Britain and the EU: In or Out?

FT Edits

by FT Reporters, James Thornhill (Foreword)

Britain has had an ambivalent attitude to the European Union ever since it joined 40 years ago. So what does Prime Minister David Cameron's promise to hold a referendum on whether the UK should stay in the union mean? What would a "Brexit" entail for Britain, Europe, and the world? These are the questions answered in Britain and the EU, an eBook of 10,000 words, compiled from news and comment published in the Financial Times, the global business newspaper which combines expert UK political coverage with unrivalled reporting on the European Union. The eBook's publication in April 2013 comes less than a year after the runaway success of the FT's first eBook, If Greece goes.... which looked at the consequences of Athens' feared expulsion from the eurozone.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Economics

79 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 25, 2013

Reviews

[Adrian · Rating 3 out of 5]

FT is my daily paper of choice, but this collection was not FT at it's best. What is gained is an insight into the historical nature of the EU, and some decent insight into the impact on business, and the nature of the debate, however, a serious, detailed look at the consequences of a Brexit was somewhat lacking when compared with other investigations.
A piece I read late last year in The Economist provided a much clearer, and more detailed picture of the consequences of a Brexit. With this reading behind me, I expected more from FT, but sadly did not find it.
That is not to say that FT's collection is bad, far from it, just not up to the standard of The Economist's report.
On the whole, it does make a fairly good case against departure, and is intelligently written, just the collection of essays could have done with more variation and detail.

[Haythem Bastawy · Rating 4 out of 5]

In these uncertain times, when the UK is contemplating leaving the EU and Scotland is contemplating leaving the UK, the Financial Times has put together some of their best articles on the EU question; evoking the pros and cons of Britain's relationship with the continent and reflecting on Britain's chances of survival outside the EU in a world of Continent-large emerging economies:China, India, Australia and Brazil.

I believe the book is an important read for every British person aiming to cast their vote in the very possible 2017 referendum.

[Nick Imrie · Rating 1 out of 5]

The blurb leads one to expect an overview of Britain's relationship with the EU, with reference to Brexit and what happens if we stay or go. Instead, this is a collection of articles relating to the EU from the last few decades. These are interesting enough, but don't add up to a clear explanation of what's going on. Probably an interesting book for people who are already well-informed about European politics and who want a refresher on where the FT stood on the matter over the years.

[Vernon Goddard · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a basic introduction to the EU it was fine and it touched on some of the issues but mostly from an historic perspective. I also felt it was outdated with the latest essays being from 2013. Would have expected better from the FT and given the referendum in June a newer updated version on offer. They could have done much better......

[Jonathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This ebook consists of a few re-hashed articles from FT with a pro-EU stance. You won't learn much from this book though, so it's probably just best to move on....

[Aphorize · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fine. Lack of depth