Ireland Books

The Architecture of Oppression has all the hallmarks of Jaskot's articles: brilliant writing, impecable scholarship and surprising wit. It is likely to become the standard work in the field, and would also make an excellent primer on fascist architecture for the general reader.

The Architecture of Oppression has all the hallmarks of Jaskot's articles: brilliant writing, impecable scholarship and surprising wit. It is likely to become the standard work in the field, and would also make an excellent primer on fascist architecture for the general reader.

Really a fascinating book on the architecture of Hilter's so called Third Reich. German engineering and work ethic is legendary and even when used for evil, it is effective. This book give a chilling recount of the era of the Reich and you get a feel for the cold, but elegant architecture of Speer, the Reich's chief architect, it is amazing all that got built in such a short time, but what's really fascinating is what was planned, but never realized. Most of the Reich's building were destroyed during the war, but one that does still exist that gives a real feel for the architecture of the Reich is the Olympic Stadium, it is odd to think that this space that was used as a rallying cry for all German's to conquer the world, is today used for Soccer games and the World Cup, personally I think it should have gone the way of the Chancellery, but alas I was not asked, imagine that.

This handy little book is the perfect book for anyone planning to travel to the Irish Republic. The book is divided into 16 sections, the cover everything from the fundamentals of traveling in Ireland, through the myths and history of Ireland. The piece de resistance, though is definitely section 16 - Counties of Ireland. This section goes through each of the counties of Ireland - from Carlow to Wicklow - and provides a map, a list of important sites to see, and gives important mythological references to the county.

The one admitted flaw in this book is that it only covers the Irish Republic, and does not discuss Ulster. But, that said, this is a great book, one that is sure to please anyone who is going to the Emerald Isle to see the land of heroes and gods! I love this book and highly recommend it!

With my own Irish heritage, I have always been drawn to stories of Ireland, and wish to one day visit the Emerald Isle. This book is a wonderful guide to help me visit the historic places that interest me most, and will be invaluable in locating just the perfect inns or bed-and-breakfast establishments to make my time in Ireland the best it can be. I really appreciated the history and historical insights, they help to give one a comprehensive overview of the country and its people. This is ONE WONDERFUL BOOK, and anybody who loves Ireland will benefit by reading it. VERY INTERESTING.

This book has inspired me to take my next vacation in Ireland. The reading is easy along with interesting. The color coding of the historical eras and counties make it a great reference for the traveler as well. If you want to learn about Ireland, you have to read this book.

Mary O'Malley's fourth collection (2001) takes as its focal point the Irish identity and explores our response to recent immigration in the light of our own history. 'In the Name of God and of the Dead Generations' calls for an imaginative reappraisal of who we are as we respond to emigrants who seek asylum in Ireland. O'Malley once again brings a poignant, sharp clarity to the Connemara of her childhood, sweeps out towards California and Mexico and always returns to the particular details of her home place; explored and re-imagined in the light of a quest that is continuous, exacting and rooted in exigent lives. Reviewers remark on her ability to give voice to place in a way which resonates on a deep universal level; both rooted and moving easily in historical and contemporary worlds. Evocative, expansive -- O'Malley embraces the difficult responsibility of transcribing deeply lived experience into Poetry.

Hennessey Award winner Mary O'Malley was born in Connemara and educated at University College, Galway. Her previous collections of poetry are A Consideration of Silk (1990), Where the Rocks Float (1993) and The Knife in the Wave (1997). She has written for both radio and television and is a frequent broadcaster. Her poems have been translated into several languages. She travels and lectures widely in Europe and the U.S. She has completed residencies in Derry and Mayo, and edited two books of children's writing and The Waterside Book from her time in Derry. She lives in the Moycullen Gaeltacht, Co. Galway.

This recent collection of poems from Irish poet Mary O'Malley demonstrates the diversity of her talent. Both in style and subject she shows us her world in many different perspectives. The collection contains love poems, stories of experiences and dreams, reflections of the natural beauty of her country, witty criticisms of people, and more. Some poems are short and pithy, requiring the reader to peruse them several times to follow her train of thought. Other, longer works allow the reader to sink down and savor her use of language and rhythm, imagery and sound. Overall a very satisfying collection.

