Ireland Books

Plenty of books have been written on Irish-American history both locally and nation-wide, but MAKING THE IRISH AMERICAN holds a difference: it's nearly thirty perspectives on the process of the Irish in America and blends original research with reprints of classic analyses, making for a thoughtful set of essays and articles which survey Irish-American history in context of the overall immigrant experience. Any college-level holding strong in ethnic studies or American history will find this an outstanding compilation, highly recommended as a basic collection addition.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Of the 29 articles, nine have been previously published; one in 1963, another in 1988, and the others in the past seven or so years. Some authors are widely-known--Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Pete Hamill, Calvin Trillin; while the others are steeped in Irish traditions from heritage and academic or other professional positions. The collected articles are crossovers between popular interest and academic perspective. Most combine popular subjects and approach with historical documentation or data. Within major sections on Irish-American foundations and identity are articles on sports, music, religion, organizations, and the role of notably, in some cases somewhat stereotypical, Irish figures such as domestics known as "biddies" or firemen in Irish-American assimilation and as representative of Irish-Americans in general. For the astute editorial selection of the number of general and somewhat specialized articles, expertise of the authors, and documentation in articles and appendices plus notes and bibliographies, "Making the Irish American" is a major text tying together this field of ethnic studies with American history and social history.

I got this book for my Irish-American dad for his birthday and it turned out to be the perfect pick-- for both of us. The chapters from the various contributors covered a large range of topics within Irish-American history and really got both of us interested in our Irish-American heritage.

My dad went straight to the highly accessible accounts of the Irish in American music, literature, entertainment, and particularly sports, but said he was most appreciative of the "Reflections" section's pieces by Pete Hamill, Calvin Trillin, and Peter Quinn, etc. He's yet to read the rest of the chapters, but he says he's enjoyed what he's read so much he's all the more inclined to read the rest of this 700-page giant book.

I had a different angle approaching the book: I started reading front-to-back and got a more academic experience. The intro to Irish history at the start really cleared up lots of holes in my knowledge of Irish history. The opening essays are more academic and I really appreciated them for their depth and obvious scholarship behind them.

Neither my father or I are done with the book, particularly since we're sharing it and it's so long, but I wanted to suggest the book to people looking to read engaging essays on Irish-American history.

I would highly suggest it to anyone else trying to find a gift for a relative of Irish-American descent, though obviously anyone interested in Irish-American history should get a lot out of this volume.

Here is the table of contents for Making the Irish American:



1. Introduction: Interpreting Irish America by J.J. Lee, p.1-60



The Irish Background

2. Modern Ireland: An Introductory Survey by Eileen Reilly, p. 63-147



Foundations

3. Scots Irish or Scotch-Irish by David Noel Doyle, p. 151-170

4. The Irish in North America, 1776-1845 by David Noel Doyle, p. 171-212

5. The Remaking of Irish America, 1845-1880, p. 213-252



Conflicts of Identity

6. Ulster Presbyterians and the Two Traditions in Ireland and America by Kerby Miller, p. 255-270

7. Religious Rivalry and the Making of Irish-American Identity by Irene Whelan, p. 271-285

8. Address to the Ulster-Irish Society of New York, 1939 by Henry Noble MacCracken, p. 286-288

9. American-Irish Nationalism by Kevin Kenny, p. 289-301

10. Refractive History: Memory and the Founders of the Emigrant Savings Bank by Marion R. Casey, p. 302-331

11. Ubiquitous Bridget: Irish Immigrant Women in Domestic Service in America, 1840-1930, p. 332-253

12. Labor and Labor Organizations by Kevin Kenny, p. 354-363

13. Race, Violence, and Anti-Irish Sentiment in the Nineteenth Century by Kevin Kenny, p. 364-378



Popular Expressions of Identity

14. Irish-American Popular Music by Mick Moloney, p.381-405

15. The Irish in Vaudeville by Robert W. Snyder, p. 406-410

16. Irish Traditional Music in the United States by Rebecca S. Miller, p.411-416

17. Before Riverdance: A Brief History of Irish Step Dancing in America by Marion R. Casey, p. 417-425

18. Irish-American Festivals by Mick Moloney, p. 426-442

19. Irish Americans in Sports: The Nineteenth Century by Ralph Wilcox, p. 443-456

20. Irish American in Sports: The Twentieth Century by Larry McCarthy, p. 457-471



Reflections

21. The Irish (1963, 1970) by Daniel Patrick Moynihan, p. 475-525

22. Once We Were Kings (1999) by Pete Hamill, p. 526-534

23. Democracy in Action (1988) by Calvin Trillin, p. 535-547

24. Irish America, 1940-2000 by Linda Dowling Almeida, p. 548-573

25. Twentieth-Century American Catholicism and Irish Americas by Thomas J. Shelley, p. 574-608

26. The Fireman on the Stairs: Communal Loyalties in the Making of Irish America by Timothy J. Meagher, p. 609-648

27. The Tradition of Irish-American Writers: The Twentieth Century by Daniel J. Casey and Robert E. Rhodes, p. 649-662

28. Looking for Jimmy (1999) by Peter Quinn, p. 663-679

29. The Future of Irish America (2000) by Peter Quinn p. 680-685



Appendix: The Irish in the Census: An Explanatory Note

Contributors

Permissions

Index

This is a great book. Easy to read. Covering most aspects of castle life. I would highly recomend it, and may purchase it again (it will make an exelent gift for friends that are intrested in either history or castles).

