Ireland Books

I was most pleased with the quick response in filling my order. The book came in perfect condition and I was most glad to present it to my friend who is the rabbi. He had not heard of the book and it was nice to surprise him. The size of the book seems like what should be placed upon a coffee table, however, I probably would never place it there. My friend was quite impressed with the detail and thoroughness in the treatment of the subject. He also commented on the quality of paper and presentation.

Hidden Letters is a treasure trove of letters and postcards written in 1942 by an 18 year old Dutch Jew named Philip "Flip" Slier, sent almost daily from Flip to his parents from within the forced labor camp that held Flip. Flip was eventually executed in the Nazi death camp Sobibor. Now translated and reprinted, completely unedited and enhanced with annotation from Deborah Slier and her husband Ian Shine, Hidden Letters is a first-person account of life in Nazi-occupied Holland. Black-and-white photographs and interviews with those who knew Flip, as well as with Selma Wijnberg-Engel (the sole Dutch survivor of the October, 1943 uprising in Sobibor) round out this firsthand testimony. A welcome addition to academic and community library Judaic Studies in general, and Holocaust Studies collections in particular.

So much has been written about the Holocaust that its difficult to add anything of value, but now we actually do have something that does just that; Deborah Slier & Ian Shine's new book "Hidden Letters".
Thanks in particular to the extraordinary layout and design, we move naturally and effortlessly between the specifics of Flip's life and letters to the wider context of the Final Solution as it was implemented all over Europe and the entire Soviet Union. The usual numbing statistics come to life....the effect is at once informative and deeply emotional.

Hidden Letters is impossible to put down. Philip "Flip" Slier was interned in a Nazi labor camp in the Netherlands, but wrote loving, optimistic letters home--and took many photographs. Then he, and virtually all of his extended family, disappeared into the Holocaust.
When the letters were discovered in Amsterdam in 1997, a search was made for Flip's closest relative, who turned out to be his first cousin Deborah, whose father had moved his family to South Africa and thus enabled them all to live through the war.
Deborah and her husband, Ian Shine, spent ten years having the letters translated and researching the places and the people they described. They interviewed many survivors of the Holocaust and the war, and include information about almost all--including their photographs and ultimate fates. Over 300 photographs are included.
Flip could write and you fall in love with him as you read. When the letters stop, it is devastating.
This is a compelling, disturbing, and heartbreaking great read.
Kathleen Baxter, columnist, School Library Journal

When you read HIDDEN LETTERS, the book is going to leave a mark. It's going to hurt down deep and leave you thinking about things long after you've finished the book. After receiving the book, I admit to approaching the book warily. The subject matter is brutal, and it's devastating to anyone who's a parent.

First, a little history on the book. The letters that comprise the human narrative within the pages were discovered in Amsterdam in 1997. They were written by an eighteen year old Dutch Jew named Philip "Flip" Slier. He was sent to a Dutch labor camp in 1942. When first sent there, Slier believed he was going to be treated humanely, though restricted. He didn't know the horror that awaited him, or that he would soon be dead.

At the time Slier first went to the work camps, letters shipped regularly between the families and the restricted men. As I read the letters, I was stunned by the naïve manner that Slier exhibited. He honestly thought he was only going to be there for a short time, and that his experiences there would be nothing more than what he would endure during some summer camp.

As a father of five, I know how innocent kids can be. They think they know so much, but they're blind to so many things. They often don't know they're in over their heads until it's much too late.

And that's what happened with Slier.

I felt somewhat guilty while reading his letters, almost voyeuristic into a world of pain and innocence. The letters are inane and even cheerful. At times Slier obviously felt he was on some grand adventure. At other times I could see that he was putting on a front for his parents, acting brave while he was scared to death, or at least mightily confused by what was going on around him.

That human element, and that innocence, is what is going to haunt me about the book. Slier also took a camera with him. He took several pictures and sent them back home to his parents and friends, and those people managed to hang onto them throughout the blackest days of World War II. I saw his face, and I saw how much of a kid he still was. He aged decades in months, and he finally got killed.

That's one side of the story, but the authors added a tremendous amount of history materials to further the reader's understanding of what was going on in this area at this time. More pictures and maps fill the book. On one hand, HIDDEN LETTERS is a short journal of tumultuous times in a young man's life, but on the other hand the book is a great historical record. I love history, and I equate it with the story of people rather than names and dates. But Philip Slier's story truly brings home the fact that history is made up of people more than dates or events.

