Ireland Books

This is an excellent edited book on the non-profit sector. It is one of the few sociological treatments on the subject As a sociologist it has the full set of critical perspectives I have been searching for.

This volume is meant primarily to be a textbook for master's or Ph.D. level students. Nonprofit theory and cutting edge research is covered by the known academics in the field. The reference section is superb, leading one to further articles to explore an area in more depth. Yet the practioner will also find this book helpful in many ways, trends in funding and volunteering, up-to-date research brought to the practioner's world, etc. Even if you are not a student, if you work in the nonprofit sector you will find this book to be extraordinarily helpful.

Handbooks tend to be daunting reading. So you can imagine my surprise when, after reading it through the first time, I found myself wanting to read it through again! This is a very rich book that will be useful to a wide range of readers from experts to beginners in nonprofit sector research.



Beginners will benefit from the comprehensive nature of the collection. The broad coverage will serve as a fine map to guide those who are looking for paths to follow into nonprofit sector practice and research. Like an MRI scan, the depth of each chapter will serve as a map of the ever expanding theoretical and practical knowledge base of the contemporary nonprofit sector.



Readers who have some nonprofit sector experience will find themselves turning again and again to the chapters related to their area of research and practice. The experience of re-reading some of the chapters three and four times each allowed me to appreciate the depth of scholarship embedded in the theories and empirical evidence presented on each page. This is the kind of book you'll want to keep nearby, because something of value will be there to meet you at each read.



Experts in the field are going to find a lot here to their liking as well. The scope of the subject matter covers research from so many disciplines that, no matter what your interests are, you'll find something here that relates to your particular field of research. The volume also presents scholars with many well documented glimpses into the state of the art research on the full gamut of nonprofit sector issues.



The creation of a handbook that is broad in scope, deep in research detail, and useful to both beginners and scholars is something to be celebrated by all those involved in the nonprofit sector. Congratulations to those who worked on this project. You have pulled off a most difficult of tasks for the second time.

A intense and well written work tediously explaining the situation with North Ireland. A no bias account complete with full documentation gives you a full perspective from each side and why. I would suggest someone unfamiliar with the subject in getting their feet wet on the subject first with some light research, and then jump into reading this book as it is a immense piece of information.

This is an essentail read for all who study comparative politics, history, public administration and international relations or international law. Professor Tonge provideds an easy to follow, well-written book that will spark your interest for hours. In addition to updated information, Professor Tonge provides additional references for further investigation. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has developed a curiousity regarding the events in Northern Ireland or for poli-sci courses that deals with comparative policy/political studies or a course in international conflict.

This book is absolutely the best book written on the history of the "Troubles." It comes from a very unbiased source who attempts to explain the 300 plus years of conflict to those who have no knowledge of the troubles in the North. It is also enlightening to us who do have knowledge and insight into the conflicts of Northern Ireland. If you ever wanted to know about the "Troubles," or want to know more, this book is a must read. It should be the first book read before anyone takes on any study of the conflicts which shroud Northern Ireland.

"Conversations with Wellington" is a unique insight into the character and later life of the First Duke of Wellington. Philip Henry, then Lord Mahan, later Earl Stanhope, took notes of his frequent conversations with the Duke during the period 1831-1851, ending just months before the Duke's death.

"Conversations" offers some insight into the lives of the British upper class of that period, a seemingly endless series of visits, horseback rides, and dinners, sandwiched between business in Parliament and visits to country estates.

"Conversations" also reminds us of the elaborate code of manners and behavior expected in that era. As an example, Stanhope has the sense of discretion not to record the names of people who come up in his conversations with the Duke, who might be embarrassed at a later date. This rule seems to have applied principally to politicians contemporary with the various conversations.