I was enchanted by O'Malley's earlier works, and she hasn't ceased to amaze me as she continues writing. This book isn't as focused as some of her earlier ones (e.g., "Where the Rocks Float"), but the writing is terrific. Her poetry ranges from wry humor (her comments on Connemara-wannabes) to profound reflections on the human condition. The poem on the death of her son's dog brought tears to my eyes (I don't ordinarily wax sentimental over either kids or dogs, but this is way beyond sentimental!), and, as always, her language is sharp and vivid. Although the West of Ireland is the subject of many of her poems, she's not just a "regional poet," and I'd like to see her become more widely known.

What a wonderful story. This combines history, romance and the future into a compelling story. I really enjoyed this book.

Band of Roses by Pat McDermott is an exciting, masterfully told tale that spans the globe and thousands of years. Skillfully drawn characters spring to life in the form of dashing Irish heroes and a very kick-butt princess who'll win your heart.

Modern day Princess Talty must wed a developmentally delayed King of England for the good of her country. When the wedding goes horribly awry, she picks up the tattered pieces of her life to fashion a new existence isolated from those she loves and depended on.

From the opening scenes, where you'll be squirming in your chair, to the ending chapters, where you'll be on the edge of your seat, you'll be assembling the odd bits of scattered puzzle pieces until the entire picture becomes clear and striking.

The heart of Band of Roses is a tender love story with a satisfying and feel good ending that makes the reader want to stand up and cheer. Kudos to Ms. McDermott for weaving a fanciful tale that seizes the imagination and takes the reader on an emotional roller coaster ride.

This is a fast-paced, action-packed love story set in today's Ireland, but with a twist. This author supposes that kings and queens still rule Ireland to this day. Murder and treason send Crown Princess Talty, the present King Brian's daughter, to strange worlds where she encounters Vikings, desert nomads and romance, and returns home at last with an amazing discovery.

You will not be able to put this book down! I hope she writes a sequel soon!

I love the Osprey series which gives me great basic info on a subject that either quenches the thirst for knowledge or allows me to do further research w/ more expensive/expansive readings. For under $20 you can't beat the info/pics/colour plates on any subject.

Since Dr. Forzyck (who wrote the very well-rounded Toulon: 1793) has covered the details, I'm content to report that The Battle of the Boyne is among Osprey's finest works. It's a gripping account of an interesting conflict that truly enlightened me on the Williamite (I didn't knew that word existed!) War in Ireland.

The maps are wonderful, the two 3-D maps especially (except that some of the action takes place on the book seam...fix that Osprey!!). However, the full-page illustrations number only two and they are not nearly up to Grahm Turner's high standards. To me, it seemed OBVIOUS to have a painting either of Dutch, Danish, or English troops crossing the Boyne, but Turner contented himself with drawing James II approaching the gates of Derry and the death of a Duke. Pah. Its always the bloody nobility and royalty which gets all the drawings!!

The true meat of Boyne: 1690 is its campaign and battle narratives. I truly hope McNally continues to publish with Osprey, being the budding, excellent writer that he is.

Mr. Mcnally, I'm eagerly awaiting Augrhim: 1691!!

There has been a tendency among some reviewers and various professional nay-sayers on the internet to belittle Osprey's Campaign series as superficial and hence, of little value. Amateur historian Michael McNally's Campaign #160, the Battle of the Boyne 1690, should serve as ample justification for the value of this long-running series, which since 1990 has covered dozens of campaigns, and battles that have received scant attention in the recent past. Where else for less than $20 can a reader purchase a volume that includes color maps, order of battle data, a bibliography, capsule biographies, etc on such a wide range of military history? While the quality of individual volumes has varied, the series has improved over time and many volumes do in fact provide more than just a rehash of other secondary sources. McNally's Battle of the Boyne, which offers a very detailed look into a battle that has otherwise often just been glossed over, signifies the value of this series.