Philip Warner was lecturer at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, England and is the author of a numerous of books.
In this work, he gives you the need for the Castle, why it came into being, how it developed. He show the strict structure of the Castle society - inside and out, the lives of the people running it and those serving in it, even down to what they are and worse. He even cover medieval recreation!!

He breathes live into the subject, giving a fresh new look instead of tired impressions.

Excellent work for people wish to see Castle life as it was or for Writers of Historical works.

Highly recommended.

This beautifully illustrated book explains how and why castles were built in the middle ages and why they were such a dominant influence on medieval life, especially in times of war. Philip Warner recreates a complete picture of daily life in a medieval castle: how peasants and nobles lived; how men fought in tournaments and trained for combat; how castles were sited, designed, managed, attacked and defended; and what the the people who lived in them ate, drank, and wore. This book will also go a long ways toward breaking up some of the preconceived notions that people have about castles. One learns that the castle was not primarily a refuge. The object of the castle wasn't to retreat from conflict, but to control it. The Medieval castle was a dynamic integral part of medieval society and Philip Warner does brilliant work in showing this. Whether you're a medieval history buff or just a curious layman read this book. It will take a little effort to find it, but it's worth the time.

If you only read two books on castles, make it Gies' Life in a Medieval Castle and this one. The two books are very similar in layout and readablity, but Warner's is a bit more detailed and in depth. It also has very nice illustrations. As much as I love Francis Gies' book, I think this one just edges it out.

Eileen Power studies the Middle Ages, not from an abstract historical point of view but from simple and real people and what we can know about them. I particularly like her study of Marco Polo, from his notes and diaries, which gives us a materialistic and realistic vision of what they saw of the world, and not what we want to see of what they saw. I also loved Madame Eglentyne, a prioress taken from Chaucer but at once identified to one particular prioress through real life archives and descriptions. A very interesting and useful book to enable us to capture the density of everyday life in the Middle Ages.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

Eileen Power's Medieval People sets out to study the Middle Ages not from the viewpoint of an Historical abstraction, but rather from that of the people who lived during the age. It is an account of six individuals who lived during the MA's; Bodo, a Frankish Peasant; Marco Polo, the famous Venetian merchant; Madame Eglentyne, prioress of Chaucer; an anonymous middle-class Parisian housewife; and two English merchants, one engaged in the wool trade and the other a clothier in Essex. The author has illustrated various aspects of social life of the era by drawing on such sources as account books, diaries, letters, records, and wills. She starts the work with a previously unpublished essay entitled "The Precursors," which describes the barbarian conquest of Rome. In this, she describes the lives of three men, Ausonius, Sidonius and Fortunatus and uses them to foreshadow the life that would re-emerge in the Middle Ages.
She starts by imagining a day in the life of the Peasant Bodo, in the time of Charlemagne. From her study of primarily economic documents from the Middle Ages of this time, she not only extrapolates but truly brings to life Bodo and his wife Ermentrude. From there, she goes on to the better documented life of Marco Polo, and also describes how he served as an inspiration for Columbus. Madam Eglentyne is next. Here, Power humorously details the inner workings of a gossipy nunnery and how Eglentyne would have gone about her life as an aristocratic women of God. She next details the life of a middle class Parisian housewife by studying the contents of the Menagier's Wife and validating many of it's points by citing other documents. She concludes by detailing the lives of the two Thomases; Betson and Paycocke of Coggeshall. Both are merchants and provide a chance for Power to really show off her grasp of medieval economics as well as an ability to compile disparate correspondences into a story of a life. This is a rare scholarly work that truly entertains while being read. One of the best books I've ever read.

This book is the catharsis of all books. Very good to read. It is a book that will allow you to read it in any position at any place where you can see the pages and words. Excellent.

Wonderful scholarship in a most readable written style. Goes beyond institutions to discover real people of the "middle" ages.

Metternich is fun to read. His vision, limited by his time, of course, should be contrasted with that of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. Metternich is far the wiser man. He knew what it took to found and maintain empire; which greatly contrasts with Mr. Wilson as well as the current (2008) U.S. and British governments. The self-history of Metternich should be read and understood by anyone interested in Government or history. A "statesmsn" who does not know Metternich is in the wrong business.