Most importantly, "Conversations" offers us insight into the character and thinking of the Duke of Wellington in his later years. This is the Duke 15 years or more removed from Waterloo, serving the British Government in a variety of positions, still prominent enough as a hero and politician to be sought out for advice by a succession of monarchs and prime ministers. The book is apparently the source of many quotes of the Duke that appear in more recent histories. The Duke's inherent common sense, honesty, and sense of duty are obvious in conversation, as is the remarkable fact that a lifetime of military and politican service had given him a keen understanding of human nature but not left him cynical about it. There is a certain sadness in the narrative as the Duke's health slowly declines, and a sense that the long-lived Duke outlived his own times.

This edition is not annotated or provided with additional commentary beyond Elizabeth Longford's superb introduction. The reader who is not already familar with Wellington's military and political career, and the early historiography of the Napoleonic era, may find "Conversations" very difficult to follow. This edition is highly recommended to those interested in the Duke and his era, especially his recollections of the Peninsular War and the Waterloo Campaign.

Excellent work that provides plenty of quotes from Wellington.
This book gives the reader a picture of the man that augments even the best biographies.
Worth the time and money.

The conversations young Lord Mahon (later Earl Stanhope) recorded for posterity with the Duke of Wellington are certainly valuable on more than an historic note. These pages give a unique insight into the character of Wellington, illuminating his sense of duty to England and also his refreshing sense of humor. For a man who was known for his reserve and reticence, this book shows him to be quite open and frank on nearly all topics. The last years of the Duke's life are especially moving as Lord Mahon describes in detail the various illnesses that afflict the old warrior's body but never seem to overtake his mind. Anyone interested in the events of the last century and particularly the period of the Napoleonic Wars will enjoy this book. Wellington certainly ranks as one of the foremost figures of that era.

This serves as a great introduction - not too large but plenty in it - to traditional Irish music. After an evening in a pub in the west of Ireland we picked this up in the airport shops on the way homeward. Highly recommended for musicians and certainly for fans of Irish and 'Celtic' music and culture.

Table of Contents

Music in Early and Medieval Ireland
Tudor and Stuart Ireland
Jacobites, Dancing Masters and the Penal Era
Music of the Exiles 1700-1830
Pipers, Spallpins and Patriots: Pre-Famine Ireland
Silence in the Land of Song: Post-Famine Ireland
Quebec to the Klondike: The Famine Diaspora
Records, Radios and Halls: `The New Century'
Ennis, Ó Riada and the Fleadh: A Tradition Restored
From Friels' Kitchen to the New Millennium
Glossary of Traditional Music Terms
Music, Song and Dance Collections
Traditional Music Organisations
Select Discography
A Note on Session Etiquette

I have been interested in Irish music for so long but never found a book that really covered the music in any kind of context. This is a brilliant handy little book which I have often used as an affordable gift. It covers all the historical bases as well as the modern groups and performers. Highly recommended!

It lacks an index, but helpful headings on almost every page help you find sections. Really "covers the map" including topics such as Irish Traditional Music in Quebec or The Scots-Irish in the Appalachians. It profiles important musicians in the history of Irish music, but I wanted more details on the recent (1970s-2000) artists.
The list of traditional music organizations, glossary, discography and note on session etiquette were useful.
Good for getting the basic background on Irish music, but I recommend taking a look at Far from the Shamrock Shore for a more emotional, yet historical look at the same topic.

Ireland is about continued British colonialism, not religion. Ireland is about hundreds of years of struggle, not incurable hatred. Irelands rounds of struggle continue as does Britain's attempt to hold on. Devlin here is concise, accurate, and gets it all in with very few worlds. A good short introduction to the realities of the Irish struggle.

In 1918 fully 85% of Ireland voted for Sinn Fein, the party of Irish independence from Britain. We don't hear much about this vote or the British reaction to it--overturning the election, bombing parliament, jailing the newly elected representatives as well as many others. McAliskey tells us about this as well as about the British policy of internment without trial (which reminds us of the current policy of jailing immigrants). After reading this pamphlet you will see why Jerry Adams and the current Sinn Fein play such an important role in the world, despite ceaseless slander against Irish republicanism.

