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The Great Deception: The Secret History of the European Union

By: Christopher Booker Richard North
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd.
ISBN: 082647652X
ISBN-13: 9780826476524
Released: 17 Mar 2005
RRP: £15.99
Average Rating:

Customer Reviews

The Great Deception: a wake- up call - By: B. J. Roozendaal, 30 Jan 2008
`The Great Deception' reads like a John LeCarré spy thriller. From its inception, the European project has been the biggest con game in town, its beneficiaries being the weak economies in Europe's garlic belt, led by France.
From the wholesale destruction of Britain's fishing industry & agriculture to the myriads of nauseating bureaucratic regulation killing off smalll businesses, the book sets out in almost irritating detail how, each step of the way, politicians who did not have a clue what they were up against, signed away, bit by bit & parcel by parcel, their national sovereignty, alll the time not even pretending, but actuallly believing they were acting in their country's best interests.
In doing so, they wilfully destroyed people's livelihood, reminiscent of the 1930's period of collectivisation in the Soviet Union.
A salutary warning to those who think freedom & democracy can only be destroyed by a coup d'état or foreign military occupation.

B.Roozendaal
Informative and sharp look at the history of the EU - By: McIvor, 08 Apr 2007
This is the most important book that I have read. It provides an exhaustive history of the EU combined with a coherent & cogent series of arguments that persuasively describe how & why it was established & continues to operate against our national interest.

This book has been described as polemical by some of the other reviewers; perhaps so, but that does not make the content incorrect or the analysis wrong. The text is, in places, rather hard going owing to the level of detail but this does serve to underline its intellectual rigor. The final chapter provides a wonderful summary of a book that someone needed to write & everyone in the UK should read.
A brilliant book deciphering the enigma of the EU - By: Campbell Griffith, 08 Jul 2005
I found the book totallly absorbing with its clear explanation of this extremely important & complex subject that is usuallly confused by coded Euro-speak. Such a well written & researched work leading to compelling conclusions is a pleasure to read & revisit.

The results of the recent Referendums in France & The Netherlands in conjunction with subsequent events show how sound the authors are in their analyses & arguments. Some people may be confused by the odd reactions of the political elite of the European Union to the 'No' votes. This book explains the origins & culture of the EU which makes it easier to understand the detachment of the Euro elite from the norms of democracy.

Having read university law degree modules on UK & EC constitutional law I was intrigued by a paradox. The general lack of knowledge & discussion of the development of the EU exists in spite of the fact that it increasingly controls our lives standing in place of many of the previous functions of the UK Parliament. But the British people have not been consulted in a Referendum since 1975. How can this be in a liberal democracy?

Furthermore, anyone who criticises the EU seems generallly to be labelled 'Eurosceptic' which implies the critic is innately biased against European people (xenophobic even) & is incapable of forming a balanced & objective opinion. This strategy seems designed to prevent open debate and, if so, it has been extremely successful. But, why are discussion & dissent so discouraged in a liberal democracy?

'The Great Deception' fills a void in current public literature on the subject by explaining how the EU has evolved by stealth & the unswerving dedication of its original founders: Arthur Salter & Jean Monnet. Democracy was distrusted & politicians were despised. The ingenious solution was to devise a self perpetuating secretive supranational bureaucracy that would construct the United States of Europe by slowly acquiring powers from the nation states by a process of osmosis. Bureaucrats would lead the way.

Exactly what the goal is eludes definition as the 'European project' is a path to the United States of Europe which is constantly reinvented when it meets resistance & is protected by myths & metamorphosis. The "Monnet method" eschews public discussion that would inconveniently lead to seeking a democratic mandate; referendums so often go wrong.

The book explains how the façade of democracy hides the activities of the law making process in the EU. The unelected Commission has the exclusive right to initiate new laws - which is a key to development control. It is supported by the powerful bureaucratic 'high priests' of the Committee of the Permanent Representatives (Coreper) who organise the highly complex process of drafting & promoting new legislation. The proposed new laws are often little understood by others including ministers & the parliaments of nation states. Indeed, the UK House of Commons Committee that decides what EU legislation can be discussed by MPs even meets in secret.

A senior Government Minister tells us that the Constitutional Treaty is "Just a tidying up exercise". If that is the case, the result of the Referendums in France & The Netherlands can be interpreted as rejecting the current consolidated EU Treaties as they stand. But, yet the discredited & unaccountable organisation goes on regardless - business as usual. The book will assist in understanding this strange phenomenon.

The long & awkward gestation of the EU is charted with its successes & failures described in some depth & detail. The Chapter on 'Why de Gaulle Kept Britain Out' is illuminating & the Chapter on 'The Real Deceit of Edward Heath' is profoundly shocking. The trials & tribulations of Margaret Thatcher, John Major & Tony Blair are depicted in colourful detail that I found fascinating & informative. I had always been perplexed by some EU related events & this book painted in many missing parts of the picture for me.

I would recommend this book to everyone & in particular to the so callled Euro-philes who may find it a blinding light on the road to a better balanced understanding. It certainly should be placed in every public library & place of learning in order to give everyone an opportunity to discover how they are governed. If there is a text which puts forward the contrary view with such cogent clarity I would like to see it on the shelf too but most Euro-philes seem oddly silent.

Predictable description of Europe from Albion - By: Mr Vladimir Bezruchenko, 16 Jun 2005
I enjoyed reading this book. Everyone who is interested in the history of the European Union & in the way Britain sees it will find this book fascinating & intellectuallly stimulating. However, there is a couple of shortcomings that need to mentioned.

First of alll, the book is rather prejudiced against the whole European 'project'. Authors' somewhat parochial version of 'Europe' leads them to ridiculous & unrealistic conclusions.

Secondly, it was a bit disappointing to realize (as I progressed reading the book) that authors specificallly concentrate on the sources that give them information they want to hear. In fact, about 75% of the book is made up of articles from British Eurosceptic press, which is unremittingly hostile to France, Germany & "Brussels", & other British Eurosceptic books.

Finallly, it is a shame that authors having understood what implications lie behind Britain's withdrawal from the EU, now egoisticallly want the whole project to collapse, with economic consequences too abysmal to conceive.

Overalll, I would highly recommend this book to alll ardent Eurosceptics.