Ireland Books

This book is the definitive history of the riding families -- the Border Reviers. It is a long scholarly look into the nature of these complex and determined families that does not pass judgment or apply modern values in the assessment of their history and deeds. This is not for the casusal reader. It uses a fair amount of old English spellings and can be an effort to decifer at times. However Fraser MacDonald combines this along with his natural story telling ability to make you feel as if you are on a foray across the border and it keeps you coming back for more. If you are a student of Border history or are lucky enough to have one of the riding names, make the effort to read this book. It has no equal in its treatment of the subject.

Until England and Scotland were united under a single king in March 1603, the border between them was, unsurprisingly, a natural place for strife and disorder. The two countries had been at war intermittently for centuries, and many armies had passed back and forth across the border counties. Fraser's history covers the last hundred years of the border, from 1503 to 1603, a period during which the decayed (and astonishingly corrupt) administration could never cope with the local gangs -- known as "reivers" -- who terrorized the district with cattle theft, murder, and arson.

The book is very well-organized. Fraser starts with a few pages on the long historical background, then takes about half the book to cover the reivers by topic: chapters on arms and armour; on reiving technique; on the key families and their alliances; on cross-border relations; on the administrative structure. Fraser gives a lot of details, and plenty of quotes from the original sources (with the original spellings!).

This painstaking coverage sets up the second half of the book perfectly: one hundred and forty pages that cover the history of the border chronologically through the sixteenth century. With the details in hand, the second half is easy to follow and put in context; the writing is also clear and entertaining.

The last section of the book details the uncompromising way in which King James I destroyed the reivers in a few short years after 1603. It is a startlingly bloodthirsty story: Fraser includes quotes from blanket pardons that King James issued to some of his enforcers, which essentially say "whatever murders you did, I'm sure it was in a good cause, and you're absolved".

There are separate chapters on some of the most famous events, notably the raid on Carlisle Castle that freed Kinmont Willie. Fraser is at some pains to dispel the romantic ideas that cling to stories of the borderers -- as he points out, they were essentially a Mafia, with little of Robin Hood about them. It's clear, though, that he finds their adventurousness and style endearing and fascinating; and he writes about them so well that you are likely to feel the same way.

MacDonald Fraser brings to the history of the Anglo-Scots border reivers all the exuberance and attention to detail that made his name in the Flashman novels. Readers looking for more gloriously politically-incorrect adventures from the Victorian age won't find them here, but this book does repay the extra effort needed from the reader. The Steel Bonnets is the most entertaining yet informative serious works of history I have read.
The story of the Anglo-Scots border is a complex and a bloody one. MacDonald Fraser manages to understand, without condoning, the hard men who fought and died, rode and raided across the border between the kingdoms of England and Scotland. He untangles the knotted threads of their family ties and feuds and reveals their part in the wider relations between England and Scotland prior to the union of the Crowns in 1603. He dives into the dusty depths of the written records and brings them back to us red in tooth and claw.
At a time when the border between England and Scotland looks as though it may become an international, rather than a domestic border once more, this book should be of relevence to all with an interest in and love of these two nations.

I was born in Carlisle, England. The second big town of the border area other than Berwick. My father is from Longtown, Cumbria which is right next to the debateable land and I have the last name of Crozier. This book was like reading about my own history and explained a whole lot of things about my home town and the people I grew up with. Just in my neighborhood, there were Armstrongs, Taylors, Littles, Nixons, Grahams and many other Reiver names.
This is a very scholarly book and exceptionally well written. The author must have done an incredible amount of research to put this together. I read it twice, the second time noting how many references to Croziers(Crosers) there were. My father's family name is in there 26 times. Along with the Armstrongs, Nixons and Eliots, we were considered the worst of the worst of the reivers. Maybe not something to be proud of, but interesting. According to my mother(God rest her soul)her paternal grandfather was the illegitmate son of the Duke of Buccleugh(you'll hear a lot about the Scotts of Buccleugh, many of whom had the same name of Walter, including the famous one), so I have Reiver blood from there too. Fascinating book especially if you have a surname that might go back to that part of the world and those times.
What I have written here is just a taste of the whole book. A little heavy going at times, but so good that I have read it twice already and now use it as a research tool.

