Unleashing Demons: The Inside Story of Brexit - Hardcover

Oliver, Craig

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1473652456 ISBN 13: 9781473652453

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton, 2017

Synopsis

MAIL ON SUNDAY BOOK OF THE YEAR

'ESSENTIAL' Sunday Times

'HIS SOLDIER'S DISPATCH IS EASY TO READ AND VIVIDLY ILLUSTRATES A SENSE OF RISING PANIC AND EMBATTLEMENT. IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE THERE AT THE TIME, IN THE EYE OF A FRENZIED STORM, THEN [UNLEASHING DEMONS] SHOULD BE BOUGHT...' Andrew Marr, Sunday Times

'VIVID AND IMMEDIATE... IT PAINTS A BRUTALLY HONEST PORTRAIT OF THE BRITISH POLITICAL CLASS' Mail on Sunday

OBSERVER BOOK OF THE WEEK

'A MUST-READ ACCOUNT OF HISTORY AS IT HAPPENED' Matt D'Ancona

'JAUNTILY WRITTEN...NAUGHTY FUN' Quentin Letts

'UNLEASHING DEMONS...HAS THE VIVIDNESS AND PACE OF A POLITICAL THRILLER. EXTRAORDINARILY CANDID...' Financial Times

'A FASCINATING BOOK' Robert Elms, BBC

'THE BOOK THAT WILL SET WESTMINSTER ABLAZE' Mail on Sunday

'Gripping reading' New Statesman

'Utterly fascinating...indispensable to appreciating this extraordinary phase in our history.' JOHN SIMPSON

'The compelling insider's account' NICK ROBINSON

'This is one of the most vivid, frank and exciting inside accounts to have been written for years.' ANTHONY SELDON

'A gripping fly-on-the-wall account.' ROBERT PESTON

As David Cameron's director of Politics and communications, Craig Oliver was in the room at every key moment during the EU referendum - the biggest political event in the UK since World War 2.

Craig Oliver worked with all the players, including David Cameron, George Osbourne, Barack Obama, Angela Merkel, Jeremy Corbyn, Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, Theresa May and Peter Mandelson.

Unleashing Demons is based on his extensive notes, detailing everything from the decision to call a referendum, to the subsequent civil war in the Conservative Party and the aftermath of the shocking result.

This is raw history at its very best, packed with enthralling detail and colourful anecdotes from behind the closed doors of the campaign that changed British history.

About this title

About the Author

Before entering 10 Downing Street as Director of Politics and Communications, Craig Oliver was an award-wining journalist. His roles included editing the BBC's News at Six and Ten, Controller of the World Service and Executive Editor of ITV's flagship news programmes. He has three daughters and lives in London.

Review

A gripping fly-on-the-wall account of the frenzy in Downing Street during the EU campaign.―Robert Peston

Wish you could have been a fly on the wall of Number 10 during the EU referendum campaign? No need. This is the compelling insider's account of the man who was at the centre of the Downing Street web as David Cameron took the decisions which led to Britain voting to leave the EU.―Nick Robinson

UNLEASHING DEMONS...HAS THE VIVIDNESS AND PACE OF A POLITICAL THRILLER. EXTRAORDINARILY CANDID...―Financial Times

This is contemporary history at its best...It has pace, insider info and a bit of chutzpah.'―Iain Dale

THE BOOK THAT WILL SET WESTMINSTER ABLAZE―Mail on Sunday

Part memoir, part diary, this is one of the most vivid, frank and exciting inside accounts to have been written for years. It points its forensic beam into the inner sanctums of power during one of the most crucial episodes in British history since the war. Stunning and highly readable. It will make uncomfortable reading for a few, but hugely enlightening and enjoyable reading for the many.―Anthony Seldon

Gripping reading―New Statesman

Craig Oliver's account of his time as David Cameron's Director of Communications in Downing Street during the EU referendum will almost certainly prove to be the most important document for understanding what happened and why it all ended as it did. Oliver has managed the difficult trick of being frank as well as loyal, and his words have a remarkable immediacy. I found his book utterly fascinating, and I suspect that every historian of the period will regard it as indispensable to appreciating this extraordinary phase in our history.―John Simpson

Edition details

• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1473652456
• ISBN 13: 9781473652453
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 432