Ireland Books

This book tells a story that is often (and tragically) forgotten about: the history of German Jewry prior to the rise of the Nazis. In telling the story, Mr. Gidal makes great use of art as well as of text. Though he doesn't go into tremendous detail, he definitely covers the main thrusts and events of the German-Jewish experience. I was particularly interested in the status of Jews under Charlemagne and the early Holy Roman Empire, and in the gradual emancipation of German Jews from the 18th century onward. This book looks like a coffee-table book, but is nothing of the sort. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in German and/or Jewish history. It makes a great companion to The Pity of It All, by Amos Elon.

This is an outstanding history of the Jews of Germany from the Middle Ages to the time of Weimar. The book has especially colorful and interesting illustrations that truly add to one's feeling of the period and world being described.

In my view, this book stands as the best of its kind: a one-volume, fully illustrated reference. Don't be fooled...this is not a simple coffee table book. It is exhaustingly researched complete with a huge bibliography and fully footnoted. Nearly every page of every chapter is filled with pictures, photos, and the like. This book can either be read from cover to cover, or the reader can choose to read a chapter at a time...much like an encyclopedia.

I own a copy of this, I purchased a copy for my brother as a gift, and my Dad went out and bought one for himself after he read mine. I have seen these on sale at amazon.com for less than $6...do yourself a favor and take advantage of it.

The Emerald Bottle was an enchanting page-turner. It was such a well-written gem-of-a-journey and Tara truly had the luck of the Irish. Tara, a hopeful, courageous girl, must travel across the Atlantic Ocean to reunite with her family. We have been a mother-daughter book club for five years and we rarely all enjoy the same book, but this book we unanimously recommend. T'was a great adventure and we look forward to the next one.

This little gem of a book fell into my hands through the recommedation of a friend who is an elementary school teacher, as am I. I have taught for many years and feel I know good literature for young readers. This book has it all. It is full of vivid detail, historical information, positive values and is a wonderful and compelling adventure story to boot! The book is set in potato famine Ireland, but I understand the next books in the series to come will cover other time frames such as the underground railroad, the Westward expansion and other historically signifcant periods. I think both parents and teachers should be interested in this book for their students/children. It's the best, and comes with an adorable little collectible bottle to boot. Sue Slaughter, Las Vegas, Nev.

I purchased this book because my mother was a good friend of the author's mother. I figured I would read it and pass it along to my mother and that would be it. I am going to have to purchase another copy to send to my mother because I want to keep my copy of The Journey of the Emerald Bottle.

What a wonderful story that Linda Shields Allison has written about a girl and her journey. It is a story that can be read to children but it is a story that grabbed me and caused me to stay up late reading to find out what was going to happen to Tara. Linda gives us some historical information about Irish Immigration. She has wonderful characters both heros and villians. She offers in story the idea that those who help other people along lifes journey are the good guys and that in the end that is rewarded. She has a twist at the end of the story that is surprising and will hopefully lead to a sequel to this wonderful book. It reminds me of the style of Kate Seredy who wrote "The Good Master" and "The Singing Tree". Just like author Seredy, Linda takes a historical situation and puts in in human context and brings it a life. It was about midnight on St. Patrick's Day that I finished "The Journey of the Emerald Bottle." I am sure Linda's Irish mother is proud.

This guy's read "Finnegans Wake" a thousand times, so it seems, and his knowledge of Joyce and environs is wide. I'd recommend "Joyce's Book of the Dark" for you Wakeans out there who need to dig deeper into the book of the delpth.

Unlike any other book in English literature, James Joyce's Finnegans Wake (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics) is written entirely on the level of dream consciousness. Joycean scholar John Bishop has tightly focused his attention on the *sleep* aspects of Finnegans Wake. While this makes for a rather monochromatic presentation sometimes bordering the banal, the scholarship, clarity, and thrust of Bishop's presentation are indisputable. At bottom, one really doesn't like to admit there's so much in Finnegans Wake that such restrained scholarship is required to understand just one aspect of it. But then again, this work was the mature James Joyce's magnum opus.