As a newcomer to Scottish Border history I found the many forces and families influencing events very confusing. George MacDonald Fraser has written a remarkable book in which he creates order and logic from a very complicated period and at the same time has written a book which is etremely readble.

It essential reading for anybody interested in border history and will no doubt be quoted extensively by writers who follow.

I am so pleased with this book, as I just discovered my roots are with the Irish. Such a wealth of information, I am so impressed.
from a Scottish born native, now USA citizen.

I live in Ireland and I bought this book about October, 2001. It's an updated version of the 1993 book. Having looked through many books in libraries, I found this to be the ultimate guide to Irish genealogy. I have succeeded in tracing my family back to the eighteenth century from information about parish records, census records etc, as John lists them so well. It gives details of sources county by county in chronological order. The church record listing is also excellent. This is definitely the Irish genealogy bible.

Tracing Your Irish Ancestors by professional Irish genealogist John Grenham is specifically written and designed to be used by researchers at all levels of experience, from the novice beginning to the seasoned professional. Organized into three major sections, Part 1 surveys the most basic genealogical sources for researching Irish ancestry; Part 2 provides a more advanced application of genealogical research project tools and resources; Part 3 is a reference guide to a comprehensive range of materials that include county source lists and church records. Also very highly recommended as a reference work for Irish-oriented genealogical researchers is the second edition of Brian Mitchell's A New Genealogical Atlas Of Ireland (080-6316845, $20.00).

This book is a great help for anyone trying to trace an Irish ancestor. It is very well organized, giving the reader both general information and information specific to localities. Many internet sites are listed. I would highly recommend this book to any Irish researcher.

This handy paperback is the first place to start for Irish research.

Irish ancestors can be very elusive due to a variety of factors. Don't get frustrated - get educated. You CAN hunt your Emerald Isle ancestors successfully when armed with the knowledge in this book.

While covering all of the standard civil, church, census, and land records, Grenham's book also covers wills, deeds, newspapers, directories, and other less-used records. The final third of the book is a county-by-county reference guide describing extant censuses and substitutes, available local histories, monumental inscriptions and other sources for each county.

One of the outstanding features of the book is the Catholic parish maps for each county. These were drawn by the author's father and give the date of the earliest records available for each parish.

A researcher with Irish heritage must be as indefatigable and adaptable as their own Irish forebears were in order find them in the existing records. This book is one of the tools you need to start with.

Twenty Years A-Growing, or Fiche Bliain ag Fás in its original Irish, is a humorous and well written book about the sometimes hard life at the great western island, An Blascaod Mór, off the cost of Ireland. It tells about the everyday of the islanders in the beginning of the century in a surprisingly modern and lively way. The language of the Island was Irish, and although the Great Blasket is now abandoned, the Irish language still lives on in the mainland parishes in this area. I strongly recommend this book to everyone interested in Ireland, its culture, the Irish language or readerswho just want a fun and good book. I myself have only read the whole of it in its Irish original, but the passes I've read in English shows a well-done translation

I haven't yet read the book but I will submit a review when completed. However the book came highly recommended to me by many people. they found it a delightful memoir and as i just returend from the Dingle Peninsula, i wanted to read it myself.

Twenty Years A-Growing by Maurice O'Sullivan is one heck of a "coming of age" story. I'd never even heard of it until a friend of mine told me that he was reading it. I'm sure glad he did. This is a great book!

I've actually read several coming of age stories recently. I didn't plan to...it just kind of occurred that way. Some of them were really good (David Copperfield by Dickens being one of them); but none of them, Copperfield included, spoke to my heart like Twenty Years A-Growing.

Twenty Years A-Growing was translated into English from Gaelic. I personally find this astounding. They (whoever "they" might be) say a book always loses something in translation. Yet Twenty Years absolutely sings in English...the translation is so powerful that the original must truly be a thing of beauty.

It is an autobiographical tale of growing up in the Blasket Islands off the coast of Ireland around the time of the first world war. For me at least, it was a thing of wonder to be able to enter into this world which has since moved on. It is a story told in a wonderfully simple yet almost lyrically beautiful way. Each chapter is a story in itself. The story as a whole slowly ingrains itself upon your heart and mind.