Since the background to the Boyne Campaign was rather complex, McNally provides a 7-page introduction, followed by 18 pages on the events leading up to the battle. The section on opposing commanders provides excellent capsule biographies of the key leaders and readers should enjoy the information and color uniform plates in the opposing armies section. Indeed, McNally does an excellent job outlining the strengths and weaknesses of both sides and shows that competent writers who know how to synthesize can pack a lot of data into a small package. A section on opposing plans also provides insight into the Williamite and Jacobite strategies. The strength of this volume also lies in its excellent graphic quality, with excellent maps and color plates. The five 2-D maps include the military situation in Ireland, January - June 1689; the siege of Derry; the military situation in Ireland, July - December 1689; the Battle of the Boyne; the Boyne campaign and its aftermath, June-July 1690. The two 3-D BEV maps are the Williamite attack and the Jacobite collapse at the Battle of the Boyne. The two color battle scenes are King James before the dates of Kerry; the death of the Duke of Schomberg. In addition, the author provides an excellent order of battle, a detailed campaign chronology and a lengthy bibliography.

The author's narrative of the actual Battle of the Boyne consists of 24 pages. Like most Americans who read European history, my knowledge of the Battle was fairly superficial and tended to encompass the Williamite view that the battle was a foregone conclusion (remember, victors write the history). However, McNally demonstrates that the Jacobite position, while desperate, was far from doomed and the battle was a hard-fought engagement that could have gone either way. Indeed, McNally's narrative is marked by an even-handed approach that provides perspectives from both sides. While some readers may complain that the military analysis herein is minimal (for example, the role of Williamite artillery in the battle), the author succeeds in detailing the Williamite envelopment, the confused Jacobite response and the climax of the battle. My only disappointment with this volume was the omission of any attempt to assess the total casualties suffered by each side in the battle - which makes it hard for the reader to assess how "decisive" a win this really was for the Williamites, since of course, the war in Ireland lasted for another year. While I understand that exact data was probably unavailable, I would have appreciated an educated guess by the author. By the time that I finished, the author had succeeded in changing my impression of the campaign and redefining my views on this phase of Anglo-Irish history - not bad for a volume just shy of 100 pages.

In Becoming Criminal, with remarkable ingenuity, Reynolds develops and demonstrates an original, purposeful, and conscientious critical approach, what he calls "transversal theory," that is simultaneously poststructuralist, performance-oriented, humanist, and materialist (the book teems with evidence from early modern texts of all genres: plays, pamphlets, poems, state documents, and personal letters). In effect, Reynolds' work is at the cutting edge of the next generation of literary-critical-performance studies, and thus Becoming Criminal may be as important to the next twenty years of early modern studies as Stephen Greenblatt's Renaissance Self-Fashioning has been to the last twenty. But Reynolds's "transversal poetics," I predict, will not just replace the new historicism as the dominant critical paradigm; it will continue to be a major influence well beyond the next two decades, especially given that its methodology is subsuming (manifesting and expanding on much of what the new historicism had to offer), processual (self-aware and open-ended), and necessitates evolution in response to both the changing environments through which the transversal critic travels and the various subject matters she/he pursues. As Reynolds' transversal slogan emphasizes, "Become what you aren't."

I never thought that a book about criminal culture in early modern England would help me to change my own life. I bought the book because I am a historian, but ended up reading the book as a self-help book. Reynolds develops a theory of identity formation and social history that he calls "transversal theory." While reading the book, I came to realize that everything he talks about, except the crimnal stuff, relates to me and my life. Having minority status on a number of levels, and therefore constantly scrambling for agancy and affirmation, I immediately took to Reynolds' ideas. He supplies not only a methodology for academic reasearch, but also for negotiating one's life within their social worlds. By showing me how I came to be subjectified, and how sociopolitical conductors work to constrain me, and by demonstrating how I can become what I'm not as a means by which to become what I am such that the worlds around me comes to respect and celebrate my differences; and, most importantly, by providing me with both the theory and method by which to become whatever I want, Reynolds has inspired me in ways I never imagined possible. In many ways, this is a manifesto for improvemnt through alternative thought and social performance. For me, Reynolds is like an Emerson for everyone today looking to be more self-reliant and to grow in unexpected, creative, and life-inspiring ways. The book is also a fine work of social history, about the relationships among crimnals, space, language, and theater in the time of Shakespeare.