From the text, pages 4-7: "Suppose we charged ourselves with the task of providing in chronological order a detailed account of everything that occurred to us NOT last night ... but in the first half-hour of last night's sleep. The 'hole affair' [535.20], (and a 'hole', unlike a 'whole', has no content), will likely summon up a sustained 'blank memory' [515.33]: 'You wouldn't should as youd remesner, I hypnot' [360.23-24]. What would become equally obscure, even questionable, is the stability of identity... No one remembers the experience of sleep at all as a sequence of events linked chronologically in time by cause and effect."

Joyce remarked to his friend William Bird: "About my new work - do you know, Bird, I confess I can't understand some of my critics, like Pound or Miss Weaver, for instance. They say it's *obscure*. They compare it, of course, with Ulysses. But the action of Ulysses was chiefly in the daytime, and the action of my new work takes place chiefly at night. It's natural things should not be so clear at night, isn't it now?"

Superb scholarship and a major key to understanding the deep strata of Finnegans Wake.

The ultimate treatment of Joyce's confusing classic, Bishop's comprehensive analysis goes beyond typical literary interpretations. Focusing of such diverse influences as Vico's "New Science" and The Egyptian Book of the Dead, Bishop shows the compexity of Joyce, as well as his almost total command of the English language, and language in general. If you've ever wondered about Vico's historical thesis, and want to understand how Vico permeates Joyce, this is the book to read. In the end, you'll come away with a better appreciation of Joyce's text, and a feeling of amazement at Vico's poorly understood, but far-sighted view of mankind.

The book was in excellent condition and was shipped in a timely fashion. Great service!

Duffy writes a fascinating account of the Irish potato famine during 1846-49 by examining a local community in Ireland that during the famine, now defined as genocide, suffers severely, as all of Ireland does. The severity of the famine is made even worse by actions of large land owners and the English government to remove small plot farmers, to reduce dependence on potatoes and increase alternative agricultural production, that rent by eviction and mass forced immigration during the heights of the potato famine that resulted in over a million deaths and 1.5 million forced or coerced immigrations, many of whom died in transit on over populated ships. Massive relief efforts are slow and not efficient as England initiates limited relief requiring landlords to fulfill part of the financial obligations but what is fascinating was that the famine was widely known in the western world about the level of death as many countries (including the U.S.) offer private or governmental assistance although limited. Soup dispensaries are set up effectively in many cases but are under funded and struggle to stay open and poor houses virtually act like a prison system and are severe on the populace. In Stokestown, Major Mahon, a sometimes absent landlord carries out evictions with less severity than many landlords, pays some subsidies and limited fees for immigration, but still turns many poor out leaving them little in shelter but the ability to remove their thatched roofs to set up as temporary cover. A conflict over relief funding with the local parish priest allegedly fuels the priest to target open criticism on Major Mahan resulting in the priest being accused of inflaming the suffering to commit a severe act of violence. Duffy tells the history virtually before Cromwell to the mass deaths of the Irish famine leading up Mahan's killing and the aftermath. Duffy expertly tells the story of the killing of Major Mahon that shocked England all the way to Parliament, along with the slow revelation of controversial witnesses, resulting in conviction by circumstantial evidence. The strength of this unique telling is the concentration on this local community that reflects what as happening in all of Ireland with the exception of the notable killing of a local elite well connected to England. Duffy covers the trials extraordinary well and this is a great telling of a horrific time in our world history told on virtually a local level of the Irish community.

This book paints an extraordinary portrait of a time and place in history that can arguably be called one of the greatest human tragedies in modern history. Duffy sheds light on not only the grim physical facts of the Famine, as expected, but plumbs the depths of the social structures that amplified it's effects. It is refreshing to read, in today's media culture of quick conclusions and black/white reasoning, a book which acknowledges the complexity of the interplay of forces that create history, and assumes the reader is intelligent enough to draw conclusions for themselves.