I have many books on metternich, He was one of the most important man who ever lived in the 19th century,His thoughts inspired even Henry Kissinger who was a great diplomate for the United States. He skill and knowledge keeped Europe out of major war for 100 yrs after the Congress of Vienna which he was instrumental in saving Europe after the devastating Napolionic wars. He led Europe for almost 50yrs, and has shaped the world as we know it today. This book is very well writen, and gives a great account of his dealings with napolion, and The allied powers after. Very interesting to read, and very imformative, and a must for all historians. One of the Best books I have ever read.

This is an outstanding volume and it belongs on the shelf of every student of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic period, whether or not your interest is in the diplomats and diplomacy of the period.

Metternich was quite possibly the best diplomat of his day. A displaced Rhinelander, he went to work for the Austrian Hapsburg monarchy with 'vengeance very much in mind.' His family's Rhineland estates had been overrun by the Revolutianary French, the serfs freed, and Metternich very much desired to have the status quo returned to prewar status.

He hated the French Revolution, a gangrene he believed needed to be 'burned out with a red hot iron.' As Napoleon has been pictured as the inheritor of that Revolution, Metternich transferred his hatred to Napoleon and his government. At the same time, Austria's and the Hapsburg's interests were to be advanced at others' expense.

The results obtained by Metternich guaranteed him the place of Europe's foremost diplomat. Until thrown out by the 1848 Revolution, Metternich's policies hung over Europe, from the virtual imprisonment of Napoleon's unfortunate son to the reoccupation of Italy in 1815 and the restoration of reactionary rule. The Congress of Vienna was Metternich's crowning achievement.

This autobiography chronicles one of the most interesting characters of the age. His diplomatic ability was unquestioned, whether intriguing with Murat as King of Naples, or 'mediating' with Napoleon during the 1813 armistice. It is a fascinating life chronicled in a fascinating book. Ravenhall is to be congratulated for publishing it. This volume is highly recommended.

Out of print in English since the 1970s, Ravenhall Books has published a welcomed new edition of Metternich's Autobiography in an inexpensive paperback edition. Based on three separate biographical extracts from Metternich's Nachgelassenen and originally edited by Metternich's son, Metternich's memoirs were not truly memoirs, but, like many so-called "memoirs" of the era, a collection of letters, diaries and other documents. Prince Richard Metternich, in presenting the Memoirs, wrote, somewhat hopefully perhaps, "now that more than a generation has passed over his quiet tomb, the image of the resolute defender of conservative principles appears still more imposing, and his own words will enable men to realize the power and charm of his character. Even his enemies will be touched, and will regard with respect the great statesman as he once again passes before them." Metternich observed somewhat disingenuously that "I have made history, and therefore have not found the time to write it." But Metternich also bragged, "What gratifies me is to notice that the productions of my pen are always those which are most to the taste of the public." Metternich's son edited his father's papers with an eye to history. The memoirs were published virtually simultaneously in German French and English (the English translation was done by Robina Napier, wife of a Norfolk vicar, the son of the first editor of the Edinburgh Review).

Metternich's self-described purpose for writing these extracts was that "The present work is tended only to communicate what concerns myself, or has reference to the tone of mind which the circumstances of my time have produced in me, those of which I was a mere spectator and those in which I have myself played a part." These autobiographical extracts were written well after the events described and written, at least in part, for posterity. The account of Metternich's negotiations with Napoleon in 1813, for example, was written almost two decades after the events. Beyond Metternich's self-justifications, are the deletions and "remarkable remolding" of Metternich's memoirs by his son and editor. And as time passes, memories fade and alter as events are internalized into one's inner narrative, which often tends to favor and flatter oneself. French historian Albert Sorel complained of Metternich's account of events: "He makes himself the light of the world; he dazzles himself with his own rays in the mirror which he holds perpetually before his eyes." Though Sorel himself has his own axe to grind as Pieter Geyl has pointed out.

In addition Metternich is not particularly forthcoming, even in writings supposedly not intended for publication. Metternich, for instance, does not mention that it was Talleyrand who was keeping him informed of the negotiations at Erfurt or that Talleyrand was urging Austria to declare war in 1809. His views of many of his contemporaries beyond Napoleon are very circumspect. Nonetheless, French Napoleonic expert Tulard has called Metternich's memoirs "naturellement fondamentale," and observes that, like Talleyrand's memoirs (or Bourrienne's memoirs or Napier's history of the Peninsular war), the publication of Metternich's lead to an exchange of polemics over their veracity. Stuart Woolf calls Metternich "a hostile but attentive observer of the French emperor from the time of his nomination as ambassador at Paris in 1805." A contemporary review of the Memoirs observed that "...few estimates of the Emperor [Napoleon] ever printed have received a like attention from students or been estimated by them at a higher value. Outside of France there was no statesman who knew [Napoleon] so well, none who had such opportunities for seeing and understanding him under widely differing circumstances. Over most contemporary views it had the advantage of being written by a clear-sighted statesman..."

