Ireland Books

Without a doubt this is the finest book I have ever read, and everyone should read it. The story is magnificent; the writing is superb; and I guarentee you, you will never be able to put it down once you have started to read it. PA Burke

There were a wealth of characters all exciting and marvelously described. I liked all the action and was especially moved by the humor,in some parts,the romance and the pathos. The descriptions are elequent

I purchased this book for my mother but had to give it a read as we lived in Wurzburg 1962-65 and just loved every minute, bite and drink. Ms Rowan painted an amazing picure through the eyes of a very young girl about difficulties living in that gorgeous town during very tough times. It is truely heartbreaking to think of the terror and destruction that so needlessly occurred when the war should have been over. The reconstruction is incredible. I remember so much rubble just on our street. She did great credit to her family and I want to thank her for sharing the memories. A great history book. Danke!

A great historical read from a German child's perspective during Nazi germany.

Sheldrake has produced one of the more rich and historically accurate works on Celtic-Christianity to date. I enjoyed very much his working with various themes inseparable from Celtic spirituality, such as liminal space, pilgrimage and thresholds. I also found a great deal of value in his rekindling an awareness in the reader of the Rule of Tallacht, which includes a prayer-trance posture used by Celtic monks that undoubtedly hails from the druidic traditions. I thought he did a very good job of conveying that the native Druidism of Ireland and Scotland was not simply replaced over night by Celtic-Christian mysticism, but rather that Celtic-Christian mysticism grew out of Druidism. A good book.

Most books on Celtic Christianity fall into two categories. Many are cloyingly simplistic efforts to breathe new life into the belief and worship patterns of believers that are burned out on mainstream Christianity. Most of the rest are New Agey-type musings attempting to couple Christianity with some presupposed reconstruction of murky Druidic belief.

This is the only book to date that I have come across that told me something convincing about the impact of traditional Celtic belief on Christian worship. Upon reading this book it became clear to me how questions of liminal belief and the place of worship being the center of the world are so deep seated in the Celtic Christian perspective that you can overlook their significance. This and the in-depth treatment of the Celtic understanding of pilgrimages were very enlightening.

This is a deceptively short book; I must admit that I've read it several times, and always keep coming back to it for reference, which is something I can't say about many books on the subject. Highly recommended.

I just recently finished reading this new book called "Living Life With Diabetes", by John Keeler. What an amazing book he wrote. My husband is a diabetic and afterreading this I understand so much more about him. I was brought into his world for just bit, but enough that I learned so much. I highly reccommend this book for anyone who is a diabetic, is married to a diabetic, have children who are diabetic or even if you just know anyone who does. Thank you John and Good Luck.

An excellent book which gives insight into the life of a person with diabetes. It is easy to understand both for people with and without diabetes. The book gives us Johns first hand experiences of coping with the day to day challenges of having diabetes. It is an accurate, well written, down-to-earth, humourous story. The book shows us that diabetes can never be a restriction for living life to the best. One of my first impressions when reading this book was: "Wow, I'm so glad I'm not the only one who feels that way". It contains a lot of practical tips and gives the reader reassurance, hope and a sense of happiness. Instead if asking "why me?" we end up asking ourselves "why not me?".
I would even recommend this book to members of the medical profession who work closely with people who have diabetes.

All right, I only spent 6 months in the city, which is hardly any time at all, but from what I saw and heard, Sally Belfrage's wonderfully ballsy and observant book hits it right on the head. I fell in love with Belfast, and when you read this book, you'll see why. I know a few people over there who swear by "Living with War," - which has none of that partisan nonsense, thank heavens. Finally a book as crazy, funny, sad, thought-provoking and phenomenonally surreal as the city itself!

Sally Belfrage is an American who lives in London and attempts to unscramble the obvious, intricate dissenion that exists in Northern Ireland. An almost impossible task for anybody. I was therefore sceptical at first when picking up this book and wondering how anyone, who has spent a fragmented year in Belfast (which is a short time) to write a book on this very complex problem. I was pleasantly surprised as she handles her topic in a professional, unbiased, journalistic approach. For the novice that knows little of the Northern Irish conflict, she summarises in brief but accurate detail the origins of each group and then progresses into introducing the different points of views, fears, anger of the various groups. She does this by introducting you to everyday people and their lifestyle, not limiting it to any one particular section of this multi-faceted area, always trying to show as many angles as possible. Her style of writing is swift and visually descriptive so that the reader is able to obtain a very accurate description of what it is like to actually be in Northern Ireland. It is filled with horrific stories but at the same time with inspirational reflections. Her stylistic tempo never wavers or slows down. I realised after reading this book, that it is often an outsider who will give a reader the broadest and most unbiased story of all if they have researched their topic sufficiently, which she has