HIDDEN LETTERS is going to satisfy the armchair historian's perusal of the time period, and will give some sense of people and what was going on to genealogists that have discovered they've got family members that were in this camps at the same time. For either of those groups, I'm sure the book would be a beneficial addition.

The parents saved those letters all those years. I can't imagine what it must have been like to pull them out every so often and read the last words of their lost son.

Was actually searching Google for something and up popped sites for this previously unheard of (by me) trilogy. By amazing chance, what should come up on one site was P50, vol 1, and there I found our family and the distressing sentence, "Sadly, this family would appear to be extinct in the present generation."! I felt myself all over, breathed in and out and looked at myself in the mirror: "One with the Dodo and the Brontosaurus? Hmmm, I Don't FEEL extinct." We may not be churchmen any more, last was Rev Dugald, (d 1842)or even church-GOERS but we still consider ourselves Slioch an Easbuig (I thought Slioch took a 'd' at the end?)

Slainte, anyway...

Jas. A. C. Derham-Reid
13th of Auchinellan.

This is an incredibly thorough early history of Clan Campbell, including its possible origins. I might suggest that any reader have some broad understanding of Scottish history before diving into this book as it's not really an "introductory" level read. But for those with some prior knowledge, this will satisfy very nicely.

This book has openned up a new environment to me. My history as a campbell has always been hidden from me, this book taught me much about our histories and that we were better than any MAcDonald clan.

I recommend this book for anyone interested in researching the origins of the Campbell Clan. It is a treasure trove of information.

Alastair Campbell of Airds has made the history of the Campbell Clan a thoroughly readable mixture of fact and conjecture. A particularly interesting feature, in my opinion, is the family tree which begins with God and includes Adam, Constantine and King Arthur. Volume 1 covers the clan's origins in about 1263 through the Battle of Flodden in 1513 where many of the Campbell chiefs and their men died alongside their king, James IV. This is an outstanding reference book, a "must read" for anyone interested in Scottish history, and should be in all Campbell libraries. I look forward to Volume 2, to be published in 2002.

This novel has emerged, from the ruins of the purges, like a pure, unspoiled and immaculate gem. As an autobiographical novel, one cannot deny the importance of this work to provide for insights into Bukharin's private life, given that most biographies of Bukharin are about his political and intellectual life.

Not only is this work important in this regard, Bukharin's stunning literary ability comes to the forefront in this work, which details, with a humanistic empathy, the plight of the peasants, family relations and the psychology of a middle class family from the late 19th century Russian society. The novel begins with the birth of "Kolya" and is seen through the boy's eyes as he grows up. It ends, poignantly, (Bukharin did not live to finish the work) with the death of his brother.

Of particular note is the rich texture of his narrative; it powerfully invokes a child-like sense of wonder that is intrinsic to children of that age. There are indeed very few works out there that parallel the vivid evocation of imagery which Bukharin is capable of. Bukharin's description of the Russian landscape was beautifully detailed, as was the heartfelt revelations about life which slipped through.

It is through this work that we come to realize that the interior life of this man was not only brilliant, but that his political stance was chosen fundamentally because of his humanistic understanding of Russian peasants and the impoverished.

This edition comes with very lovely pictures, too.

Set in the pre-revolutionary Russia, Bukharin's novel attempts to demonstrate, through the eyes of a youth named Nikolai Petrov, how the revolutionary spirit fermented and grew among the youth and intelligentsia. While this novel could be read with an eye toward the abuses of the Soviet Union and dismissed as political propaganda, in doing so the reader would miss the wealth of historical detail with which Bukharin writes. Every page is bursting with succulent fruit for anyone interested in the social, economic, and cultural world of the peasants and the working class at the turn of the century in pre-revolutionary Russia. Part of that fruit is socialism, communism, atheism, and the raging underground debates taking place during that period; seen as history, however, Bukharin gives us an invaluable insider's view, recalling his youth in all its variety and discussing the situations that led him down the path his life had taken.