Unlike David Copperfield, who didn't know if he'd be the hero of his life, Metternich had no such doubts. "...An observer of or a participator in all the circumstances which accompanied and followed the overthrow of that order [in France], of all my contemporaries I now stand alone on the lofty stage on which neither my will nor my inclination placed me." Historian Gregor Dallas wrote has written, "Totally vain, [Metternich] might just as well have entitled the memoirs he eventually left behind The History of Me and the World because, as he never tired of pointing out, the destiny of both marched together." Of Metternich's much celebrated "European outlook" Enno E Kraehe points out that it "acquired much embellishment along the way, some of it genuine, much of it rhetorical."

Reviewers of the memoirs, while admitting the "special value" of the memoirs, seemed to see Metternich in a far less admirable light the farther he was removed from the flame of his great adversary, Napoleon. One critic in the Contemporary Review observed at, "There were two Metternich's, indeed-one before and another after 1815.... It is a pity only that the latter wrote the history of the former." The Century magazine, reviewing the memoirs, observed that, "Fussy, pompous, full of hollow phrases, alternately whining or threatening at the foreign policy of France, the spectacle of Metternich is not edifying to witness, and accounts for much of the legacy of hatred and contempt his name left behind him in Europe. He outlived his time. The moment for his disappearance should have that of Napoleon's death..."

Perhaps it is best, as Metternich would have wanted it, to give him the last word, ""I think few men have known [Napoleon] better than I, because I have not confined myself to bare symptoms, but have endeavored to discover their foundation. When I saw that the whole power of good and evil was embodied in that one man, I could do no otherwise than study him, and only him. Circumstances placed me near this man; they have, so to speak, chained me to him.... After my death a very interesting memoir will be found of this man and his influence on the events of his age.... By the writings I leave behind me, many circumstances will certainly be explained, many doubts dispelled, and many errors rectified. For many years I have written and labored at this work.... This work is one of my favorite employments."

Ravenhall has given this sturdy paperback an attractively designed cover and has added some portraits of the chief characters. I would have like to have seen either footnotes or an appendix giving some background on the individuals mentioned in Metternich's memoir. Metternich has a tendency to throw out many names, some famous and some obscure, and even specialists might have to use a biographical reference to identify individuals such as Herr von Alopäus, Abbé Maury, the advocate Vandernoot, Eulogius Schneider, Basedow and Campe, General von Pfuel or Merlin de Thionville, for example.

I must have ready a dozen or so bios of Michael Collins in the past few years and this is one of my favorites. Some of them seem to spend so much time on Michael Collins, the administrator, that they don't pay enough attention to Michael Collins, the human being. If you have to read one, I recommend this one. If you want a more exhaustive bio, then read Tim Pat Coogan. My other favorite is by Frank O'Connor.

This was the first biography of Collins I read and it is a good one, though not as exhaustively detailed and annotated as Tim Pat Coogan's. The author is clearly an admirer of Collins but it does not seem to slant his portrayal of the man and he covers all the biographical bases in Collins' life--the quintessentially Irish childhood and indoctrinization with nationalist ideals from family and teachers; the years between 15 and 25 working in London; the participation in the Easter Rebellion and imprisonment in Wales; the return to Ireland and his destiny as leader of the Anglo-Irish War of Independence; and the transformation into statesman in the Treaty negotiations. What Mackay particularly brings to the portrait of Collins is a warmth that allows the reader to see the real man beneath the legend--the interactions with the men and women who shared his struggle or who opposed it, and the reaction of his countrymen to his leadership. Overall, an engrossing read.

For anyone wishing to know more about the bombastic, bullish side of Michael Collins, look no further. James MacKay captures Collins' thoughts-- even the most flamboyant-- with style and verbal panache. It is clear that his work has been very heavily influenced by the biographies from Frank O'Connor and Tim Pat Coogan, but MacKay distinguishes himself by emphasizing Collins' personality and his military accomplishments. He describes Michael's physical stature (5'11" with a bulky build), Michael's nature (quick to laugh, quick to cry, quick to anger, and quick to make an apology), Michael's health (his bouts with pleurisy, Spanish flu, stomach and kidney problems), Michael's orderly manner (he hated pencil writing and signatures from rubber stamps), and Michael's many other contradictions. MacKay includes several b/w photos along with explorations of Michael's military brilliance, e.g. his ability to run an entire guerrilla war from the back of a bicycle. MacKay begins with Collins' boyhood and concludes with an epilogue regarding the aftermath of Collins' assassination. If you are curious about Michael Collins the man, I can strongly recommend MacKay's biography.

