‘Stuart Sweeney presents a masterful account of how Europe has been shaped by the inter-twining of British, French and German interests and ambitions. He scrapes off Europe's historical layers like an archaeologist with a trowel: migration, the fumbled economics of integration, nationalism and the puzzle of pooled sovereignty, war, diplomacy and statecraft, all the bubbling crises of the moment are traced back over centuries. The continuties that he uncovers should be a revelation for those baffled, intrigued or simply anxious about Brexit. The Europe Illusion is a brisk gallop of a book. Its fluency and flashes of wit show Sweeney to be a worthy heir of the great A.J.P Taylor. It should be read by every exhausted member of parliament, everyone caught up in the complex drama of Britain’s quest for semi-detachment from Europe.’ – Roger Boyes, chief foreign affairs commentator and diplomatic editor, The Times