I wanted a copy for a long time but could never find it in any bookstore I went to. I am enjoying the book very much

For this reader, this book was the end of a journey...a thread I've been following for the last five years. I was overwhelmed by its truth. The more I meditated on this tiny volume, the more truth came. Everything I had read up to this point from the Gnostic Gospels, the True Teachings of Chirst, The Masons, Emerson, The Vedas and so many more...all of these teachings flew like blinding arrows to this target (The Master Key). In the end I had to aknowledge that this was a profound truth, one so simple, yet so revolutionary to our future. One that also requires a staggering amount of responsibility. Maybe that's why this simple thread is so hard to follow...once you've found it, you're so exhausted (and have probably grown a great deal from your journey) that you hopefully apply this "Key" only to good. I for one, think things are going to get rather interesting in this little universe of ours.....very interesting indeed.

A number of other books has been written about these seven principles, using somewhat more modern language, but this book is the classic. This is not just a theory or a philosophy - the principles, being universal, are down-to-earth practical. If you apply them consciously in your life, your life will change.

While in times long gone by, these may have seemed to be only arbitrary spiritual principles, they are in accord with the view of quantum physics. Kybalion states that universe is mind-like in nature; quantum physics states that the universe is composed out of intelligent energy. The rest of the book describes how to manifest anything with one's thoughts - the process of manifestation, and it reminds me of the book "Dimensional Structure of Consciousness" by Samuel Avery.

The most important part of this book - other than pointing out these principles is that they are UNIVERSAL - they allways work, they express throughout nature and if you use them and apply the consciously, you can create whatever you can possibly desire in your life. You will know then that there is a law and that it works with mathematical precision, and that you can ALWAYS count on it.

The moment you grasp this truth, you will never ever again wish or hope for something to happen, you will know that you have the power to create it and you will be certain of it. And when you use this principles consciously and experience the truth of them - no one in the entire world will ever be able to talk you out of fulfilling your heart's desires. Even if the entire world doubts and laughs at you, you will not care because you'll KNOW that you CAN. You will have the "key".