This biography was my introduction to the life and times of Michael Collins and it was a good one, though not as detailed and extensively annotated as Tim Pat Coogan's. The author is clearly an admirer of Collins but the portrayal appears to be objective and covers all the biographical bases in Collins' life--the Irish childhood and indoctrination with nationalist ideals from family and teachers; the years between 15-25 working in London; the participation in the Easter Rebellion and imprisonment in Wales; the return to Ireland and rise to leadership in the War of Independence; and the transformation to statesman in the Treaty negotiations. What Mackay particularly brings to the portrait of Collins is a warmth that allows the reader to see the real man behind the legend--the interactions with the men and women who shared his struggle or who opposed him, and the reaction of his countrymen to his leadership and to his untimely death during the bitter Civil War at the hands of former comrades who in many cases still revered him. Overall, an engrossing read.

This was a gift for a friend and he loves it. He will use it in Dublin starting this Thursday.

This book you create from you own experiences or the ones you want to have. It has maps and areas to keep notes. So you can have your personal guide to whatever city you want to visit.

Fast shipping. I was given the wrong product due to the original packing from Moleskine was labled Dublin but really London. Contacted seller who not only overnighted the correct copy but let me keep the London version for the trouble. I look forward to doing buisness with Mind and Body in the future.

This is a very unusual product and I would strongly encourage anyone considering getting one to be completely aware of what it is before they purchase it. First, if you are looking for a single travel guide to prepare you for your trip to New York (or anywhere else there is a guide for), this is very close to worthless, if not entirely worthless. I would call one's attention to the title of the product. It is a "Notebook." That means that most of the pages are blank. This literally is a book for taking notes in.

So what do you get when you buy this? Every book in the series follows the same format. First there is a personal information page with address, phone, allergies, family doctor, passport number, then map information with public transportation maps. Then follows information on the various forms of transportation with phone numbers and websites, including cabs, buses, other forms of public transportation, and airports. There are some blank itinerary pages, measurement and speed conversion charts, size conversion charts (for shoppers), then a long series of neighborhood maps, including an index. And that's it. The final two-thirds of the notebook are blank. The next 20 or so pages are completely blank and unlined for whatever use you want to put them to. Next come several pages intended for writing down names of restaurants, bars, museums, historical sites, hotels, or whatever. The book also comes with unlabeled tabs with stickers to use as desired (for theaters, concert halls, or whatever you desire) as well as tracing paper for, as the label says, "Itineraries or Whatever." Finally, there is the usual pocket at the back that is found in all Moleskine products.

For some people this is going to be an absolutely useless product. But for many this will be remarkably useful. In fact, I can envision two uses for this notebook. First, those who are planning a trip to one of the places for which Moleskine has produced a book. Let's say one has consulted the Blue guide, the Eyewitness Guide (by DK), a Rough Guide, the Michelin guide, and the Let's Go guide. Maybe you've bought all of these, making for five guides. No way do you want to drag all of these on your trip or more than one on your flight. So what might you do? You might take the Moleskin Notebook, record into it all the places you want to see, restaurants you want to dine at, museums you want to stroll through, and anything else you want to do while in your destination of choice, and record it there. So the Moleskine City Notebook can serve as a distillation of all the various travel guides, web sites, and other resources you have consulted. And instead of hauling about a large Fodor's guide, you can carry about this small Notebook that can easily fit into a backpack, purse, should bag, or even pocket.

The only downside is that the Moleskine City Notebook is only as good as you make it. If you do a good job of planning your trip, it will be filled to the brim with useful and helpful information. If not, it will be as unhelpful as you have made it.

There is a second use to which the City Notebook can be put to use, though it is not one for which it was primarily designed. You could use it for the city in which you live, should you live in one of the cities for which one is made. I live, for instance, in Chicago. I have bought one of these so that I can over time use it to record every bit of helpful information that I might find useful or helpful. I can record what hours the Seminary Co-Op Bookstore (the real one, not the trade version on 57th Street) is open. The hours for the Chicago Public Library and the Newberry Library. Phone numbers of restaurants and addresses of bars. And so on and so forth. Granted, these books will only benefit those who live in one of those cities, but for the U.S. New York, Chicago, Boston, Washington D.C., Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles are pretty populated areas.

So this is a very well conceived product though it absolutely has to be stressed that it is a specialized one. Please note: THIS ISN'T FOR EVERYONE. If you don't want to use the Notebook to plan your trip it is going to be very close to worthless. I'll emphasize again: this is only as good a product as you make it. But if you use it to help you plan your trip, it could be the single item you would most loathe to be without after your notebook.

When I opened the package from the mail and pulled out "Mysterious World: Ireland," my jaw literally dropped open! Wait, I could not have ordered a book such as this in paperback form. Then I remembered I had because it is a travel guide. What is the publisher thinking in making a lush coffee table book into a travel guide? You would have to see it to believe its incredible content and beauty. But I blather on.