Becoming Criminal: Transversal Performance and Cultural Dissidence in Early Modern England is revolutionary for many reasons and will contribute invaluably to research in the humanities. The big word of the last twenty years has been "interdisciplinarity," and, in my opinion, it has not produced the kinds of studies it implies. While there have been theoretical and methodological cross-fertilization within the humanities, arts, social sciences, and natural sciences, the borders between these fields are rarely self-consciously traversed. Such traversing of borders is among the many things that distinguishes Reynolds' transversal approach -- a theoretical framework he initiated in his 1997 Theatre Journal article, "The Devil's House, `or worse': Transversal Power and Antitheatrical Discourse in Early Modern England," that is now taught in all theatre theory and performance theory courses. The fact that Becoming Criminal is truly cross-disciplinary and theoretically-driven in both scope and methodology, and thus important to scholarship in a number of fields (literary criticism, history, sociology, linguistics, semiotics, cultural studies, performance studies, and critical theory) greatly distinguishes it from other books on the representation of rogues, vagabonds, and gypsies in early modern English literature. This book has been hugely helpful to me, someone who is currently writing a book on the dramatic and literary representation of highwaymen in the long 18th century. (Look for it in 2006!)

I was delighted to read Walter Ellis's book and have since passed it on to several friends. All agree that it is beautifully written and shows Ellis as a master of his craft, both as storyteller and narrator. I just wish more people had the opportunity to share it as it is a book which will touch the heart regardless of whether or not you have lived or visited Ulster during that period. It is refreshing also to read the Protestant view of the troubles seen, as it were, at first hand. Interesting also, as a female, to view the world through his eyes. I laughed and I cried for these are times which will never be seen again. I, for one, would love to read the sequel.

Elaine Somers

A terrific book. I agree with Mr Moore. It can be read on many levels: as a description of childhood and the challenges of the teenage years and early adulthood; as a treatise on friendship; as a rites of passage, without the glibness of Hollywood, and as an examination of The Troubles. I recommend it wholeheartedly. My only criticism is of Amazon, who do not appear to have not priced it. I had to order the book direct from the publishers in Scotland. This is a pity as it deserves to be available easily to readers in the States.

This is a terrific book. Deftly written, it is funny, moving, provocative and informative. It describes the author's upbringing in Belfast as the city descended into the violence known as 'The Troubles.' Although outsiders saw this essentially as sectarian, of Catholics against Protestants, Ellis describes a more complex situation, where Protestants could also oppose the division of Ireland and the allegiance of the north to the Crown. His friend Ronnie Bunting, a Protestant like Ellis, symbolised this complexity. Bunting joined a fanatical Republican group and became a ruthless terrorist, responsible for many deaths, including the murder of one Mrs Thatcher's favourite supporters. Ellis's relationship with Bunting dominates the book. Ellis struggled through childhood and his teenage years to break free of Bunting, which he knew he had to do. Only as a young adult embarking on what became a successful career as a journalist did he succeed. By now Bunting was doomed. He was later shot in his home in Belfast by masked men, whom Ellis believes were probably British special forces. This is a book about growing up, family, friendship, ambition and Ireland. I recommend it without reservation.

This book was inspired by a Greek epic poem written by the author's grandfather, a popular leader on the island of Symi in the Dodecanese. For untold generations the island's young men had dived naked into the sea, holding their breath as they gathered sponges. But in the poet's lifetime the introduction of mechanized diving equipment brought wealth to some and death or paralysis to many.

Michael Kalafatas visited the Aegean islands, met many relatives and learned all he could about different diving techniques. He follows the history of the sponge trade from the Sultan's seraglio in Constantinople to the desert coasts of Australia and the more lush landscape of Tarpon Springs, Florida, where he lived as a boy. He wrestles with such difficult issues as why divers persisted in risking their lives even after they had learned how they could work less dangerously.

The personal character of much of the book adds to its appeal. In short, this is one of the best books I've read this year.

In The Bellstone, author Michael Kalafatas discovers a poem about Greek sponge divers written by his grandfather in the early 20th century, and using that as a starting point, travels to Greece to explore both the history of the sponge diving industry and that of his own family. What begins as an explanation of Greek culture turns into a fascinating and touching personal story of connecting with one's past. The author also describes Greek influence in this country and on the pearl industry. The book is both historical and anecdotal, with the poem woven throughout, connecting every facet of the story. Even the acknowledgments refer to the content - that's how well this book flows! It is a learning experience, an enjoyable read, and an amazing family story.