Table of Contents
England after the Glorious Revolution

The Glorious Revolution and the Revolution Constitution

The Facts of Life

A Bloody Progress

The Political World of William III

Wars of Words and the Battle of the Books

Faith and Fervour

England, Britain, Empire

The Political World of Queen Anne

Profits, Progress and Projects

The Wealth of the Country

The Political World of George I

Urban and Urbane

An Ordered Society

Epilogue

Chronology

Bibliography

Index

Writes Professor Roger Hainsworth, formerly of Adelaide University, South Australia: Students of English history will welcome this new volume in the New Oxford History of England series.1689-1727 is a very significant period for the history of the British people and indeed it proved important to many European people also for this reason: during it Britain became a great power and in the process the growing hegemony of France over western Europe was first confronted, fought against and finally halted. More of this later. Dr. Hoppit, although his eye is undimmed by romantic illusions about past eras, has a positive tale to tell. He writes that in late seventeen and early eighteenth century England "political discord was contained and then undermined. Warfare was endured and survived. Britain's empire was extended and its value increased. Population began slowly to grow. Many towns flourished. Agriculture, industry and commerce all showed signs of expansion .... society was not stagnant, it was on the move." This favourable assessment might have astonished contemporaries both at home and abroad. They still perceived England as politically unstable, riven by party ("faction"), and menaced by the apparently unbridgeable dynastic dispute between the Jacobite supporters of the exiled James II and then of his son (the Old Pretender) and the Whig and Orange Tory supporters of William III, Anne and the Protestant Succession (the Hanoverians). Meanwhile the British state was menaced by growing poor rates, menacing numbers of unemployed, seemingly endless foreign wars, and a growing mountain of debt: all presided over by a government which appeared more powerful and uncheckable every year and was backed by that worst of all English nightmares: a permanent army. Dr. Hoppit explores these fears and traumas incisively and expertly and makes it clearer than it perhaps has ever been made before why the positive developments prevailed and the worst fears ebbed away. The fundamental problem for historians of the period is to explain how England become a great power during the reigns of William III and Anne. Cromwell's disciplined army and a powerful navy had made England a great power fleetingly during the 1650s. However, there was no way to finance these prodigies on a long term basis. The restored Charles II almost went broke disbanding these extravagant instruments of power. England's resurgence in the two decades following the Glorious Revolution of 1689 astonished foreign observers who had believed, reasonably enough, that England's small population doomed it to the side-lines of European politics. In a long contest between Britain and France surely there could be only one result? England with Wales had only about 5.25 million in 1700. Scotland had 1.23 million and Ireland about 2 million. France, the most populous country in Europe (including Russia) had 22 million. These bare statistics proved deceptive. Although eighty per cent of England's population were rural dwellers, almost thirty per cent of the population were engaged in some form of industry. Manchester was then only a large village but Defoe estimated it provided "outside" employment to 40,000 weavers and allied trades. In fact England was the most urbanised country in Europe and if this was partly because ten per cent of the people lived in London her urbanisation was to increase hugely during the eighteenth century while London's population stagnated. Industrial strength and a powerful navy were gradually joined by a formidable army. During Anne's reign it would be led by one of history's greatest commanders who was also a remarkable diplomat and builder of alliances: the Duke of Marlborough. The financial problems of the mid seventeenth century were resolved by taxation passed freely if grumpily by the House of Commons which had now become a permanent institution of state rather than an irregular occurrence. The taxes funded that unusual novelty the National Debt which was partly managed by an enlarged Treasury assisted by an inspired creation, the Bank of England. The two great European wars of the period weakened the Continental powers, especially France, but left Britain stronger than when she entered them. Many speculated about this paradox but no great power seemed able to copy the method even supposing they understood it. All these matters receive due attention in this volume. So also does a range of other important topics: the remarkable growth of parliamentary government which in time would make possible the political peace of Sir Robert Walpole's long prime ministership during the 1720s; the decline into impotence of the Jacobites; the astonishing efflorescence of a print culture of books, newspapers and pamphlets; the slow decline of the Anglican hegemony in the face of stubborn Dissenters and ideas of religious tolerance; the extraordinarily rich burst of public and private building ranging from Wren's St Paul's to Vanbrugh and Hawksmoor's masterpieces (Castle Howard and Blenheim the best known of many); and the steady advance of pragmatic, experimental science. This last owed much to one man and in a fine passage Hoppit writes that the year his period ends is better defined not by the death of George I but by the death aged 84 of one of his subjects. Interred like a prince in Westminster Abbey with the Lord Chancellor, two dukes and three earls among his pall-bearers, he was Sir Isaac Newton. That indeed was the end of an era. This is a worthy addition to a very collectable series. There are the minor flaws often found when the author has to shoehorn a complex discourse into a confined space. Stylistic faults occasionally jar and infelicities of sentence structure ("there were those (such as Locke had done) who strongly argued ...") often require the reader to turn back to disentangle the sense. However, Dr. Hoppit's text is informative, interesting, thought-provoking and engrossing. He has explored the diverse facets of his subject with care and sensitivity to their nuances. All students of this significant period will be in his debt for decades to come. Had it been put in my hands when I was studying this period as an undergraduate I would have gnawed on it like a famished wolf.

A very well- rounded introduction to a period of British history that should be better known. The author strikes a good balance between the political narrative and his coverage of the social, economic, cultural, and military developments of the age. This book should be accessible to anyone with a serious interest in this period in European history.

I am an elementary education major and am planning to use this book in one of my direct teaching lessons. The story will entrance the third graders and learn a lesson in the meantime. Great story for St. Patrick's Day.

There's so much to like about this book I'm not sure where to begin. First off the author/illustrator team of Pamela Duncan Edwards and Henry Cole is well known for their many popular collaborations including, Some Smug Slug, and Clara Caterpillar. The Leprechaun's Gold easily upholds their fine reputation. Edwards's writing is so fluid it flows off the tongue.

The text doesn't rhyme, but there is a lilt as the words spill from page to page. This is not a short book. It takes about 7 or 8 minutes to read aloud, but the story is appealing and actually humorous in areas. The Leprechaun's Gold is recommended for children 4 to 7 years, which I deem appropriate not only in content, but in vocabulary as well.