I felt an affinity with Maurice and his friend Thomas. The adventures they find themselves in ring true even as they entertain the reader. Likewise, the character of the grandfather in particular now feels like an old friend to me now. I particularly appreciated some of the wisdom he espouses to Maurice.

I dare anyone to read this book and not be charmed by the lives of these wonderful people who lived almost a hundred years ago in a kind of societal setting that seems all at once foreign, yet somehow more sane than today's world of constant "time management" in pursuit of hollow "muchness" and "manyness."

It does not happen often that I do not to want a book to end. I usually approach the end of a book with satisfaction. Rarely am I left wanting more. Yet that was the case with Twenty Years A-Growing. It is a truly special book.

Twenty Years A-Growing by Maurice O'Sullivan is one heck of a "coming of age" story. I'd never even heard of it until a friend of mine told me that he was reading it. I'm sure glad he did. This is a great book!

I've actually read several coming of age stories recently. I didn't plan to...it just kind of occurred that way. Some of them were really good (David Copperfield by Dickens being one of them); but none of them, Copperfield included, spoke to my heart like Twenty Years A-Growing.

Twenty Years A-Growing was translated into English from Gaelic. I personally find this astounding. They (whoever "they" might be) say a book always loses something in translation. Yet Twenty Years absolutely sings in English...the translation is so powerful that the original must truly be a thing of beauty.

It is an autobiographical tale of growing up in the Blasket Islands off the coast of Ireland around the time of the first world war. For me at least, it was a thing of wonder to be able to enter into this world which has since moved on. It is a story told in a wonderfully simple yet almost lyrically beautiful way. Each chapter is a story in itself. The story as a whole slowly ingrains itself upon your heart and mind.

I felt an affinity with Maurice and his friend Thomas. The adventures they find themselves in ring true even as they entertain the reader. Likewise, the character of the grandfather in particular now feels like an old friend to me. I particularly appreciated some of the wisdom he espouses to Maurice.

I dare anyone to read this book and not be charmed by the lives of these wonderful people who lived almost a hundred years ago in a kind of societal setting that seems all at once foreign, yet somehow more sane than today's world of constant "time management" in pursuit of hollow "muchness" and "manyness."

It does not happen often that I do not to want a book to end. I usually approach the end of a book with satisfaction. Rarely am I left wanting more. Yet that was the case with Twenty Years A-Growing. It is a truly special book.

This is an extraordinary book, described by the well-know author E.M. Forster as "here is the egg of a seabird - lovely, perfect and laid this very morning".

The author, Muiris Ó Súilleabháin, is an Irish-speaking boy growing up on the Great Blasket Island (An Blascaod Mór). He describes his childhood in the twenties on this 100% Irish-speaking island in Co. Kerry. The population of the island never reached 200, and life there was very archaic - resembling the society in Europe thousands of years ago. Nowhere else in Europe did the shear joy of speaking and love of words live on as here, where thousands of pages of folklore has been collected as well. This love of the language is obvious in this vivid book, in which Muiris presents an affectionate, lively and interesting account of a way of life that no longer is.

Despite being published 70 years ago, the book still feels fresh and manages to blend fond memories and humour in an extraordinary way. This is definitely THE book to buy for anyone interested in the Irish way of life.

Under the Eye of the Clock is the autobiography of Christopher Nolan, the talented young poet with cerebral palsy. He can't walk or talk or write in the usual manner. Since Nolan lacks the use of his hands, this book like Dam-Burst of Dreams, the book of poems that preceded it, was written by means of a typing stick affixed to his head. The book succeeds both as pure artistry and as a window into the world of the disabled. Nolan has re-named himself Joseph Meehan and told his story entirely in the objectivity of the third person. This brilliant stroke allows him to avoid excessive self-pity while making his sufferings and triumphs real and deep. Nolan's use of language had earned him comparisons with James Joyce, Yeats, and Dylan Thomas. Nolan stretches the meanings and implications of words, rearranges their spelling, and even invents new ones to communicate his moods and perceptions and illuminate life, his own and those he observes, with his unique poet's sensibility.

As a college English and literature instructor, I intend to make this book a required reading if it becomes available in print again. It should bless all readers because it becomes a reminder that NO matter what the circumstances, people should still be respected, loved, and appreciated. And, with this in mind, the reader may receive a self-esteem boost when being reminded of inner-personal value. I appreciate this book so much. I have three copies and continually loan them out.