The story revolves around Nikolai, who is obviously a cipher for Bukharin himself. Young Kolya (Nikolai) is full of energy, wit, and curiosity. As he grows and excels in school, his thinking begins to grow as well, from that of an innocent child to that of a young man on the verge of becoming a revolutionary himself. Unfortunately, the saddest part about this novel is that it ends in the middle of a chapter; Stalin finally had Bukharin executed, making it very difficult to continue writing. The writing is so well done it is hard to believe Bukharin never had a chance to re-write it; we are reading essentially his first draft, written in prison. His astounding intellect is obvious, quoting from German, French, English, and Russian poets and authors, occasionally making references to Latin or Greek jokes the children learned in high school, and discussing the variety of birds and other animals Kolya collects with amazing clarity.

Before reading this book, I knew Bukharin was a political genius that few have matched. However, I did not realize his brilliance as a writer: he appeals wonderfully to all the visual and emotional senses as a great novelist. He occasionally discusses his growing political awareness, but that is not the focus of this work. His love of life, nature, and family show the incredible depth of his mind. Much credit must also be given to the translator for making the language so effusive in English.

It's a wonderful miracle that this book was not destroyed by Stalin; it's just a shame that it's incomplete, cutting off in mid-thought. Nevertheless, what Bukharin was able to complete provides an enthralling look into life in late Tsarist Russia, as well as putting us a bit closer with one of the most prominent and tragic victims of the purges.

Bukharin's autobiographical work is a lyrical, moving, story of the life of a young boy in pre-Soviet russia. Unlike Leon Trotsky's autobiography, which is a similar work in content, this is a novel. And a grand one. When you read the touching descriptions of Kolya's then idyllic, then tragic domestic life, you feel helpless, sad, for you know that this boy will eventually be dead, the New World he helped to create corrupted and turned against him. The very existence of this novel is a message of hope, that even under the most tragic and ironic circumstances there can something joyous (Bukharin wrote the novel while in Lubyanka prison). The poignancy of all this is further increased by the included letter by Bukharin, written to his wife Anna Larina and not given to her for 50+ years. This book also stands as a monument (in a medium I belief he would have perhaps preferred) to Nikolai Bukharin, a brilliant scholar, writer, and Revolutionary

This is a remarkable book. It combines three forms in a single work: 1) a detailed and evocative story of a boy growing up in late 19th century Russia, 2) an informative and moving autobiography of one of the most important Bolshevik leaders, and 3) commentary on the social and economic developments leading up to the 1905 and 1917 revolutions, including (in the tradition of Russian novels) imagined descriptions of important meetings of leaders of state. Most remarkable, though, is that the entire book was written in the nights of Bukharin's confinement in Moscow's Lubyanka Prison while he awaited almost certain execution following his notorious "show trial". The idea of a man who knows he could be shot at any moment writing such detailed, even leisurely descriptions of his childhood in Moscow and Bessarabia is almost beyond comprehension. Indeed, the novel breaks off in mid-sentence. This book should not be missed by anyone interested in 19th and 20th century Russian history, and will be enjoyed by anyone interested in a good coming-of-age novel as well.

... then buy, borrow or steal a copy! Never before have I read such a good exploration of Irish exile. Stranded in a dismal flat in England, the protagonist remembers his happy childhood in Ireland, the rough living and working conditions in England, and his only love. The language is quite simple and often Hiberno Irish, but deeply imaginative and so lyrical, that the line between prose and poetry gets blurred. The beautiful black/white pictures added to this book, and the author's ability to portray Irish music help to give an insight into Irish culture. Sometimes it's like watching a documentary, and suddenly you can't help but feeling you're listening to a song; a song of heartache and terrible longing. Despite far from being soppy the book is very moving in the end; you actually hope for a happy ending. But that wouldn't be Irish.

Tim O'Grady creates exquisitely wrought, archetypal prose that could even overpower Pyke's perfect documentary photos. (Without offense to Walker Evans, now I'm wishing Pyke had been around to collaborate with James Agee).

Amazingly, requires very little interest in Ireland or the Irish - O'Grady is from Chicago anyway and this book is more about experiences of all mankind. His crystalline narrative is hardly bound by ethnicity.

Extraordinary and inspiring new use of the verb, can. If you read poetry, you couldn't regret buying this experimental novel.