Inspired writing which will inspire any reader. In the Bell Stone, Michael Kalafatas discovers his grandfather's epic poem 70 years after it was written. The writer follows his heart untangling the mysteries revealed in the poem and takes the reader on a journey to far off places both under the sea and across the globe. His story reveals the daring and bravery of his ancestors while sharing with the reader the untold story of sponge divers in the Aegean. This unique story will inspire others to take a smiliar journey--to discover the treasured
stories of their own special families.

One of the best books on this murky period. The author's format is to put a microscope on a pivotal event in each country that was an important player in the development of European politics and policies which paved the way to WW2. These re-shaped Europe's will and ability to resist Hitler in the 5 short years from 1933-38. I like that he uses these to develop the shades of complexity of the situation, not to package everything up in a neat, simple explanation.

Examples:
FRANCE. 1933. In the Stavisky Affair and the "twilight of the third republic" yet another emanation of anti-semitism leads to several changes of government and a precarious balance between strong leftists and rightists who bring their grievances into bloody or threatened conflicts in the streets.

AUSTRIA. 1934. Socialists and fascists struggled for control of the ruins of the Hapsburg empire center. Fascists conduct a terror campaign eerily similar to Hamas or Hezbollah, and a bloody civil war followed.

ENGLAND. 1936. The Jarrow crusade shows how the country's democratic institutions and ideas of how to address grievances operate in stark contrast to the rise of strong men and civil war on the continent.

SOVIET UNION. 1933-38. "The revolution eats its children" as endless purges emasculated the army and made the country vulnerable to invasion. Duplicitous Stalin publicly demonized Hitler while cunningly working behind the shadows to be his ally.

And on it goes with Spain, Italy and Czechoslovakia. By the 1938 Munich conference we've seen a continent exhausted and still suffering the economic and psychological effects of the horribly mismanaged WW1. Governments have changed hands and most stand on shaky footing. Alliances are shifting. Everyone is tired of war except Hitler who is chomping at the bit. Historians dispute the interpretation of the Munich appeasement. It's clear that, while it bought everyone more "breathing space" to repair military deficiences, that Germany "breathed deeper."

The speed of re-positioning alliances should be instructive for us all. Highly recommended reading.

A fantastic and well-written book about the events leading up to WWII. Excellent information for a mere 425 pages!

As a history major, I've read and seen my fair share of books used as texts. This one is a really good one required for my "Age of Dictators" course. It's easy to read and it's really, really interesting. Professor Large appears to be an excellent writer and historian. I am looking forward to reading more of his works.

This book is incredible in the way that it illustrates a world that we've lived in, yet never looked at quite like this. Gran explains various countries roads to the present. This read will challenge the way that you think of the world. Highly reccommended

Few works have successfully attempted to compare and explain world history by showing how states form and use intellectuals and notions of caste to maintain rule and hegemony. Through an original approach Gran succeeds in proposing the use of four distinctive paradigms of modern state formation, each with unique characteristics, but more importantly sharing features that show up in various states. By breaking with the Eurocentric model, and the elite state centered view of history, Gran proposes that development in Russia, the "Russian Road" of development, shares characteristics of a weak middle class and a tendency to alternating between liberal phases and autocratic rule in its hegemony of rule. The Russian Road of state formation and hegemony shares characteristics with similar modern state formations in Iraq, Turkey and other states.

Italy, on the other hand, provides an example of "Italian Road" formations with its inherent contradictions of regional conflict, a weakly integrated and 'underdeveloped' rural Southern population, which the North can only reach out to by appealing to the traditional Southern intellectuals, clergy and landowning interests. Italy shares characteristics with modern state formation in India and Mexico which experience a similar problem of regional struggle and contradictions. Gran proposes two other major paradigms of modern state formation: the tribal ethnic state, of which he analyzes Zaire and Albania as notable examples, and the bourgeois democratic state, of which his analysis of the United States and Britain are especially insightful for his treatment of the notion of race as caste in these states. Gran expands on the sociology and interpretive framework provided by Antonio Gramsci and draws on comparative analyses of Stuart Hall for Britain, or Partha Chaterjee for India, Eugene Genovese for the problem of the South in U.S. History. Gran's originality is as thought provoking as his methodology which offers challenging essays for each region and paradigm, by analyzing its historiography and the organization of culture as a component of hegemony. This book offers some examples of struggles of subaltern groups and non elites in the making of their own history.