Christopher Nolan's "Under The Eye Of The Clock" is an autobiographical account of his incredibly awe-inspiring and miraculous life. Born a cripple, he could have been consigned to the rubbish heap but instead and against all odds became a celebrated writer of this Whitbread Book winner, "The Banyan Tree" as well as an early book of poems. Without taking anything away from Joseph Meehan (a self portrait of Nolan), he couldn't have overcome his debilitating handicaps to scale the heights he did without the steady support and tender loving care of his family. A father, mother and sister who are such warm and emotionally intelligent human beings anybody would be blessed and proud to have them as family. The school principals, teachers and fellow students who accepted him, nurtured him and gave him the chance to prove himself equal to the best among physically whole human specimens are themselves shining examples of humanity who deserve as much recognition in Nolan's lifestory. Although it has been compared with James Joyce's "Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man", it is in reality nothing like it. Whereas Joyce's work is for the most part depressing and full of pain and harshness, Nolan's story is so morally uplifting you almost forget its grave subject matter. Nolan's dazzling and inventive writing style is also unique and something to relish. He coins and mints new words which have a yet found a conventional meaning but are so emotionally accurate you know they're right. Read this if you're feeling down and need something to restore your faith in mankind !

To learn about such an exceptional poet who, without the faith of his family, would never have been revealed to the world, gives the reader a new view of people's limitations. I bought 12 copies of this book (when it was in print)and somehow have given them all away over time.

I found my way to this book after I had read "The Banyan Tree" by Christopher Nolan. This was a book that I read and reviewed back in February, and ever since I have been mystified why the book never seemed to gain the wide acceptance of readers. All of the reviews that have been posted by readers for "The Banyan Tree" have been 5 star reviews, and the same is the case for "Under The Eye Of The Clock".

If you read you understand how difficult it is to write anything, much less a full book, and then have it selected for and win a prestigious award. In the case of the book I review now it was the 1987 Whitbred Award that was awarded to Mr. Nolan. All very impressive, but that's just the start.

This is an autobiography written by a very young man who next wrote the book "The Banyan Tree" and would take 12 years to do so. This is a painfully candid, but uplifting book about a man with the support of a wonderful Family overcomes extreme realities that are his life to become an Author of international renown.

Mr. Nolan cannot speak, he can barely move at all. He types with what he calls his "Unicorn Stick" that he wears on his head, and even then his head must be supported while he works.

An Autobiography is a courageous work if honestly presented. When you add Mr. Nolan's additional challenges he faces as a writer, and as a person living with his physical issues it becomes an extraordinary autobiographical book.

I hope more readers find Mr. Nolan, he is a unique writer of immense talent, and if you pass by his work you deprive yourself of great literature.

A very sad commentary involving the killing and mutilation of many thousands of innocent people. A book that must be read although at times it will be difficult to continue due to the very nature of the material presented.

The Black Book, is a book incredibly great writen you will in enjoy it from the first page to the last!!!

In this amazing and original history we learn, finally, the first person accounts of the Nazi genocide perpetrated in Belarus, Ukraine and the Soviet Union by the Nazis during the Second World War. This part of the Holocaust has been only touched on elsewhereOrdinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland. Despite the fact that Holocaust Museums such as Yad Vashem have documented the Nazi road of terror and death in the Ukraine, few histories have examined this from the point of view of the people involved.

This book bridges this gap, taking the reader deep into the land that was once flowing with Jewish Shtetle life. Soviet eye-witnesses such as Vasily Grossman, one of Russia's most celebrated journalists, show us the eyewitness accounts of Nazi atrocities and reminds us that almost half of the victims of the Holocaust were murdered here.

An amazing story that turns the heart and will shock the reader and one that fills in this gap of history.

Seth J. Frantzman

It's a rare reader who'll be able to get through The Unknown Black Book without having to walk away from it several times. The tragedies it documents are just too horrible to bear except in small doses. Both text and photographs stun the imagination and freeze the heart.