This book is beautiful and tragic and joyful and moving, all at the same time and independently over the course of the story. Through the poetic language of the text and the poetic imagery of the photos, the drama of every day life in Ireland is brought across as quietly epic, if such a thing can be.

... then buy, borrow or steal a copy! Never before have I read such a good exploration of Irish exile. Stranded in a dismal flat in England, the protagonist remembers his happy childhood in Ireland, the rough living and working conditions in England, and his only love. The language is quite simple and often Hiberno Irish, but deeply imaginative and so lyrical, that the line between prose and poetry gets blurred. The beautiful black/white pictures added to this book, and the author's ability to portray Irish music help to give an insight into Irish culture. Sometimes it's like watching a documentary, and suddenly you can't help but feeling you're listening to a song; a song of heartache and terrible longing. Despite far from being soppy the book is very moving in the end; you actually hope for a happy ending. But that wouldn't be Irish.

I am very familiar with the works of old time Irish writers including the works of James Joyce who wrote about Ireland in exile. I still don't know much about modern Irish novelists until I had the opportunity of meeting and listening to parts of Timothy O'Grady's novel at Perth Writer's Festival early this year. Immediately afterwards I bought a copy and later talked to Timothy briefly about writers in exile and their struggle with dislocation. This story is not only about dislocation and exile. This is the story of a man coming of age and following a journey during which he struggles to make sense of his life, dislocation, loss of love and loneliness.

This lyrically crafted novel is a great collaboration between O'Grady and photographer Steve Pyke. They collectively create a visual journey of a musical Irishman, his journey from one location to another, looking for work and the love of his life. O'Grady's begins his novel with a description of the protagonist's life back at home as a child:

"This room is dark, as dark as it ever gets - the hour before dawn in winter. I have sounds and pictures but they flit and crash before I can get them..."

For me, it is a metaphor of not been able to recreate the places and the people he left behind as a result of his journey.

O'Grady ends his novel with a similar narrative:

"In the room now a breeze comes in through the window and on it there is the smell of spring. Downstairs the girl turns on her radio... There is a time after long work when you can look for strength and there is nothing there....

In the morning light I let go."

In between, we learn about his journey, his recollection of Irish landscapes, the places left behind, the music he played and his love. But this is not just a mere description of a nostalgic mental journey of an Irishman in exile. This can happen anywhere, anytime, and to anyone.

Reading this novel is like watching a visually crafted documentary embedded with voice and music that we can see and hear.

I'm glad that I met O'Grady and read his novel as my introduction to modern Irish novelists. But this novel had another positive effect on me. When I met O'Grady I was writing a novel about my own dislocation. This novel inspired me to look at my private journey again and again, and continue my writing in exile!

I recommend this book to anyone interested in the beauty and tragic of moving from one place to another.

Left me wishing the book was twice as long.

Simon Marsden is a master of the art of infrared photography. The pictures are haunting and project an eerie dreamlike quality. I highly recommend this book as an excellent example of the chilling effects of infrared photography

A most interesting pictorial collection of forlorn sadness.
I find the images both beautiful and emensly contemplative, images that conjure ghosts and spirits real or perhaps imagined, yet provacative none the less. One ponders how these phantoms shall apear in a thousand years, and rue the thought how long they may have lasted would they not been murdred by circumstances. The text that accompanies the images an important, interesting, and informative heuristic. This book ostensibly one any Artist, Architectae, or student of history should have in his Librarié.

A wonderful book full of haunting images of the castles and houses of Ireland that have now fallen into ruin and decay. Excellent subjects for infrared photography.

The photographs are on the whole well composed and the overall effect can be quite disturbing. An explanation of the fate of the various buildings is included. A book which sits on the shelf ready to show visitors instantly the nature and feel of infrared photography.

There is an excellent supporting article by Pete Schermerhorn in the Official Infrared FAQ describing his visits to the places photographed in the book together with map grid references.

For some reason neither the authors nor the publishers admit that the images in this book are photographed in infrared. This is a pity since the juxtaposition of buildings and foliage is one of the best subjects for this and overgrown ruins are an excellent subject. As an infrared specialist myself I have a small reservation about a few of the photographs from a technical standpoint but I can't fault the sense of composition and form that they show.

