Fully updated Mass Market Paperback edition of the bestselling political title

Things fall apart when empirescrumble. This time, we think, things will be different. They are not. Thistime, we are told, we will become great again. We will not.

In this new edition of the hugely successfulRule Britannia, Danny Dorling and Sally Tomlinson argue that the vote toleave the EU was the last gasp of the old empire working its way out of theBritish psyche. Fuelled by a misplaced nostalgia, the result was driven by alack of knowledge of Britain's imperial history, by a profound anxiety aboutBritain's status today, and by a deeply unrealistic vision of our future.

Whatever happens next, Britain willbe - and has already been - inevitably diminished by the Brexit vote. There isno welcoming group of countries ready to swiftly embrace new tradingrelationships with us.

And yet, there is hope. In thiswide-ranging and thoughtful analysis, Dorling and Tomlinson argue that ifBritain can reconcile itself to a new beginning, there will be the chance tocarve out a new identity.