The UBB is a narrative history of Nazi atrocities against the Jews in the German-occupied Soviet territories (Ukraine, Belorussia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, The Crimea, and Russia) during WWII. It contains 93 documents, almost half of which are written by eyewitnesses. The rest are compilations of various eyewitness accounts by the editors, a couple of Soviet Jewish journalists, Ilya Ehrenburg and Vasily Grossman, who began collecting material as early as 1942. The eyewitness accounts include diaries, letters, and testimonies of those Russian Jews who managed to survive the wholescale exterminations carried out by the Eastern Front Einsatzgruppen (one of which was commanded by a direct descendant of the composer Franz Schubert).

What can one possibly say that makes sense of the horrors described by the survivors? Tsodik Yakovlevich Bleyman, the sole survivor of the shtetl of Utyan, tells of being driven into the forest with dozens of men and women, who were then sprayed with machine gun fire by Lithuanian fascist collaborators (p. 310). Yevgenia Shendels tells of her father, a physician, being gunned down in the streets of Kursk because he resisted the Nazi murder of medical patients (p. 401). Tatyana Taranova, a student, remembers that one Jew was ill and in seclusion when an Einsatzgruppe exterminated everyone in his village. When he was told of their fate, he was simply unable to believe the fantastic tale. "He decided to ask the German commandant for help because he did not believe that they had shot the Jews. The commandant smiled and called over a soldier with a submachine gun, and the naive Jew was shot right there" (p. 209). Tales such as these defy comprehension. but they need to be told and heeded.

The UBB's own fate is almost as sad as the stories it documents. In 1942, just a few months after the German invasion of the USSR, the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee was formed to document German atrocities, publicize them throughout the world, and garner aid for the Soviet war effort. A parallel Jewish committee in the U.S., chaired by Albert Einstein, promised to publish an English version of the book when it was completed. The American "Black Book" was eventually released. But the Stalinist regime eventually decided that the Russian version was too "Zionist." In addition, the government was upset that the Russian version documented numerous cases of Russian collaboration with the Nazis, thereby revealing the extent of anti-semitism in the Soviet state. So the publication of the Russian Black Book was squelched, even though the manuscript was complete, and in 1952 Stalin executed some 13 "Zionist" Jews who had collaborated on the project.

The book surpressed by Stalin, the "Unknown" Black book, is finally available thanks to the efforts of the editors of this edition.

Amazing story of the German and Romainian occupation of Russia and Lithuania during the invasion of the Soviet Territories during the second world war and the attrocities perpetrated on their populations especially the Jewish population and the brutality they endured at the hands of the occupiers.

If you enjoyed The One Minute Manager you will love this book. It's a quick read and it's compelling. Connor is a master storyteller and he teaches you business lessons while entertaining you. Great book!

Grab a cold Guinness and settle in for a comfortable Irish ride. Through the chatty and often humorous banter of these two likeable chaps, author Conor Cunneen reveals the solid business truths of very successful international corporations. The pub humor and anecdotal stories are good-natured and the use of contemporary examples makes this book appealing to a wide audience. The title points to the first business lesson: "know your strengths and know which markets to attack". Applied, the ten lessons will provide any business with a solid foundation.

Conor has successfully boiled down all of the important marketing principles and written them into an easy to read story involving two Irish cousins, a gourmet food company, an airline and Lyndon B. Johnson. How all of these seemingly unrelated topics link is the fun of the book. Read it and enjoy. But to really enjoy the story, read it with a pint of Guinness in your mitt.

Like Guinness, this book is both filling and tastes great!

Why America Never Invaded America is a blast to read. It is PG-13 only because the author uses LBJ as an example, a good example at that. This is a book that really should be read by any Entrepreneur or young person working in business wanting an idea of the big picture.

The book is easily read and flows so quickly with great examples, humor and wit you could find yourself up to the wee hours reading. Actually, I found me self talking with an Irish Brogue by the time I finished it.

In my management coaching I not only suggest reading Why America Never Invaded America I require it. Pick up a copy and give yourself a treat. Reading management or business books are seldom both enjoyable and valuable. Why America Never Invaded America is.