I knew the author personally. I took a Holocaust course from Dr. Abzug while at the University of Texas. I asked him questions about the construction of the book. Placing key photographs right after controversial passages in the book. It was done for effect, and had a profound effect on me. This is a must read book for anyone interested in the Holocaust as well as those interested in how such a event could happen. More than anything else the book showed me how fragile we are as human beings, and that when inudated with violence and horror, how we can become indifferent to it.

This book attempts to chronicle the absolute horror that accompanied the discovery of Nazi concentration/slave labor/extermination/death camps at the end of World War II.

The story is primarily told from the perspective of the Americans, from GIs to General Eisenhower, as well as journalists and others, who came upon the camps, what they saw, and how they reacted.

There are separate chapters on the Ohrdurf & Norhausen, Buchenwald, Dachau, and Mauthausen camps, along with a chapter covering the discovery of numerous smaller camps. A brief history and background of the camps are also covered in these chapters. Interspersed with the text are numerous photos of the discoveries at the camps.

Also included are introductory chapters trying to assess America's knowledge of these camps prior to their discovery and closing chapters on the aftermath of the camps on the discoverers, the inmates, the Germans, and the world, and an attempt to make sense somehow of it all.

This is a somber book. The photographs (piles of corpses, burned bodies, humans reduced to skin and bones) and descriptions of what was found in the camps (the smells, the sights, the sounds) are not for the squeamish. Nonetheless, it is a must read for anyone trying to gain some sense (if indeed, any can be found) of what was the Final Solution for the Jewish people as well as the horrific mistreatment of other groups (Gypsies, Communists, criminals, etc.) that the Nazis deemed undesirable.

this book is shocking but true! the details are very graphic and the pictures even more so. the author has done his research--i took a class from him on the subject. really powerful and important reading for everyone to understand the horror of the holocaust and work to ensure that such a thing never happens again. leaves you with a whole new perspective on the nature of evil and the potential power of authority and those in it.

This was an interesting view of the horrors of the holocaust. I think there is better works that detail out what happened in the camps, but this book really gives you the insight into what it was like to roll through the gates of the camp in an American jeep. You almost can feel the chain of emotions the solders go through: confusion, anger, pity, and sadness. This must also be in some small part what the current American solders see in Afghanistan with millions starving. This is a well-written, very unique look at the topic and is well worth the price. You will "feel" this book for a long time after you have finished it.

I especially liked the special viewpoint of the book, that is the discovery of the camps through the eyes of American G.I.s

Like other books in the Travelers Tales series - this book gives excellent insight into the Irish way of life and provides excellent reading (I am slightly biased, having written one of the short pieces that is included - titled Cycling to Dun Aengus). The overall quality of the book is excellent and the descriptions pull you right into the landscape and geography of Ireland - from sitting in smoky pubs to driving past weather beaten coasts. Some of these pieces are also hilarious. Highly recommended not only as a prerequisite to a visit - but for a great read. TJLMullen@cs.com

This book consists of a wide variety of stories from the humourous to the profound to the historical. There are stories that you want to sit down with a friend and read it to them: specically, "A Pub Fairy Tale" by Pamela Ramsey tells of a visit to an Irish pub by the author who wanted to take in the "ambiance" of the music and dancing. She hoped that she would be asked to dance, but as closing time drew near, her hopes seemed slim. Then an energetic old gentleman finally asked her, and she describes it this way: "I could feel the other dancers watching us, nodding, laughing, giving us encouragement, but the old man and I had eyes only for each other. We were two odd strangers caught in a moment of tenderness. A moment of magic. I was Cinderella, the belle of the ball, dancing with my Prince - an old, almost-blind man, wearing a black beret." Beautiful. Another story tells of the estrangement of a son and his father when he married outside the faith, and how, when the father died, a reconciliation of sorts was established with his brother with they go hiking on the hills where there father had hiked with them, and how he came to understand his father's secret strength and connection with the isle: "Walking the Kerry Way", by Tim O'Reilly. This brief description of Mr. O'Reilly's story does it a gross injustice, because there is a depth of feeling that only the author can convey. The brief biographical descriptions at the end of each story are informative and to the point. At the end of the book, there is an extensive, "The Next Step" which includes a number of websites, and a good bibliography. The book is well put together, and succeeds very well in conveying "true stories of life on the emerald isle."