Even the website (www.mysteriousworld.com) is dedicated to a lush presentation of things mysterious and beautiful about a country. I have never seen anything like this book or website. Publisher Doug Elwell explains in the book's introductory section that MW does not plan to add a print version of their website articles, as print sources end up in old files, old books, and in out-of-sight places. As a librarian, I can attest to the veracity of his statement. Then why do I hold a big, thick, heavy paperback travel guide in my hand? Take a logical guess: travel. Not everyone wants to carry a laptop on vacation. On trips before, I have known friends to leave their guides at the last stop before heading home. Nope, not so for this book. This guide is a souvenir, a memory book of places visited. "Mysterious Places: Ireland" then becomes a new kind a coffee table book. At home leave it out, dog-eared, worn and torn, and guess how many visitors will pick it up? I dare say virtually every one!

Travel writer Ian Middleton begins his tome with the history of the first people of Ireland, Scythians, who descended from Noah's son Japheth through his son Magog. But it was through the oldest son of Magog that the first Gaedelic Celts descended. It is these Gaels who followed the balance of life: between the light and the dark, the natural and the divine--to become the Irish.

The first 300 pages of this 776 page book are dedicated to the Mystery and History of Ireland: invasions, deities and demigods, sea serpents, monsters, beasts, druids, poets, fairies, fairy tales, folk tales, mythical tales, then the History: the coming of the Christians, ancient cultures, and Ireland today. For full enjoyment of the book and your trip, you might consider reading this half before you go.

The travel section kind of unfolds from the history. There is, however, a clear demarcation between the two. Pick up the book and look at the bottom. The mostly white section is the Mystery; the second half with the dark area is the travel section.

Middleton provides the necessary travel information (clothing, monetary exchanges, etc), but much much more. Remember that archway over the two pages? Alongside each each from top to bottom of the page in a dark green rectangle is listed pertinent local information: where to eat, where to stay, costs, pubs, ferry crossings, and more. Then the pages provide information about out-of-the-way places, mysterious sites, and touristy areas. Also, on each two-page spread is at least one photo, map, and/or illustration. The book really is quite astonishing.

"Mysterious World: Ireland" is unlike other travel guides: it is a mini encyclopedia of a country with a focus on its mysterious past. Publisher Elwell says this is the first of a series he and writer Middleton and staff will put together. There is no dearth of people interested in the mysteries of a place, its world and culture.

For more information and updates to the travel guide, please visit http://ireland.mysteriousworld.com and www.mysteriousworld.com.

This gives the reader an excellent overview as to why Ireland is often described as mystical!

If you've ever wanted to know almost everything about the oddities of Ireland - its people, its places, its myths, its legends, look no further. "Mysterious World: Ireland" is nearly 800 full color pages filled with photos and information on almost every myth and legend about the small nation. Killer dwarfs and devious leprechauns fill an epic journey to uncover anything and everything enigmatic about the small island. Enthusiastically recommended for armchair travelers and anyone who's planning on going to Ireland and wants to see something a bit weird, "Mysterious World: Ireland" is for you, and should more than earn its spot on any travel shelf in community libraries.

we used this book all over ireland - looking for sacred sites --
you do need a car - as public transportation does not go all placres - and taxis are expensive

the book worked wonderful

Michael Adam's new book; "Napoleon and Russia" is an excellent account about the uneasy relationship between Napoleon and Russia from the 1790's through to 1815. It's a great historical account covering the many battles and people involved during this period of time. We not only get to read about Napoleon and Alexander I, but also of the many Napoleonic Marshals and Russian commanders like Ney, Murat, Davout, Suvorov, Kutuzov and Barclay de Tolly who fought some of the greatest battles of the Napoleonic period.

The book is refreshing in it's accounts of the many battles fought between France and Russia, offering gripping descriptions of the fighting at Austerlitz, Eylau, Friedland, Borodino, Lutzen, Bautzen, Dresden and Leipzig. For once we have an author who places greater emphasis on these battles rather than Trafalgar, the Peninsular campaign and Waterloo.

I found the book very easy to read, thrilling almost in its style. I was gripped by the story till the very end. As the previous review has mentioned (Amazon.co.uk), Adam's appears to sometimes go a little easy on Napoleon but in doing so he offers valid reasons for accepting a particular version of events. It's a nice change to read an account of Napoleon without him being blamed for every disaster or being described as an insatiable glory hunting ogre.

The author offers valid reasons for accepting one account or reason for Napoleon's actions over another and he is convincing in most cases. Having said that, the author doesn't let Napoleon off the hook for his mistakes and Adam's ensures that he brings those to the reader's attention. The book appears to be a fair and balanced account of the period of relationship between France and Russia during the time of Napoleon's reign.