The illustrations are eye-catching. Cole uses watercolor as a base and adds either color pencils, or pastels on top of the paint for added detail and contrast. The result is very rich, deep hues that pop off the pages.

As an added bonus Cole includes a hide and seek quality that we love in picture books. At the end of the story, the author challenges the reader to find all 16-four-leaf clovers hidden throughout the pages. My son was so intrigued he spent close to an hour looking for all those silly clovers. The Leprechaun's Gold is a remarkable book that has the potential to teach several lessons about greed, and egoism to kindness and forgiveness.

A great story about an old man and a young man who play the harp. The old man works out of common decency and the younger man is tempted by greed. Well let the leprechauns take care of it.

Hans Holzer was one of the psychic researchers that brought the field back to serious public attention after it had fallen into disrepute earlier in the 20th century. This particular volume was written after his first three books: Ghosts I've Met, Ghost Hunter, and Yankee Ghosts. While billing himself as a "Ghost Hunter" Holzer was always careful to interview those who had experienced the sightings first hand, as opposed to merely collecting second and third hand accounts and legends. He also used cameras with special film, tape recorders, and other instruments at the sites to see if there were any residual record able effects. While he had a certain amount of psychic sensitivity himself, he usually brought along another confirmed psychic to independently confirm the feelings of both himself and the original observers. In this particular volume the famous psychic and white witch, Sybil Leek, accompanied him.

This book is based on two prolonged trips the author took to Ireland in 1965 and 1966. He found that there had been surprisingly little written about Irish ghosts up to that time, and no real serious research attempt. Accompanied by his wife (an artist that provided numerous sketches of the various sites for the book), and Sybil Leek, he criss-crossed the island. Indeed, he saw so much of Ireland that this book has secondary value as a travel guide. He followed up any and all leads that he could find from urban Dublin to the most remote regions of the western coast. The sites themselves range from farm houses to castles, and from tenements to Tara.

Holzer has a light, humorous, conversational style that makes his book a joy to read. You actually feel that you are accompanying his expeditions as he goes.

This book is a must for People that are into the Pharanormal. It's and easy to understand book. It give's indeth detail's of Case's that he has actually investigate. I would suggest this book to anyone. I think it is one of his best work's. I also would sugest reading any other book's writen by Hanz Holzer.

For many years the works of Dr. Holzer have been the yardstick by which all other books in this genre have been measured and this book is a perfect example of the man at his best. You will find no old moss covered legends or stories based on the testimony of people the author never met within the pages of this book. You also will find no stories about haunted locations that the author didn't visit or any lack of respect for the subject at hand.

What you will find in this book is a highly readable account of a series of investigations conducted by the author in 1965 and 1966 during separate visits to Ireland. Holzer and his psychic friend Sybil Leek investigated every story in this book personally, often times going to great lengths to make sure that their investigation was complete and above reproach. Oddly enough several of the people who had witnessed the haunts were very reluctant to discuss the matter but most of them finally succumbed to the author's charm for no Holzer investigation would be complete if he didn't get a chance to interview witnesses.

The haunts investigated in this book range from castle to coast and involve specters both of recent passing and those who have haunted Ireland for hundreds of years. No Irish ghost book would be complete of course without some mention of poet William Butler Yeats, a devout spiritualist and student of the occult. Therefore, not only do Holzer and Leek investigate a location where Yeats held frequent seances but in the end Holzer is pretty sure that they made some contact with the erstwhile poet.

I keep using the term investigation in this review, almost to the point of redundancy but I'm afraid that I can think of no other fitting term. Not only does this author leave out third person accounts and old legends but he also very carefully documents each case in a very scientific manner. On occasion he does stretch things a bit while trying to make a connection between some of Ms. Leek's psychic readings and historical facts that later come to light but he doesn't do this often and most of the time his conclusions seem to be very sensible.