What a great book of insights about business concepts for
both sides of the Pond (and anywhere in between)!
Solid ideas delivered in a humorous, relaxed atmosphere give
the reader a chance to explore an enlightening vacation from
the comforts of home............longing for the Emerald Isle.
Each thoughtfully presented point inspires enthusiasm for
creative solutions in whatever business challenges you encounter.
Having gifted several copies, we agree...Ireland may never
have actually invaded America, but how grateful we are that Conor has!

If you truly have an interest in the people of Albania there is no better book available. I have read most of the writing (in English) on Albania and this book always checks out with other sources. It is the one complete, unbiased (important in this reagion) account of the Albania people. If you are only casually interested, you will find it ponderous.

The book has it all. It should a koran or bible for every Albanian and I would urge everyone one to own a copy or at least read it. It is very carefully written and greatly researched, based on classical and contemporary sources of history, archeaology and linguistics. It is also extremely helpful in providing other research sources for related fields or works. Above all, it is true in content and as such unbiased.

The book is a classic for presenting history based on facts. Many thanks to the author for putting such a bright light on historical facts, and the effort to collect all the information pieces that exist around the world and putting them in a fascinating logical way that creates a nice picture of what have happened thousands of years before, mainly in the ballkans, particulary in today's Albania, and all over the world.

Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!

The author brings the science of history to a new paradigm. The book is written in an excellent way and is result of intensive and extensive experience from the author. He will keep receiving many thanks for his research and publishing work. The book confirms that History is a scientific field and not a dogmatic field. The book must be read by all. The book helps to find answers questions. Reading the book, one can crystally see that the Pelasgian language is the same as the present-day Albanian language. Moreover, it tells what brush paintings had been put on Pelasgian (Albanian) culture and language.

Being my self an Albanian,it has surpassed all my expectations.it is truly true in its content,revealing much of the truth about albania,that even albanians themselves do not know.my deepest sympathy goes to the author with this touching review of albania`s history.i think it made me prouder being an albanian then ever before.i strongly advise all albanians and friends of albania to add this rare item to their collection.

thanks again to the author....deeply gratefull.

Victoria was in a slump, she had left Shane McGowan, had moved to Dublin and was in a funk when she started communicating with Angels. A woman not unfamiliar with mysticism and who had explored a lot of different ideas and religions she still finds this a little baffling. Still she went with some of the suggestions and found that her life improved. This is her diary. Some of what is suggested is pretty obvious but sometimes it's the way it's said rather than what is said that can help a person move in their life.

Interesting and thought provoking.

When Victoria walked into my yoga studio with such beautiful energy, I knew that an angel had landed. "Are you an angel? I asked. She smiled. I felt happy, safe, and much loved in her radiant presence.


I was overwhelmed when I read her previous life in "Angel in Disguise?" The distress, struggle, and pain she had experienced in the past. At present, I only see an angel smiling and warming my heart completely. Her book is truthful, bare, emotional, and fantastically funny. Although the reality is harsh and mostly unpleasant, Victoria has risen from above with the aid of angels. The book is mystical, spiritual, and most importantly - real.


Indeed, Victoria is an angel in disguise. I am privileged and delighted to recognize her under those stylish clothes and fabulous jewelries. Victoria, rock on!

As a memoir about life in rock n roll's inner circle, Angel in Disguise stands out for its sheer, raw honesty. In an industry predicated on cool, most people try to maintain some form of mystique. But ... while this may sell records, it tends to make for a boring book.

Victoria, on the other hand, is brave enough not to hold back her emotions and motivations, even the embarrassing ones. Though she's close to Nick Cave, Shane MacGowan, practically every other icon in music's pantheon of coolness and even Johnny Depp, she doesn't try to create more mystique around them or herself. To me, she deserves a lot of credit for revealing herself so fully, since opening yourself up to everyone's judgment is a difficult thing to do.

The other special aspect of this book is its angel wisdom. Victoria does channeling, a form of meditation where you get quiet and centered and wait for messages from the higher realms. Since angelic wisdom is articulated to benefit as many people as possible, anyone can try the exercises that the angels suggest to Victoria. If you don't believe in angels, no worries -- just treat the angel advice as if it were advice given by anyone and then judge it on its own merits!

A book about angels may cause some to raise a cynical eyebrow but this book avoids any kind of obvious pigeonhole. In fact it details Victoria Clarke's journey of self discovery: from her lowest moments and learning through her mistakes with these non interfering beings that gently guide her in the right direction to where her self confidence is rebuilt. This book is self affirming - the books tone is both self depreciating and warm as is Victoria herself. Although that character Ronan seems a bit of a scoundrel.