The author provides a comprehensive history of London in World War II, drawing on many diaries and other contemporary accounts. Readers will recognize not only London landmarks and neighborhoods, but also famous people who lived in London during the war, including George Orwell and H.G. Wells. The book is filled with anecdotes: my favorite is about Mr. Frederick Leighton-Morris, who "...removed a 50kg bomb from his flat in Jermyn Street and tottered down the pavement with it." (He was fined 100 pounds by a magistrate, who told Leighton-Morris he could not decide "in which part of London a delayed action bomb should go off."
Here, too, are vignettes of Londoners sheltering in the Tube, growing vegetables in allotments in Hyde Park, raising pigs in basements, and finding food for their dogs despite rationing. This book is an excellent companion to Maureen Weller's book on the last year of the war in London (1945). If you read both, read this one first (not second, as I did). That way at least, chronology is served. There is very little if any duplication in the two books: both are superb.

Ziegler has managed to give a real sense of what it must have been like to be in London during the war years. Ziegler takes the tactic of examining history as the impact of events upon the people of London -- the growing clouds of war, the first alerts, the lulls, the bombing, the terror and the courage of a people determined to keep their community, their great city, alive. He describes the slow acclimatising toward austerity of which not all wanted to participate; particularly in the lull between the declaration of war (in which there seemed to be little impact on the London scene save rising prices and product scarcity) and the beginning of bombing (at which time the population rallied much more completely).

'On 24 August (1940) the first bombs fell on central London, starting fires in the East End. Probably the bombing was accidental, but retaliatory raids on Berlin made it inevitable that the process, once started, would escalate dramatically.' The rallying effort to build the community was great, such that 'by February 1941, it was estimated that 92 per cent of London's population could be accommodated in public or private shelters.'

At the end of the war, the preparations of the rationing ministries and the police to keep civil order were almost as detailed and daunting as D-Day; the demand for material (flags) and food for celebrations required a reaffirmation of ration regulations; London and the rest of Britain would still remain on rations for years after the war. Even ceremonies such as the State Opening of Parliament would be scaled down due to the unreadiness of transport or lack of men and material.

Ziegler regrets that human nature reverted back to norm and the community spirit built up during the war quickly disintegrated after the war. Grand plans for rebuilding were never carried out -- London incurred more than half the casualties of cities during the war (over 80,000 in London alone), and the community pulled together to survive, but this cohesion didn't last after the threat was gone; however, Ziegler states, 'there is much that Londoners can look back on with pride, remarkably little about which they need to feel ashamed.'

Picture plates complete the visual story of London at war (the photograph on the cover of men looking through the still-standing library shelves of a bombed-out building is fascinating), and the writing style of Ziegler is compelling and full. A journey into our recent past definitely to be taken.

This book is one of the best photographic books on London that I've seen! I'm an anglophile, and love London, so I collect books on England and Scotland. This book is a great value!

I am not much for writing reviews, but this book deserves to have at least 1 review. I found this book to be of great value! This book is very weighty, with nice thick pages. The book even includes full page fold-outs of photos that could not be contained in a single page (Total of 4 pages for each pullout photo). This book hits the sights of London that do not get a mention in other books, while including the top sights. Each sight gets at least a paragraph worth of description. If you want a book that does the above, then pick this book up!

This is a really great book. It covers not only the subject of Irish food, but also gives information on the culture and a brief history of Ireland. The book is packed with information, maps and beautiful photographs. It is a really helpful book for anyone interested in Ireland.

Very entertaining and informative, this little book was a pleasure to read. Written by Irish folks, it offers witty commentary on the social and cultural traditions of Ireland as well as discussing the wholesome and delicious cuisine. If you've got any interest in Ireland at all, you're sure to enjoy this wonderful guide.

This is a lovely story. Dan captures the essence of golf, the Irish, and a great yarn. I loved every minute of it.

Wryly observed, fast moving and well told, Loopy is a novel for anyone with a sense of humor. Binchy smacks the ball straight down the middle.

This book is a history of Russian society as it evolved from the very beginnings of the Kievan period, through the end of serfdom in the 19th century. More particularly, it is a history of serfdom in Russia. Using many primary sources, the author examines trends in economics, agriculture and politics, to weave the tapestry of Russian development.

I was greatly impressed by the author's familiarity with his sources, and his subject. He made clear the organization of Russian society, and how it changed for the Russian people throughout the years. Scant attention is paid to wars and whatnot, except as they affected the development of Russian society itself, which is quite refreshing. My one complaint about the book is that it is somewhat dry reading, but it is an excellent resource for understanding pre-modern Russia.

This is a book that I would strongly recommend to anyone interested in Russian History.

No serious student of Russian or agrarian history can ignore this work. Blum, a prominent historian, set out to discover why serfdom in Russia was so abject and prolonged. Altogether a magisterial, highly readable work.