Overall the book is a great historical account, well researched, refreshing in its approach and easy to read. The book has 560 pages of narrative with a number of maps, which are reasonable and allow the reader to follow the course of the battle described. What I found to be a bonus in this book was the bibliographical essay at the end, which gave me a few good ideas on books that I should also consider buying for my library. I would have no hesitation in recommending this book to any Napoleonic buff or anyone interested in military or general European history, it's a damn good book.

With many fine works available on Napoleon and his campaigns available (second only to World War II), one must ask what does another one have to offer? The answer in this instance is very fine writing, good organization, helpful maps, and a scholarly and even-handed presentation of history.

The errors are negligible, and when author Adams inserts his opinions or conclusions, they are so consistent with the evidence that the reader readily accepts them as almost a restatement of what the reader was thinking. A writer can hardly do better than that.

The cast of characters is immense but the deftly handled by the author in the text. A newcomer to the Napoleonic Era might enjoy an appendix giving brief profiles of the marshals, heads of state, generals and other important personages, and the author might consider putting that in a second edition.

And all too often writers limit themselves to the campaign of 1812 rather than looking at the events leading to that campaign and the campaigns of 1813 and 1814 that followed. Not Adams, and his story is good to the last drop. The campaign of 1813 brought the Russians with their allies to the gates of Paris and Napoleon finally ran out of miracles and the French out of options.

I particularly enjoyed reading a British author who did not stress British participation and influence during this time as is so common. And it must be stressed that all of the armies of the time acted more or less the same in foreign or occupied territory -- this was not a battle between good and evil but a conflict by competing parties for European hegemony. In this respect it was not the first of such conflicts, and not nearly the last. Adams is even-handed, discussing the bad with the good for all sides.

The author treats Napoleon with some sympathy rather depicting him as a power-mad orge. His portrait in undoubtedly more accurate and certainly more compelling than had he taken a non-scholarly position. Napoleon was hands down the greatest military general in the 18th and 19th centuries, but no military genius can go forever. His mistakes began to mount as he became older, and by 1814 was only able to summon up flashes of his former brillance. Fortunately for us, Adams maintains his brillance throughout.

In conclusion, if you are new to the Napoleonic Era, you can hardly do better than this book. If you are an old hand you will be pleasantly surprised and pick up nuggets and perspectives within the author's splendid prose that you might have overlooked or forgotten. It's like visiting an old friend with a fine bottle of wine and finding both the friend and wine are better than you remembered. Unfortunately I can't go higher than five stars.

The author does a wonderful job reconstructing the relationship between Napoleon and Russia. It is interesting to see the re-evaluation of the role of Alexander I in both this work and Rites of Peace, by Adam Zamoyski. Since the fall of Napoleon there has been this myth that has arisen concerning the role played by England and Russia in achieving Napoleon's fall. It is also interesting to see the mythos that surrounds Alexander I being finally corrected. The one criticism is the author states that Sweden's King Gustav IV was assassinated, rather he fell in a Coup d'etat and then abdicated.

Great Read

Beautifully written, precisely edited and thoroughly researched. Mr. Adams has achieved what no other British writer has done to date - rendered a completely neutral and fair assessment of the wars precipitated by the French Revolution and the reaction to it by the old monarchies of Europe. As one of the other reviewers mentions, it is an absolutely refreshing experience to read the history and see all sides given a fair and frank analysis of motivations and actions. Adams repeatedly provides intriguing and useful insights to the thought processes of Napoleon and Alexander I.

My only disappointment is that I've yet to find an English author willing to censure the British attacks on Denmark (a completely neutral and largely powerless nation). The naval action of Copenhagen in 1801 and the bombardment of that city and confiscation of the Danish fleet in 1807 were nothing less than heinous acts of bald-faced aggression which resulted in the deaths of many innocents. I was pleased, however, that Adams correctly points out that Napoleon had long abandoned his plans to invade England by the time the battle of Trafalgar was fought and that battle was in no wise pivotal to modern history as many claim.

I highly recommend this book as one of the best written histories of the period - period!

This book is very informative, citing now out-of-print primary sources and containing many colour and black and white photos of paintings and artifacts. It is alphabetically organized, also, and in a durable hardcover format. The author is obvoiusly well qualified. Highly recommended book.

Many years ago, I became a Nelson fan after reading an historical account of the Battle of Aboukir Bay. I was simply impressed by such an overwhelming victory by this master tactician of naval warfare. Now, as we approach the 200th anniversary of Trafalgar, it is only natural to suppose we shall be inundated with anything and everything "Nelsonian." If, however, they are all of the standard set by Colin White - we are in for a real treat.

Colin White is widely acknowledged as a leading expert on Nelson. He is the former Deputy Director of the Royal Naval Museum and is now Director of "Trafalgar 200" at the National Maritime Museum. In short, his credentials are impressive by any standards.