I'm on my way to Ireland in a few days. This is just a note to say that I found this book on Ireland, to my surprise as so many nice things can be, enormously sensitive and moving and classy. Classy because the type style, the paper stock, and the interior arrangement of the stories and back-of-the-book tips and advice show a lot of editorial thought, being so well done. I was deeply moved by the selection of the tales, each its own chapter, and I definitely felt a sense of coming to know Ireland in a way no other book I could buy would bring me. Lots of laughter and tears and thoughts arriving as I stared out a window, enveloping the mood of a story I'd just finished. They were wonderfully written for me, to my standards, which are impossibly high -- I admire the best, even if I can't write at that level -- and overall I sensed that the editing was careful, thoughtful. There'd been plenty of work put into this volume. The end of the book with all the tips was very enjoyable, and I've read it through twice so far as I sense it will all come true for me, all prove to be good advice, on this, my first trip to Ireland.

I am giving one less star than the other commentators here not out of contrariness but simply to let readers know of the very uneven quality of the 44 entries, most of which are excerpts from longer works by established writers, although a minority appear to be written for this anthology. Not to say that the latter suffer necessarily; the best essay in here, and the only one that examines the other side of the tourist's encounter, is Janine Jones' "Tea With Mr. Curtain." Jones ponders what to do when the more unsavory side of a revered local man is revealed to apparently only her "privileged" view as a visitor. She opts for reticence rather than revealing his secret side to the rest of the village that she will soon leave but he never will.

The familiar authors mingle with the unknown, and to the editors' credit, they offset their knowingly but fulsomely lavish encomium of the oul' sod's charm prefacing this collection with a final section highlighting the shadowy scandals of an Ireland beyond the postcard views too often limiting many of the writers here included. The best sections are this last portion, for its frankness, and the beginning that in its "Essence of Ireland" does set out neatly such observant scenes as that of a kayaker, Brian Wilson, who finds his moored craft suddenly whisked away under the local Conamara customs of flotsam and jetsam belonging to those who live by the sea's bounty; Rosemary Mahoney's look (from her excellent "Whoredom in Kimmage: Irish Women Coming of Age") at how the Legion of Mary's volunteers work in inner-city Dublin; David Blaker's decision to call himself a Jew when hitching rides in the North to avoid uneasy conversations; and David W. McFadden's meeting with an amateur archeologist in the Tipperary town of Cahir. The second section is most disappointing: the contributors are either too blase or mundane about their activities, or what they report matters little to engage the imagination of the reader.

Valuable essays in part three about destinations are those of Katharine Scherman on Skellig Micheal; poitin-making by John McLaughlin; Thomas Flanagan on the real Mayo that inspired his "Year of the French" novel; and Jonathan Harrington's brief but moving tale of finding and meeting distant relatives one uncomfortable night. In the last section, Scott Anderson exposes the racketeering and an even more dangerous climate of intimidation that because of its underground impact on both sides of the sectarian divide has followed the decline in paramilitary violence; Martin Dillon gives a literally awful anecdote from his "God and the Gun" about a priest forced to hear the confession of a man the IRA is about to execute; Fintan O'Toole offers a typically nuanced examination of the Bishop Casey-Annie Murphy scandal.

The listings at the back, with succinct advice for tourists, are helpful and cogent, if by now of course dated a bit. The bibliography is well-chosen. Finally, sidebars in the text give additional observations from other texts, and these snippets are placed often to play off the longer essays in nimble fashion.

I really enjoyed this book on Travler's tales from Ireland. It had some great stories. You really got to know about the country, and it's people from reading this. I highly recommend it.

A pleasure to read a book that, as with the original disputants who comprise the subjects of the five chapters, addresses the general public in clear, spirited, and engaging fashion. While the content's aimed at an academic reader, the prose flows more smoothly, and the author remains aware of the need for a personal perspective that keeps her in control of the mass of material she sifts through and organizes in support of the often dramatic, if self-consciously so, performers on the stages and streets of Dublin almost a century ago. Rather than (and Prof. McD acknowledges in her preface that she labored not to use "ludic") become embroiled in abstruse jargon and faddish theory, McDiarmid takes on the early debates that characterized cultural nationalist contentions that served as a synecdoche for the larger issues of Irish Ireland.

