters got the referendum result so wrong. The authors indicate, based on a slew of long-term survey evidence, that many of the factors that affected voting were baked in long before the referendum took place. and that whilst some people did change their minds during the referendum campaign, most attitudes had formed years before. "It is clear that, if they were listening, a large majority of British MPs would have heard their constituents supporting Brexit" - London and Scotland being the exceptions. The survey evidence also suggest the Remain campaign got its strategy wrong - the scare-mongering of 'Project Fear' just didn't go down well. The Leave campaign seems to have been more nimble in responding to voters' concerns.

I also found the author's analysis of the likely consequences. Here again they are looking at statistical information, including a Cambridge study which suggests that the economic benefits of EU membership, not just for the UK but for other member states, are not as great as has been implied. They also cast doubt on the reliability of the Treasury model which predicted doom & disaster and fuelled George Osborne's warning of an emergency budget in the event of a leave vote. The upshot is that the authors suggest that the negative effects of Brexit have been over-stated. Another interesting issue emerges in that the authors indicate that the views of British voters to immigration are not dissimilar to those of voters across the EU - we are far from the being exceptional in attitudes towards immigration. Survey evidence from Europe shows that support for further integration fell between 2004 and 2014.

The book was written before the 2017 general election but it does indicate that among the wider public there was no sign of Brexit remorse nor any appetite for a second referendum and there is little to suggest that has changed.

An insightful analysis of the reasons for Brexit, using recent survey data as well as reviewing the history of Britons' attitudes towards the EU since they joined in 1973. As a more in-depth analysis than media reports at the time, it suggests that Brexit wasn't in fact as much of a surprise as general opinion would have thought. Since the beginning of Britain's membership in the "Common Market", the country has experienced fluctuations in public opinion about being a part of the EU, and recent surveying suggests national identities played a large role in both Leave and Remain votes (evident in the discrepancy between the Scottish votes for Remain and the English and Welsh votes for Leave). UKIP and it's voters make up a large part of the book's analysis, as well as a broader study of attitudes towards immigration in Europe as a whole. The sobering reality is that the unfavourable attitudes on immigration, refugees and 'human capital' generally attributed to the 'deplorable' UKIP voters is in fact widespread across all voters in the UK, and indeed in Europe as a whole. This may just be the beginning of the end; the EU band-aid is struggling to hold together the deep wounds within Europe.

My thanks to Cambridge University Press and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book for review purposes.