Irish-American Books

This is one of the best introductions to popular Christian fiction that seeks to draw the reader into the world of meaning. too often modern literature, following earlier reductionist authors, strips the inner meaning of life away, leaving a dark, bleak universe void of any real and lasting meaning by which the reader can transcend the shadows of life. The authors covered in this short intro do the opposite by enlivening the universe with meaning, playfulness, sobriety, and joy.

Lewis, Chesterton, Bunyan, Charles Williams, George MacDonald, Tolkien, L'Engle, and Walter Wangerin are discussed individually with a fantastic apologia for their literary forms as an introduciton. A great read! Enjoy!

In this relatively short work, Rolland Hein manages to successfully review and critique the works of many Christian authors who created mythological stories. The critiques, ranging from Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" to Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings," are arranged chronologically, beginning with Dante and ending with contemporary 'mythmakers.'

The reviews not only cover the works and the Christian elements in them, they also provide useful information and good insight into the lives of these men and women. Quotes are presented, giving the authors' views on the art of Christian mythmaking and their attitudes toward the various ways we can discover truth.

This book is excellent. It is very well-written, and thoughtfully organized. The insight it provides on such authors as Tolkien, Lewis, and MacDonald is invaluable. If you are interested in one or more of these authors, get this book--it may help you to better understand them or even discover new authors and new worlds to explore.

Fantasy's "breaking away" from the primary sensory world offers a journey into the unknown to experience the REAL, according to Rolland Hein. We all have a Mythos (worldview); this cherished text sharpens the Christian sensibility by using the secondary worlds to help us understand spiritual concepts. Out-of-print version has been updated, a superior gift to anyone interested in Christianity, Fantasy, Narnia, Middle Earth, Imagination, or any of the Oxford Christian Writer or their successors.

I ordered the Oxford companion to help me study for my comprehensive exams. Even though I didn't use it much for that purpose, I think that it is a must have for anyone planning to major in English in college. The text is in dictionary format; many terms/concepts you find will come up in any college lit course. It is a great purchase and probably much cheaper than what you will find in a University bookstore.

This is a compact version of the 6th edition of the Oxford Companion to English Literature. The emphasis is naturally on British literature (John Galt is not listed as a character in Atlas Shrugged, but as a Scottish novelist). There is coverage of writers from the United States, Canada, Africa, the Caribbean, and India.

Among the entries are:
- short biographies of novelists, dramatists and poets, and also a few philosophers (Swedenborg), historians, scholars, critics, biographers, travel writers, and journalists
- plot summaries and descriptions of poems

Other notable entries:
- literary and intellectual movements, genres, and critical theory
- figures in Irish mythology
- gay and lesbian literature
- literary societies, libraries, publishers, and even coffee houses

Certain topics get a two-page treatment. (Black British literature, science fiction, structuralism and post-structuralism, ghost stories, post-colonial literature, romantic fiction, spy fiction, etc.)

There's no editorializing. They "describe and characterize rather than judge."

This book fills a niche, and does so perfectly. I wanted a reference work for literature, but I didn't want to pay $50 for one. This book gives short, concise blurbs, which is often all one needs. It is organized well and is inclusive enough for the average household. Not a book for specialists, but excellent for the layperson and student.

A very funny comedy about a group of guys that join together to play poker. Mugsy is the heart of the comedy and will give you a lot of fun even though you may ignore the poker jargon used throughout the play.

An exceptionally well crafted play about six poker players, each with their own demons, "Dealer's Choice" is a profound study of not just compulsion but how we mix emotion, desire and hope into decisions that on the surface should be purely rational. Although "Dealer's Choice" is a dark play, Marber skillfully mixes comedy into the drama without diminishing it.

Given its accolades - 1995 Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy and the Writer's Guild Award for Best West End Play, along with rave reviews in the US - I wonder why I had to use a bookseller in England to get my copy.

An exceptionally well crafted play about six poker players, each with their own demons, "Dealer's Choice" is a profound study of not just compulsion but how we mix emotion, desire and hope into decisions that on the surface should be purely rational. Although "Dealer's Choice" is a dark play, Marber skillfully mixes comedy into the drama without diminishing it.

Given its accolades - 1995 Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy and the Writer's Guild Award for Best West End Play, along with rave reviews in the US - I wonder why I had to use a bookseller in England to get my copy.

Ms. Brady is to be watched, or better, read. These stories offer a contemporary bop on the lives of American women of Irish descent (and I do mean descent). The characters are beautifully drawn with great subtlety and wit; and the stories give us hope -- which we need in this dark world of ours. I read them all in two sittings.

This collection of short stories gives an insightful, creative, amazing twist to the lives of working class, Irish American women who are held back in life by guilt and religious beliefs, but when they try, they astound everyone!

These stories touched me. As an Irish American woman, I found touchstones for my own experience in the lives of Brady's characters, women who are sometimes submissive, sometimes rebellious, but always strong in spirit. I was so moved by the book I looked on MetaCrawler for more information about the author. I found her website at http://members.xoom/mahri/cbrady.html. There's an interview with the author that offers insight into the stories as well as a reader's guide. The women in the stories are struggling to meet the demands of work and the needs of their families, and this really struck me as an issue any woman today can relate to.