Excellent source of historical information. I saw Devlin give a speech once in the early 80s in Montreal. Also the text of a public presentation, this short pamphlet has the same qualities I remember: relaxed, knowledgeable discourse, great breadth of understanding, amused and amusing - and an unshakeable conviction that Ireland will be united. Fascinating detail on Irish history. When she explains how London ignored a perfectly democratic Irish vote in 1918 for independence and launched a civil war, you can't help but agree that Sinn Fein has truth and justice on its side today! Her Ireland is coloured by the 1960s civil rights movement in the US, draws strength from the World War I protesters in Ireland who refused conscription, saying they would fight "for neither king nor kaiser," and has never stopped pushing to be free. Makes perfectly clear why London is going to have to give Ireland back to its citizens, whether it likes it or not.

Almost certainly the most important book of my lifetime. "One Day In My Life" brings the horror and hell of Long Kesh back into the front lines. This short book will bring readers to their knees. As important as "Night" by Eli Weisel to the Holocaust, Bobby Sands is to the Irish troubles. Even if you're not involved or agree with the struggle of the I.R.A. in Northern Ireland, please read this book!
[...]

This book brings home the tragedy of the Statelet of Northern Ireland. My main impression after reading it was that the British Government are guilty of appaling crimes and a total lack of respect for human rights. The people of Britain are disgusted with the justice systems of many 'barbaric' nations, this book shows that the British justice system is guilty of crimes which equal, if not surpass, those perpetrated by any other nation. It is difficult to read this book without shedding a tear, not only for Bobby Sands, but for the countless others who have fallen victim to British 'Justice'.

Book Review: One Day In My Life

OT 02/25/02 05:30

Feb 25, 2002 (M2 Best Books via COMTEX) --

'One Day in My Life' documents a day in late winter, 1979, in which Irish
Republican activist Bobby Sands endures the horrors and humiliations of life in Long
Kesh prison. Bobby Sands was one of many Blanket Men - so- called because they
refused to succumb to being classed as criminals, and so wore blankets instead of
prison uniform - who embarked on numerous protests in an attempt to sway the
attitudes and practices of the British authorities in Ireland.

Every page of this book, from front to back cover, is instilled with
contentious political ire. As this reviewer is a British citizen, I am perhaps
not best placed to fully evaluate the motivations and morality of an Irish
Republican. From the foreword by Gerry Adams onwards, the question invoked in
my mind time and time again was whether the treatment of Bobby Sands and his
fellow Blanket Men was a crime against human decency committed in my name, or a
terrible means to a justifiable end - that is to protect British citizens against the
threat of domestic terrorism. As Bobby Sands and three other men shared a sentence of
eighty-four years for being found in possession of a solitary hand gun, it seems that
the punishment meted out to Bobby Sands was inordinately huge.

Better men than I have raged in blind conviction for both sides of that
argument, and the one thing I am certain of in regard to that issue is that it
will not be answered in the course of a book review. With that in mind I
believe the best way to approach this book is by viewing it as a personal
account of one man's struggle to survive in a hellish existence.

Bobby Sands, alike with the rest of the Blanket-Men, could have extricated
himself from much of the hardship he endured if he were to renounce his claims
that he was a political prisoner and allow himself to be criminalised. This, he and

many others refused to do, and the courage they had in their own convictions -
irrespective of what exactly those beliefs were - is a staggering example of the
strength of man's will.

This document was written on toilet paper using a biro pen refill, and was
concealed within Bobby Sands' own body. During the course of the book it is
revealed that there was but one pencil and one pen refill which was passed man
to man around the entire block. The scarcity of toilet paper is also recounted. These
two facts alone - probably the two tamest indications of the quality of life inside
the H-blocks that could be found in 'One Day in My Life', illustrate the fact that
this book is a labour. Yet no matter how difficult and harrowing it becomes to read
the reader feels duty bound to continue as the very process of recording this
information must have been infinitely more torturous for the author.