Yet, more work could be done on aspects of counterhegemonic struggle by subaltern groups, and as Gran alludes, the analysis of those states which combine features of several types of his paradigms. As Gran suggests, for example, Egypt offers features of the Italian Road in its internal regional conflicts and the pitted struggles of traditional intellectuals with the modern state, but also displays features of the Russian Road in some state policies.

Spain for example offers contradictions seen in the Italian Road, the clash of traditional intellectuals, and the conservative Catholics, and Catholic Reform, Opus Dei, in contrast with the the needs of the modern organic intellectuals and the problems of regional absorption and struggles. In Spain, the features of regional autonomy offers parallels with the Russian Road problematic of breakaway ethnic struggles, and language and education policy, the Basques and the Catalans, for example. Other combined models may be further analyzed in Japan or Latin American states for example. This is a work that provokes thought. It offers a watershed of ideas that is topical and disturbingly shakes our consciousness of regions that have evaded analysis, as in Albania and Zaire. His essays on the limits of Russian and other states centered historiography is especially insightful.

Technically, this book needed a copy editor, and reads at times as a rushed proof. But these technical flaws do not detract from the merits of this work as an interpretive framework for contemporary history. Beyond Eurocentrism may be used as a manual of how to begin the analysis of our times and the struggles of ordinary people in different regions and states.

Few works have successfully attempted to compare and explain world history by showing how states form and use intellectuals and notions of caste to maintain rule and hegemony. Through an original approach Gran succeeds in proposing the use of four distinctive paradigms of modern state formation, each with unique characteristics, but more importantly sharing features that show up in various states. By breaking with the Eurocentric model, and the elite state centered view of history, Gran proposes that development in Russia, the "Russian Road" of development, shares characteristics of a weak middle class and a tendency to alternating between liberal phases and autocratic rule in its hegemony of rule. The Russian Road of state formation and hegemony shares characteristics with similar modern state formations in Iraq, Turkey and other states.

Italy, on the other hand, provides an example of "Italian Road" formations with its inherent contradictions of regional conflict, a weakly integrated and 'underdeveloped' rural Southern population, which the North can only reach out to by appealing to the traditional Southern intellectuals, clergy and landowning interests. Italy shares characteristics with modern state formation in India and Mexico which experience a similar problem of regional struggle and contradictions. Gran proposes two other major paradigms of modern state formation: the tribal ethnic state, of which he analyzes Zaire and Albania as notable examples, and the bourgeois democratic state, of which his analysis of the United States and Britain are especially insightful for his treatment of the notion of race as caste in these states. Gran expands on the sociology and interpretive framework provided by Antonio Gramsci and draws on comparative analyses of Stuart Hall for Britain, or Partha Chaterjee for India, Eugene Genovese for the problem of the South in U.S. History. Gran's originality is as thought provoking as his methodology which offers challenging essays for each region and paradigm, by analyzing its historiography and the organization of culture as a component of hegemony. This book offers some examples of struggles of subaltern groups and non elites in the making of their own histoyr.

Yet, more work could be done on aspects of counterhegemonic struggle by subaltern groups, and as Gran alludes, the analysis of those states which combine features of several types of his paradigms. As Gran suggests, for example, Egypt offers features of the Italian Road in its internal regional conflicts and the pitted struggles of traditional intellectuals with the modern state, but also displays features of the Russian Road in some state policies.

Spain for example offers contradictions seen in the Italian Road, the clash of traditional intellectuals, and the conservative Catholics, and Catholic Reform, Opus Dei, in contrast with the the needs of the modern organic intellectuals and the problems of regional absorption and struggles. In Spain, the features of regional autonomy offers parallels with the Russian Road problematic of breakaway ethnic struggles, and language and education policy, the Basques and the Catalans, for example. Other combined models may be further analyzed in Japan or Latin American states for example. This is a work that provokes thought. It offers a watershed of ideas that is topical and disturbingly shakes our consciousness of regions that have evaded analysis, as in Albania and Zaire. His essays on the limits of Russian and other states centered historiography is especially insightful. Beyond Eurocentrism may be used as a manual of how to begin the analysis of our times and the struggles of ordinary people in different regions and states.