As you can see this is not your typical ghost book. This is a scientific study of various haunted locations in Ireland that goes way beyond what one normally finds in these books. Scientific though it is, stuffy it is not and Holzer's extremely readable writing style actually makes it seem as if you are sitting in front of a blazing fireplace engaging the author in conversation. Be warned however that once you read this book many of the other ghost books on the market may seem tiresome and very lacking.

John Russell has put together in this book, simply entitled London, a wonderful guide to the memory of London in word and, most especially, visual images. Lavishly illustrated and bejeweled with paintings, photographs, drawings and maps, this is the ultimate 'coffee table' book on London. But please, don't set your coffee (or, as it is a book on London, more appropriately, tea) cup on it, and don't just let it sit there. Peruse the pages -- no reading required! Although, unless I miss my guess, you will want to read these pages that accompany such wonderful visual treats.

Russell includes drawings by Wren (who practically rebuilt London after the fire of 1666) for whom there is no monument ('If you want to see a monument, look around', he is once reported to have said, meaning the abundance of architectural monuments most of which remain to this day), Carter, Gilbert, Soane, Kip & Knyff (a print of the original drawing for Buckingham House, now Palace). Among the paintings are all famous portraitures and landscapers, scenes royal and common, serious and fanciful. Nearly 200 illustrations, including almost 100 full-colour plates of paintings, make this book a stunning edition.

Russell recounts an early comment on urban renewal, by Francis Bacon, who commented upon buying a house in an unsafe neighbourhood: 'I have bought the house in which I shall be murdered.' But, within a year, the Foreign Minister had purchased the neighbouring house, making the area safe and sought-after.

Russell said that the changes talked about here [and generally everywhere in the history of London] owe nothing to Authority. No government planned them, foresaw them, or sanctioned them. They are owed to the experimental, liberated, and sardonic temper of the individual Londoner as it has evolved.

'Like every other big city in the western world, London was built for a society that no longer exists.' This one statement perhaps best sums up the history of London. This book gives new life to that departed society, and helps to put London in its proper context.

This was obviously a labour of great love on the part of Russell. Do yourself and favour and purchase the hard-back edition. You will be glad you did.

The much-honored Russell spent nearly thirty years as chief art critic for the London Sunday Times, and then came to New York and did the same thing for the New York Times for another sixteen years. Even after leaving London, though, he still considers himself an insider of that city, and in this book he shares his fifty-year perspective with the reader. It's not a guidebook nor a travel book, but a highly idiosyncratic sort-of-memoir of London, organized around many diverse themes, including Samuel Johnson, Buckingham Palace, the rebuilding of the city after the Great Fire, the role of the Thames, and what he calls the "spirit of place" -- which is one of the best chapters in this marvelous book. Throughout, he illustrates his thoughts and recollections and often witty commentary with reproductions of art and photographs of people and buildings which, brought together in one place like this, are just about worth the price of the book by themselves. One of the best books about London I've seen in years.

London, the book YOU should read. Don't waste time get the book! Do you want it? Buy it here then. London is a great book which contains an amazing amount of information that will make your brain burst!Well anybody out there want to find out about London?Come here and click on the button! London is a book that is basiclly amazing, basically real and finally, brill! Well London is basically the only book that will travel you through London. This is THE BEST BOOK ABOUT OLD LONDON!Read it in front of your children and they will know instantly about London. Read it to your friends and they will go talking about it all day long! Read it to your relatives and they will go mad about it! Read it to a stranger and they will invite you over every day!

I bought this for my sister who reports to me this guide is excellent.
Very informative, well laid out and a great guide.

This book gave a great overview and some routes through Ireland via bicycle. As I still have not totally planned my trip, I cannot tell how the recommendations are, but Lonely Planet guides are usually been excellent, in my experience. I wish it had more information on choosing between a guided and a DIY tour, as I am now trying to decide whether to do all the work in carrying luggage, making reservations and finding bikes B&Bs myself, or spending a little extra. It has good information about bicycles and the gear to bring along as well.

Last summer my brother and I went to Ireland. Using this as our only guide we were able to easily get around. The maps were good, the adivce was great, and I'm planning on going back next summer with the same book(unless they release a new edition).