''Crisp, clear and quietly devastating'' Guardian''Excellent, authoritative, highly readable'' Irish TimesA succinct, expert guide to how we got to BrexitAfter all the debates, manoeuvrings, recriminations and exaltations, Brexit is upon usBut, as Kevin O''Rourke writes, Brexit did not emerge out of nowhere: it is the culmination of events that have been under way for decades and have historical roots stretching back well beyond that. Brexit has a history.O''Rourke, one of the leading economic historians of his generation, explains not only how British attitudes to Europe have evolved, but also how the EU''s history explains why it operates as it does today - and how that history has shaped the ways in which it has responded to BrexitWhy are the economics, the politics and the history so tightly woven together? Crucially, he also explains why the question of the Irish border is not just one of customs and trade, but for the EU goes to the heart of what it is about. The way in which Bri