The day recounted in 'One Day in My Life' is a squalid microcosm of everything
we fear about being incarcerated. Men are starved, routinely beaten, verbally
and physically abused, and made to live in enforced conditions of filth - with
human waste, mouldy food and congealed rubbish lining the walls and floors of
their unheated cells. Surely even the staunchest advocate of the Thatcherite
British government of the late 1970's would have to concede that the treatment
of the men in the H-blocks - be they political prisoners of war or merely
criminals - was an offence against human decency, in fact an offence against
humanity itself. The Blanket Men were not merely robbed of their liberty, they
were there to be broken by the authorities who knew that to break the will of
the Blanket Men would crush the spirits of their countless supporters in both
Ireland and the United Kingdom. But they would not be broken.

In the introduction to this book a quote from the original edition is
reprinted. Sean MacBride - co-founder of Amnesty International and Nobel Peace
Prize winner - states that 'the majority of ordinary decent people in England
are not really interested in what happens in Ireland'. That was also true of
this reviewer until I read 'One Day in My Life'.

Perhaps the worst aspect of Bobby Sands' recounting of his prison day is that
there is no respite for either him or the reader. The realisation that the day
he has recorded is in fact a typical one for the inmates of the H-block is a
terrible moment and one which makes it hard for the reader to detach this story of
human courage and survival from its political roots. For all Bobby Sands is left with
at the end of the day is the hope - in fact the unwavering belief - that as he says
'our day will come'.

The events which are documented in this book seem like they occurred in some
strange land in a dim and distant uncivilised age. In fact they occurred just
over two decades ago, and no doubt there are people today who are living the
same nightmare that Bobby Sands endured. Read this book as a humanitarian
warning of what crimes were and - are still are - being perpetrated by the
governments of the world in the names of their citizens.

CONCLUSION: 'One Day in My Life' is a seemingly hopeless tale which manages to
leave its lone moment of respite to the very last moment - when we have nothing left
to us but our humanity, and when even that is stolen away our will still remains...

This book was written by a scientist who is also a mystic who had an out-of-time experience with an historical figure from hundreds of years ago. This would be fascinating if it was just fiction, however I was there. I saw this all unfold and it is amazing to see it spelled out in this crisp, intriguing and lean story. Looking back from this vantage point of years later I can see the impossibility of these things being just "coincidence." This much-maligned historical figure, Juana "La Locca" of Spain, called out into this century to be vindicated -- and she chose a top scientist to entrust her story to. Although I was witness to these events from the outside as they were unfolding, reading this personal journal gave me new insight into the depth and implications of Paul's experience. I'm glad this was presented as just the way it happened and not embellished with interpretations of what all these things meant. Truth is stranger than fiction. This experience of Paul Casey's truly weaves the fabric of our material world with that of multiple dimensions of worlds together in a startling and intriguing tapestry that is absolutely riviting. And it is all true. I highly recommend it for all those who have ever contemplated life beyond this one.

Open the Coffin by Paul Casey is an amazing book by an amazing man. The book encompasses many of his abilities, including his scientific and mystical abilities as well as his special spangled cats and his technical creativity. But beyond all, this book is the story of his psychic abilities intruding into his everyday life and causing him to relive the life of Juana of Spain, a monarch who once ruled the entire world, but still be unable to save her from her fate. Paul's interrelationship with this woman is the main subject of the book. I was kept on the edge of my chair by the suspense inherent in the activities of someone whose life is continuously interrupted by the life of a queen who lived 400 years ago. Once I picked the book up, I couldn't put it down. Don't miss this stimulating and exciting book! You'll really miss out if you do!