A great read!

Even though I have to be completely honest and admit that I actually wrote this book, I have no hesitation in recommending it! It is not only fabulous and funny, but really and truly it saved my life and if you read it you will see how! I have to re-read it every so often to remind myself how wonderful those angels can be, if only we ask them to help us. And if you dont ask, they cant help!

The book by prof.Stavrianos was the last one I had on my list of books on the Balkans that I had planned to read as background material for my own work on the economies of the EU Candidate Countries, and especially of course the Southeastern ones (the other books were by Glenny, Hodos, Obolensky, Kaplan). It was also the thickest one at 850 pages but I must say it was a pleasure to read. The set-up by theme and by individual country is always clear, and there is a richness of detail and at the same time a broad sweep that gives a very good overview. This is indeed what makes this book an exellent and impressive reference work, as the other reviewers also indicated and with which i can only concur. This richness also sometimes made me skip a few pages as I was not interested in every detail but this is not a criticism per se; there will be something in this book for all interested in the Balkans without necessarily wanting to take note of all the information that is there.

For me as an economist, what the author makes clear and what struck me in particular was how the combination of economic (agricultural, industrial, financial, infrastructural) underdevelopment and social and political problems (health, education, ethnic and reliious) that are still present today in many of these countries, have been part of their history for centuries. This does not mean they are immutable (and becoming an EU Member is the best way to break this deadlock, I am convinced) but it shows how deep a legacy needs to be overcome. So for this insight already for me the book was well worth reading. In combination with M. Glenny who provides a modern history of the period 1800-1990s there is of course some overlap but I can recommend to have them both (Glenny is perhaps more lively written). Stavrianos will stand as the reference work by which others are measured.

Even though this book was first published over 40 years ago, it is still the seminal text on general Balkan history. L.S. Stavrianos provided a detailed, comprehensive yet immensely readable survey of events and developments in the Balkans since the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453. He deals with each country/region individually, but also maintains an overall perspective and analysis. Even if the narrative ends with the immediate post-World War II years, this text illuminates many of the historical precedents that underpin current events in the region. It is therefore much more useful to read this book than the many essentially popular histories written about the Balkans as a whole or the invidual countries in the region over the course of the last decade. The publisher should also be commended for re-issuing this book; for years the about only place one could find it was at major universities and larger, better-stocked public libraries. There's no substitute for this book, it is a must-read for everyone who really wants to learn about Balkan history.

This very important and extensive work that gives a quick and concise but nevertheless essential history of the Balkans since 1453 provides much to the reader in the way of detail. It is an excellent history. However it also is responsible for creating threee enduring myths in Eastern European history. First it defined the period after 1800 as the 'era of nationalism'. THis is strange, for the same movement in Africa and elsewhere, when people revolted against colonial masters, was called the 'age of liberation'. So why it is nationalism when it is Europeans rebelling against Muslim colonialism?

Secondly it repeats the myth that all history everywhere(from Africa to India to Central Asia to Spain) begins with Muslim occupation. 1453 was the date of the fall of constantinople. However this ignores the fact that there was a deep cultural history of the Balkans before Islam and that the Ottomans were merely a foreign yoke.

Thirdly the book downplays Ottoman atrocities such as the sale of Greeks into slavery after 1832, the very existence of slavery(selling of CHristians by Muslims) is not given any real coverage, the Bulgarian massacres are also ignored. Had it been Europeans colonizing the Balkans and selling the Slavs to be sure this would have been one of the main themes but because it was the Ottoman Muslims it is ignored. Thus an important text is also responsible for many enduring myths.

Seth J. Frantzman

This is an indispensable resource for any one interested in Balkan History. It's a comprehensive and wide resource that takes you through the political, economic, and social history of the Balkans, organized by modern state with chapters from each time period on political developments and the Ottoman Empire as a whole. A special focus on ethnic and national issues makes it more than relevant today, despite its age.