As I read "Everything Irish" once more, I literally and figuratively shiver with joy, sadness, laughter--with everything that is deep and poignant and true about it. It moved me tremendously in many ways as I read the various poems and moods of the book. This work is a wonderful, significant, powerful cultural and coming of age achievement. The author evokes the spirit of a proud and complicated people, and seamlessly unites the past, the present, and the future. The harmonies of this book are the written counterpart of Irish bagpipe tunes and haunting Celtic melodies as well as Irish jigs! Nancy Zak

Wells' poems are wonderful vignettes and moment-in-time, telling about the Irish experience in America, with glimpses of Ireland itself. Although they are easy to read, and will often make you laugh, they also have depth and poignancy. A "good read" that you want to keep going back to read again.

Judy Wells said: "To be an artist is to embark on a lifelong spiritual quest." In "Everything Irish" Judy joined poet Dale Jensen on a trip to dig up her Irish roots. She makes the reader feel the harshnes of the brutal land. She puts your face up against the moist stones. She saved and dreamed about her trip. And then one summer her dream turned to green. The book is divided into three parts. Part One is "Everything Irish In a Nutshell." It recounts her Catholic girl upbringing. I related strongly to this litaney because of my parochial school days at St. Mary's Catholic Elementary School. I remember we were required to attend confession once a week. I din't commit enough sins to earn my regular penance of five Our Fathers and five Hale Marys so I invented sins. I claimed to have poisoned the city drinking water. I declared that I planted bombs on random perambulators. Judy recreates the days when the nun loomed tall in her habit. I remember nuns walking down the hall with rosaries the size of bicycle chains. "Waking the Dead", part two is the molten core of the book and carries green waves of Irish history. "Warp Spasm" evokes the hero Cu Chulainn who knew the secret language of poets taught to him by his foster father & poet Amairgin. Judy mentions the Goddess Briget who in the literature of early Ireland was the goddess of poetry and wisdom. "The Cliffman" takes us back to the "father" of the documentary, Robert J. Flaherty who shot his movie "Man of Aran" on a barren island off Ireland's west coast. Part Three is "Hunger". It deals with her return to Berkeley and her job as Academic Counselor. After three summers in Ireland Judy took a vacation in Hawaii. She writes in "Antidote" that she wanted the sun to "penetrate my bones". She wanted to "scoop sweet, succulent orange flesh from the papaya instead of opting for a baked potato one more time so I could drink the antidote of my own green culture." The last poem describes an Irish wedding in America. The couple plan to call their first child Shasta. "The trees and grass are green and fertility is in the air". This poem concludes her Irish experience, the rerooting of Irish culture in America to the point that the parents name their chlld after a mountain in California. "Everything Irish" traces the influences on Judy Wells that combined to shape her into the great Berkeley poet she has become. It is a personal and universal journey into the heart of self discovery. Her life and work are a continuous spiritual pilgrimage.

Prior to the publication of this book there were important gaps and inaccuracies in our understanding of the battles for the Falkland Islands. Were Argentinian ground troops cowardly slackards? Were their officers self-serving and tactically incompetent? Was a British officer attempting negotiation under a white flag at Goose Green intentionally fired upon? Was the Argentinian Air Force commanded by a political bureaucrat? The surprising answer to all these question is No, and in a careful and touchingly human review of the activities and decisions of Argentinian forces Middlebrook reveals the tragic gap that developed between Argentinian political leaders and the troops and officers given the difficult task of defending the islands without adequate support as winter closed in. The junta's colossal mistake of assuming the UK would not fight for the Falklands led to the isolation, suffering, and defeat of the occupation forces and, while ultimately setting the stage for democracy in Argentina, seared a painful wound into the soul of a country already conscious of past failures. Middlebrook's access to Argentinian commanders, troops, and families helps reveal the complex social and political landscape of a country which still sees the "Malvinas" in terms of classical European colonialism. It also reveals the operational planning and situational understanding of air and land commanders at critical points in the conflict.

Prior to the publication of this book there were important gaps and inaccuracies in our understanding of the battles for the Falkland Islands. Did Argentinian troops intentionally fire upon a British officer attempting negotiation under a white flag at Goose Green? Were Royal Marines successful in their ambush of Argentinian armored vehicles during the initial invasion? Was the Argentinian Air Force commanded by a fanatical maniac out to establish his service as the dominant domestic political force? The surprising answer to all these question is No, and in a careful and touchingly human review of the activities and decisions of Argentinian forces Middlebrook reveals the tragic gap that developed between Argentinian political leaders and the troops and officers given the difficult task of defending the islands without adequate support as winter closed in. The junta's colossal mistake of assuming the UK would not fight for the Falklands led to the isolation, suffering, and defeat of the occupation forces and, while ultimately setting the stage for democracy in Argentina, seared a painful wound into the soul of a country already carrying conscious of past failures. Middlebrook's access to Argentinian commanders, troops, and families helps reveal the complex social and political landscape of a country which still sees the "Malvinas" in terms of classical European colonialism. It also reveals the operational planning and situational understanding of air and land commanders at critical points in the conflict. Students of this subject will recognize the author as a highly accomplished battle historian.