These are covered in five thematic sections about public spats and private correspondence, and these do overlap slightly: Hugh Lane's bequeathed 39 paintings, Shaw's "The Shewing of Blanco Posnet" with Lady Gregory & GBS for the Abbey Theatre squaring off against Dublin Castle, Fr. O'Hickey's defense of compulsory Irish, the "Dublin kiddies" vs. the socialists and philanthropists, and the "afterlife" which Roger Casement's diaries with their homosexual content represented for later 20c Irish discussion of sexuality and rebellion. Unlike later spectacles that entered the Irish arena, these riled up not only academics and writers, but the common people. It's a telling sign of the retreat from the "agora" in the past century that shows how willing many people are to leave to the intellectuals and literati what once might have been the dispute of many a dinner table-- think of the contention over Parnell in Joyce's "Portrait."

The details of the book have been previewed on this site and by earlier respondents. Many illustrations, endnotes, and explanations carry along the text in more brisk fashion than one might expect from a professor. I might add that the notes document generously the assistance from many who assisted McDiarmid in her years of research. The book may betray a bit of the assembly from disparate pieces that many collections do when gathered from earlier talks and articles, but the introduction and conclusion tie together the threads efficiently. There's even a well-chosen Irish-language proverb that begins each chapter cleverly. Such details show the author's own personality in a study that abounds in spirited, strong-willed, and stubborn smart meetings and maulings of the minds.

I enjoyed Lucy McDiarmid's The Irish Art of Controversy on many levels. It helps me get into the spirit of several of W B Yeats's poems and, more importantly, reminds us all of the value of understanding our pervasive controversies. It is very educational to see how they operate over time. She's done us all a wonderful service through her lucid explanations of key controversies present in Ireland's successful struggle to achieve a national identity. If you are interested in Yeats, Ireland, or controversy this book is a must.

Here is the perfect book for anyone who likes cultural history, politics, or Ireland. I couldn't put it down; it is lots of fun to read-scholarly but very accessible, written with humor and grace. If you want a lively, detailed account of the intellectual and cultural brawls taking place in Ireland at the turn of the 20th century, this is THE book.
A.N. Oakes

I'll read anything about George Bernard Shaw, so when I saw his name on the back cover of this book, I bought it, even though I'd never heard of the incident it mentioned. I wound up enjoying EVERY chapter -- it was like going back to an earlier time and meeting all the most colorful people in a small, tightly knit community. Life at the turn of the 19th century into the 20th century seems to surround you as you read. This is a fascinating book for anyone who enjoys experiencing the rich texture of another era, described with humor and sympathy.

The Irish Art of Controversy provides a wonderfully vivid look at the intimacies of Irish politics by Lucy McDiarmid. With her usual wit and fastidious scholarship, she explains how public controversy determined what it meant to be Irish in the early 20th century. She evokes an extraordinary series of dramas played out by opposing factions on such issues as religion, sex, class values, the labor movement, censorship and civil rights. Issues that shaped the coming revollution and the nature of Irish government. In contrast to the romantic concept of recovering the poor old woman's four green fields, McDiarmid demonstrates how hotly contested was the question of what should be planted in those fields.

During the strike of some 25,000 Dublin workers in l9l3, for exxample, a violent tug of war developed between Catholic clergy and labor sympathizers attempting to place starving children temporarily in the homes of English workers. The clergy largely defeated this plan by accusing Irish mothers of endangering the faith of their children by allowing them to be "kidnapped" by English Protestants, socialists and feminists. Archbishop Walsh proclaimed that "the Irish people would rather their children perish by the ditches than that they should be exposed to the risk of being perverted in their religion." Under such pressure, it is not surprising that of some 300 children initially enrolled, only 18 reached England. This episode reveals the unfortunate bigotry of the clergy, but also identifies cultural memories and beliefs (souperism, fairy abduction) that subconsciously, or otherwise, intensified the fears of Catholic parents.

An equally fierce and lasting controversy emerged over Roger Casement. On trial for treason in the aftermath of the l9l6 Rising, he was fatally compromised by discovery of the so-called Black Diaries containing graphic descriptions of homoerotic encounters. Both Irish and English opinion turned against him despite his patriotism and the humanitarian work for which he had been knighted. Casement was hanged, and his remains were not returned to Ireland until 1965. Even then, there was consideraable uneasiness about enshrining a gay man in the pantheon of Irish heroes. With the growing secularization of Ireland, however, Casement became a pivotal figure in open debate about sexualities and civil rights. In fact, as McDiarmid demonstrates, it was the transgressive example of Casement that allowed such debate to be made public.