Suzy Vaughan

This is the answer to any gift-giving dilemna you may have; the "person who has everything" does not have a book like this! My fascination with royal history as well as my love of cats drew me to this book. It would be a worthwhile read solely for those qualities but it offers so much more! Nearly every reader likes one or more of the categories this book encompasses: history, mystery, humor, intrigue, action, romance, true-life adventure... Paul Casey's supreme storytelling keeps the reader riveted from the first page to the last as more and more amazing events unfold in the true tale of Juana, the forgotten queen of Spain and her presence in the modern world.

This concise and very well written book is thoughtful distillation of the enormous literature related to the onset of WWII in Europe. The simple question, who started WWII, has a simple answer. It was Adolf Hitler. The simple answer obscures a whole series of considerably more difficult questions. How did a marginal figure and 4th-rate ideologue like Hitler come to rule the most powerful state in Europe? Why wasn't there more initial resistance to Hitler? What was the role of the Great Depression? To what extent did the post-WWI settlement lead to WWII? What was the role of the Soviet Union and Stalin? Many other questions arise. Bell deals with many of these issues in a series of well crafted chapters. The book opens by framing the issues, including a short but worthwhile discussion of historiographic issues, follows by discussing underlying factors such as ideology, economics, the role of the depression, the roles of the military postures adopted by the major actors, and then concludes with a nice narrative of the outbreak of war. Bell very intelligently extends his narrative beyond 1939 to the 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union, pointing out that it is these later events that allow assessment of the role of key ideological factors in the coming of WWII. This book is worth reading just for the chapters dealing with the consequences of the Great Depression. A theme throughout the book is the limited options possessed by the leaders of France and Britain. Given their internal political situations, some form of appeasement was inevitable, though consistently unpalatable. I have a couple of minor complaints. I don't think Bell deals with the uncertain nature of politics in the Weimar Republic. Hitler's accession to power was not inevitable. While some form of reactionary German government bent on reversing the settlement of WWI was probably inevitable, it could have been one dominated by more traditional conservatives. This type of leadership would have been amenable to the type of accomodation and diplomacy attempted by Chamberlain and the French leadership. It is clear also, in retrospect, that few in Europe really understood the depth of the Nazi racial preoccupations and their bizarre model of history, a tragic though understandable mistake.

This is a great book everyone should read, I salute it.

Bell does a fine job of looking at just what brought about the Second World War. He explains its connections to the Great War, by first discussing the idea of a Thirty Years War, and by then examining how the first war and its results brought about the second. Bell also provides readers with the roles and views of the various ideologies and the many desires for and against war, and also the many strategies involved with each of the main players. An excellent book for anyone wishing to better understand the differing forces and actions which brought about this war.