This was the best textbook I ever had and the course on Balkan history taught by Charles Jelavich at Indiana University, with this book, was the best I ever took. Unfortunately I lost my copy years ago. Now that the Mideast is once again a mess, I turned to look for a copy. I am happy to see it back in print, just sorry the price is so ridiculously high. The book is priceless, but to be contrary this price is too high. The paperback is worth it.

Sorry to be crude, but this book is great to read in the restroom. Makes me feel happy reading all the little sayings.

This is a beautiful and winsome "big little book" of the things that are Irish.
Physically,it is only 4 1/2" X 6" but 1 1/2 " thick.It has 366 pages and a hard cover.The hard cover is glossy and printed with the same charming color sketch of an Irish ,thatched-roof cottage as on the dust jacket. The book is printed on high quality gloss paper.The printing is high quality and there are 245 (I counted them) delightful sketches ,similar to the one on the cover,to accompany each wee bit of wit and wisdom. It is almost like 6 little books in one. Each section,Irish Blessings,Irish Toasts,Irish Proverbs,Irish Riddles Irish Laws and Irish Wisdom are illustrated by different artists.The book is very well constructed,comes with a book mark on a ribbon with a metalic Celtic charm.Hence,you get a captivating little treasure that nobody can resist picking up and thumbing through and enjoying.
The Irish are well known for their wit, expressions, and their unmatched use of language,much of it handed down for thousands of years,orally,as there was no written language left by the Celts.
You may come across things you have heard before,but most of what you find in this little tome,will be new to you,whether you have a little or a lot of knowledge of Irish culture.
It's impossible to select a couple of favorites,but here is just a sample;

"May the Lord keep you
in his hand
And never close His fist too tight
on you."


For a Happy Death

"When your eyes shall be closing
And your mouth be opening
And your senses be slipping away.
When your heart shall grow cold
And your limbs be old
God comfort your soul that day."


"In the New Year,may your right
hand always
Be stretched out in friendship
and never in want,"


St Patrick was a gentleman
Who through strategy and stealth
Drove all the snakes from Ireland,
Here's a toasting to his health;
But not too many toastings
Least you lose yourself and then
Forget the good St Patrick
And see all those snakes again."


"Drink is the curse of the land.
It makes you fight with
your neighbour. It makes
you shoot at your landlord--
and it makes you miss him."


"You never plough a field
by turning it over in
your mind."


"The Irish forgive their
great men when they are
safely buried."

And finally;


"May you live to be
a hundred years,
With one extra year to repent."

Even if you are only Irish in spirit, you will enjoy this book. It goes from the Irish proverbs to the humor of the Irish. It's a book to enjoy.

This is one of those delightful books to be browsed, treasured and shared. This book draws together Irish blessings, toasts, proverbs, riddles, laws and wisdom. Many of us who are part of a wider Irish diaspora will have heard at least some of these. They reflect a version of Irish wit and wisdom that perhaps grows stronger at each remove from its geographic centre. The book has its own delightful illustrations (which are especially important in the riddle section).

To give you a hint of the flavour, I'll share one entry from each of the six separate headings.

From Irish Blessings, here is `The Emigrants Prayer':
`Brigid that is in Faughart
Blinne that is in Killeavey,
Bronagh that is in Ballinakill
May you bring me back to Ireland'

From Irish Toasts:
`May the face of every good news
And the back of every bad news
Be towards us'

And how many of us are familiar with this proverb:
`A turkey never voted for an early Christmas'?

One of the riddles:
`It was in the river but wasn't drowned
It was in the grass but wasn't cut
It was in the shop but wasn't sold'

My personal favourite from the Irish laws would be:
`Speech is given to three:
To the historian-poet for the narration and relating of tales,
To the poet-seer for praise and satire,
And to the Brehons for giving judgement'

Finally, from the Irish Wisdom (which presents ideas in triads):

`Three things which judgement demands:
Wisdom,
Penetration,
Knowledge.'

Explore this book for yourself. In brevity there is both wit and beauty.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

This is an enchanting little book that encompasses a collection of Irish Blessings, Irish Toasts, Irish Proverbs, Irish Riddles, Irish Laws, and Irish Wisdom. They are inspiring, funny, uplifting. Each saying is accompanied by a beautiful illustration. I would recommend this book to anyone, you don't have to be Irish to enjoy it! This is a keeper on my shelf!