In sum, an excellent book. A pleasure to read.

I love this book. The crochet patterns are amazing. If you love crochet and are up for a challenge this is for you. All the instructions are written out (no graphs) so you do have to put in a bit of effort. I'm thinking I might photocopy each piece and then highlight each row as I go. Each piece is photographed and even if the instructions seem a bit unclear you can refer to the photo and figure it out.
Even if you don't want to make Irish lace the decorative possibilities of the patterns is exciting.

I have only had time to breifly look at the book but I am impressed. I plan to soon start working on the projects so I can gain a better understanding of this beautiful art. I want to be able to pass the knowledge on to others so it won't be forgotten.

This book opened a whole new dimension of crochet for me. --Beautiful, mind-boggling stuff. The directions are quite accurate although rather different from modern crochet books. Loved it!! This book was 1st published in 1907, and raised rather interesting questions, like :how big was an Irish match 93 years ago? You are supposed to wrap cord around 1 to 4 matches. My answer: best to add one to their count- I use 3 Chinese wooden skewers for their 2 matches!!

Finding this book was a revelation to me! This unabridged reprint of the Priscilla Irish Crochet Book first published in 1909 by The Priscilla Publishing Company in Boston is filled with exquisite Irish crochet such as is rarely seen or made today. Leaf through this book and you will be astounded by the breathtaking delicacy and intricacy of which a hook and a thread is capable! Three-dimensional roses, shamrocks, thistles, passion flowers, daisies, blackberries, grapevines, chysantheums, and myriad other motifs and floral pendants, with instructions for making up -- using the various background and edge stitches -- into a variety of beautiful items, from edgings, insertions, medallions, and doilies to stunning masterpieces such as purses, collars, cuffs, portrait hats, blouses, gowns, and coats. With crochet hooks in sizes ranging from 13 through 16 and cotton threads in sizes 40 up to 100, I have made a many of the projects in this book, all absolutely spectacular!

Thank goodness for reprints. Learn how to create an heirloom quality piece of crochet for your family. Directions and illustrations are easy to understand and follow.

ALTHOUGH I MAY NEVER VISIT IRELAND, HAVING READ THIS DELIGHTFUL AND INSIGHTFUL BOOK MAKES ME FEEL AS THOUGH I HAVE WALKED THE STREETS OF
IRELAND WITH THE AUTHOR WHOSE ENTHUSIASM FOR LIFE IS POSITIVELY CONTAGIOUS.

"An Irish Experience" is a delightful mix of Irish history, travel information and humor while providing insights into important meanings of life. I highly recommend it!

Howard Franklin's book, "An Irish Experience is one of the most all-around travel books. It is jam-packed with humor, history and must-sees. This book schools the reader on the history of Ireland, providing keen insights into it's culture and people. The whimsical way it is written, along with the goods on where to get a great pastry in even the smallest of towns, makes this a great read and a must for anyone going to, or daydreaming about Ireland.

If you have, or are planning a trip to Ireland, Howard Franklin's book is a must read. His knowledge of Irish history, geography and literature make this book a classic adventure tale for the 21st century traveler. Combine all that with a poet's eye and a lyrical style and you have a first-rate read.Buy this book and then buy your ticket. Ireland's waiting.

A dear friend of mine sent me this book a week before I went to Ireland. As I read it, I became even more excited to see the places Howard Franklin described. By the time we had landed in Ireland, the book was read and I had a list of the places I definitely wanted to see. Thank you Howard for writing about Glendalough. If I hadn't read about it, I would have totally missed the wonders of this place! This book was our constant companion in our travels across this Emerald Isle. If it wasn't in the car it was in my backpack, always close at hand so we could learn more about where we were. The snippets of history Howard interjected throughout his book is my favorite thing about it. I read these parts out loud to my husband as we traveled along the same path as Howard. Knowing the history of what we saw made it all so much more poignant. If you plan on visiting Ireland don't leave home without this book!