Rosenstock-Huessy has described "Out of Revolution," his history of western man, as his favorite book. This book is an entirely fresh version of his landmark "Die europäischen Revolutionen," and was written after his immigration to the United States. It presents the reader with Rosenstock-Huessy's method of perceiving man, history, and society. He reweaves strands of the old disciplines of philosophy, theology, and history into an entirely new fabric.
In his introduction, Harold Berman writes:
"That this book - written six decades ago - is without any question an extraordinary book, a remarkable book, a fascinating book, has not saved it from relative obscurity. It is directed against conventional historiography, and for the most part the conventional historians have either ignored it or denounced it. ... I have no doubt that one day - perhaps soon - the academic historians will discover that Rosenstock-Huessy was also one of the great pioneers in a new and significant interpretation of the history of mankind.
'Out of Revolution' is history in the best sense of the word. Although it embodies original scholarship of the highest professional quality, it is written primarily for the amateur, the person of general education, who wants to know where we came from and whither we are headed. But it is also a theory of history: how history should be understood, how historians should write about it."
"Out of Revolution" has been reviewed by others:
The historian Page Smith considers this Rosenstock-Huessy's greatest work in English. He wrote in his book "The Historian and History" (Knopf 1964):
"Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy was one of those Europeans who at the end of World War I decided that the war had made familiar categories of thought obsolete. He undertook, in a series of books and articles, to illuminate the relation between history and the human experience and to explicate the progress of man through history toward a common future. ... The revolutions of mankind, Huessy wrote, 'create new time-spans for our life on earth. They give man's soul a new relation between present, past, and future; and by doing so they give us time to start our life on earth all over again, with a new rhythm and a new faith.' This is the framework for Huessy's history of Europe and it may safely be said to be the first historical work written under the new dispensation. As such, it is of profound significance for contemporary history, but its very uniqueness has left it high and dry on the banks of academe. Nobody knew what to make of it because nobody had seen anything like it before."
Reinhold Niebuhr said of "Out of Revolution":
"Really a remarkable book, full of profound insights into the meaning of modern European history. I have not read a book in a long time which is so imaginative in relating the various economic, religious and political forces at play in modern history, to each other. Ordinary historical interpretations are pale and insipid in comparison with it."
Lewis Mumford wrote:
"Rosenstock-Huessy's is a powerful and original mind. What is most important in this philosopher's work is the understanding of the relevance of traditional values to a civilization still undergoing revolutionary transformations; and this contribution will gain rather than lose significance in the future."
"Out of Revolution" can also be ordered from Argo Books (www.argobooks.org), as can all the rest of Rosenstock-Huessy's English language works, including many of the lectures he gave on these topics. The lectures alone comprise more than 5000 pages of spontaneous comments he made to students from 1949 to 1968.

'Our passions give life to the world.' That's the premiss upon which Rosenstock-Huessy begins his brilliant study of the 'total revolutions' of the last millenium. He may not always be right about the details or even his conclusions about the origins or meanings of the great revolutions, but he is always insightful, and he always takes you into areas which are worth exploring further. Rosenstock-Huessy knows that catastrophes are the cauldrons of creation, and while there have been critics and advocates of revolution aplenty, few have attempted to trace in such detail the alchemical processes of the great revolutions of the Western world. This is a masterpiece by a thinker who simply knows more about more things than any other twentieth century figure I have read. In addition to being a great historian and sociologist, he has a tremendous understanding of the human heart. His other books are also definitely worth checking out.

Eugen was a friend of mine and the teacher of my colleague--Page Smith--one of the great American historians. Eugen came to teach at UCSC after his retirement from Dartmouth. His book on the history of European culture is one of the relatively unknown treasures of modern letters. Eugen was clairvoyant in his unique ability to portray the national character of the major cultures of the West, on the theme of revolution. Although he was a scholar of profound learning, he never lost the passion of his personal voice, which infuses everything he wrote; how appropriate as one of the figures in the I-Thou circle of Martin Buber and Franz Rosenzweig. The book was born out of the agony of the trenches of the lst world war, at Verdun, where the curse over Europe was uttered in the 9th century at the Treaty of Verdun. Eugen gives us the integration of European culture in all of its unique individuality, from nation to nation. Absolutely essential reading for those in charge of the current European Commission and the Council of Europe and the Museum of Europe in Brussels.

This is the book about the unified cultural heritage of Europe.

The Short Stories presented in this fabulous collection range from short folktales from the the old oral tradition to modern stories of the 20th century. It is a marvelous survey of Irish writing with both the dark and lighter side of the Irish character well represented. I've had this book for years and return to it again and again. There are some real gems here.

You don't have to be Irish to enjoy this carefully gathered collection of Irish Short Stories.
But no one can tell a tale as well as an Irishman or woman.
This book is a must-have beside the bed to dip into and savour.
Why is it that Irish literature is so pure and lucent?
If you are looking for a gift for a special person, give them a copy of this treasure.

This collection of short stories by Irish writers is a gem. Having loved William Trevor's stories for years, I bought this book because of his introduction. He draws the reader into these stories with the talent of an ageless storyteller. These stories can only skim the surface of the great body of Irish literature. But it is a wonderful start. Bravo.