Martin Middlebrook has once again shown why he is one of the best British authors covering military history. His masterful account of the Falklands, 'Operation Corporate' now has a companion volume, this time covering the war from the Argentinian point of view. The book is well told and is a delight to read and only one of very few covering this war from the 'other side'. You really have to give it to the pilots flying their aircraft against the Britsh Fleet, they had guts, they knew what they were in for but continued with their mission. This is a great story, if you can get a copy do so, you wont be disappointed!

Five stars plus for this young mans insight, interpretation, and brilliant display of history. I like many other readers were turned off by the boring history books we read in school. Lambers captures the true spirit of history! Because of the excitement this book ignites; this book has the potential to change the course of how history is viewed and studied. This book is a MUST READ for everyone. This book would make a great gift not only for teachers and history buffs, but also the person who hungers for knowledge. (The study guide is an added bonus to treasure) BRAVO!

I read the book first, and it was interesting to realize that the peaceful relations with Britain that we now take for granted were nonexistent and took hard work to accomplish. And the Study Guide is very good, and is surprisingly loaded with historical facts and fun word searches. I wish I had studied with this kind of material instead of boring history books that made me "hate" history for many years. Now I love it!

This book is early American history in a "capsule," full of important events describing the conflicts between America and Britain, yet imagines the ordinary citizen's feelings about the wars in an interesting blend of fiction and history. Young people especially should read it.

The book took me for a wonderful journey to Ireland and back! Excellent! A must read!

This is a terrific book. A friend told me about it and I am glad to have read it. It is fantastically written and is very captivating. The author paints vivid images of her life- I felt as if I was right there with her, sharing her experiences. It is an inspiring story that I think would be appreciated by a wide variety of people. I would highly recommend it.

Great storyteller! You will want to meet this engaging Irish lassie named Marita. You can in this witty, intelligently written book whether it is on some walk with her and her ancestors in Ireland or down a whitewater river with her in a canoe in the States. Marita's engaging style takes you on a wonderful trip. She is definitely a "journey person". More than an autobiography. Marita's metamorphosis from her munchkin beginnings in Dear, Distant, Damp, Dublin to a self-assured achieving professional woman in Manhattan is a delight! Her ability to pull together many events of her life in Ireland as well as America, and weave it together with her family history and Irish history makes for good reading. Marita has been able to look at herself and her life and make a place for herself in the cosmos. Enjoy it!

My parents read me one poem a night every night since I was 4 until I could recite them all. I would like to do the same for my children. This is a fantastic selection. Short and concise poems covering most famous poets. About 30% are impressionable to children. I also bought the greatest poems for children as well.
I didn't mentioned the price, did I? Dimes for gems.

This anthology contains many of the finest ' short poems' ever written. It is of course one of tens of such anthologies in which these great works are presented to the reader. What strikes me always in reading them, or rereading them is how much beauty and goodness can be given in a few short lines.
A short poem presents an opportunity to the reader to not simply read the poem, but to go over and over it , and finally memorize it. Then that poem the reader takes with them everywhere. It becomes part of oneself. And those lines are there for whatever time in life one may need them.
This anthology contains just to mention a few Dylan Thomas ' Do not Go Gentle into that Good Night' the "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day" sonnet of Shakespeare, " Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening " of Frost, and many other poems which are part of the collective poetic consciousness of the English reading world.
Whether in this anthology, or in others like it, or in the collected poems of the respective poets, these poems are there and available to us all.
How lucky and blessed we are.

Paul Negri presents here more than 150 poems ranging from the 17th century till today. You'll find English and American poems. A very recommendable collection for little money!

Ask any student and you'd learn the majority would think the culture and literature of the white South evolved from English roots: not so, researcher James Cantrell reveals in HOW CELTIC CULTURE INVENTED SOUTHERN LITERATURE. His account presents historical and literary evidence that it was the South's Celtic peoples who had the most influence on Southern culture - an influence that can clearly be documented today. Writers published after the Civil War are all featured, with special emphasis on Celtic influences and even Irish Christianity's appearance in traditional works by Flannery O'Connor and others. From the myth of the white roots of the Southern epic novel to the lives of authors inspired by Celtic sources, no serious college-level student of Southern literature should be without HOW CELTIC CULTURE INVENTED SOUTHERN LITERATURE.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I'm a general reader and admirer of Southern literature. It is an easy to read and thought provoking book. It's helping me appreciate my culture and its great writers. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on Pat Conroy. I appreciate how the scholar-like Cantrell takes fellow Georgian Margaret Mitchell seriously.

Few critical works have the power to change the way a whole genre is perceived. This is one of them. The reader who digests this book will never look at American literature, and most particularly Southern literature, the same way again. I enjoyed it thoroughly. The writing is lively and will not bore to tears---as the great majority of current careerist criticism out of academia is likely to do. While scholarly, it is a work that is open to a wide audience, any audience who likes to read.
I give it my highest commendation.