The Nelson Encyclopaedia is a hardback book measuring just over 10in x 8in containing 288 pages packed with solid information in an easy-to-follow format and all written by a man who knows his subject. As the words below the title on the front cover suggest, this is an encyclopaedia of all those facts and figures relating to the People, Places, Battles, Ships, Myths, Mistresses, Memorials & Memorabilia that were Nelson. This is, therefore, an ultimate reference source and probably the best possible place to start for those with little or no knowledge of the greatest naval genius of all time. At the same time, this is the also the book to answer those niggling little questions which trouble always the experts.

This is a work of reference will which stand the test of time. It is a scholarly work, an excellent read, well illustrated throughout and contains plenty of new material. It is very fitting that the Publisher's should be called "Chatham" and I congratulate them on a job well done.

NM

This is the best book I've read about Nelson in a long time (and I've read quite a few!). Colin White has unearthed a load of new material and has put it together in an accessible and readable form.

There is a first-rate introductory essay sketching out Nelson's life and career and showing how all the new material changes our view of the little admiral. Then there is a series of brilliant short essays on all aspects of his life - his battles, his ships, his women, and so on and so on.

Its one of those books its hard to put down. Each short essay has a "See also" section at the end of it and so you find yourself flipping happily through the book following a fascinating "trail".

Some great illustrations, many of which I'd never seen before and some excellent battle plans, again based on all the latest research. The book looks good too and feels good in your hands

This is not a traditional biography, but don't let that put you off. I guarantee you'll get a huge amount of enjoyment out of it and come away feeling that you have been listening to a man who really understands Nelson.

Colin White works hard so we don't have to. He has saved us having to dig through countless book to find information on persons, events and places that feature prominently, or even incidentally, in Lord Nelson's colourful life. This book will be an invaluable aid to everyone interested in Nelson, the Royal Navy, and the Napoleonic Wars.
Also highly recommended:

Joel Hayward's "For God and Glory: Lord Nelson and His Way of War"

Evan Thomas's "John Paul Jones : Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navy"

Tom Pocock's "Horatio Nelson"

This document, soon to be published as an independent book by Pathfinder, is a summation of the lessons of history of revolution. In its way it is in line with the Communist Manifesto, with the fundamental documents of the Comintern, knitting together the history of world revolution, and of its Marxist vanguard in particular. This is not just about Trotsky and his contributions, but about how the Cuban communists fit into the continuation of Leninism, of what lessons we can learn from the crushed revolutions in Grenada and Nicaragua and by extension Burkina Faso.
There is so much, how Lenin's understanding of the importance of reaching out to farmers is true today, how new currents of workers searching for communist answers will keep emerging as they did in Cuba, how Trotsky learned Leninism, and how Trotskyists have learned like Trotsky did, not to be Trotskyists, but to be communists.
For many, this pamphlet will take them back to the founding documents of the Communists International. For others this will take the to the continuing revolutionary politics of Fidel and the other Cuban communists.
If you are serious about changing the world, you need to read this, study this, and follow the links this important book takes you to revolutionists throughout history and around the world.

In an age when revolutionaries come from different family trees, how do you look at the legendary Leon Trotsky, and his theory of ?permanent revolution,? that colonial countries can move directly from capitalist governments to workers governments? Jack Barnes, Socialist Workers Party national secretary, examines this issue in an article based on a 1982 speech. The volume also contains a piece by Cuban Communist Carlos Rafael Rodriguez on Lenin?s contributions to the strategy of colonial liberation and a pair of articles, by Lenin and Trotsky, on the 1916 Easter rebellion in Ireland.

In an age when revolutionaries come from different family trees, how do you look at the legendary Leon Trotsky, and his theory of ?permanent revolution,? that colonial countries can move directly from capitalist governments to workers governments? Jack Barnes, Socialist Workers Party national secretary, examines this issue in an article based on a 1982 speech. The volume also contains a piece by Cuban Communist Carlos Rafael Rodriguez on Lenin?s contributions to the strategy of colonial liberation and a pair of articles, by Lenin and Trotsky, on the 1916 Easter rebellion in Ireland.

What does it take to make a socialist revolution? What sort of political leadership is needed? What program and strategy? How to you create it in practice?

I found this issue of New International very helpful in discussing and thinking about these questions, both to understand the world today and figure out what to do about it. Jack Barnes bases his analysis on political work done by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels and leaders of the Russian Revolution V.I. Lenin and Leon Trotsky. He discusses lessons socialists in the United States had already drawn, and then takes a fresh look in light of the 1979 worker and peasant revolutions in Nicaragua and Grenada and the debate they sparked on revolutionary strategy.

The discussion takes up issues where there have often been differences among revolutionary organizations, including the character of alliances between workers and peasants or farmers, the role of armed struggle and electoral campaigns, and the type of the government to establish after overthrowing a capitalist regime. Barnes stresses the importance of the Cuban Revolution, both for the example it sets and the conscious efforts of the Cuban leadership to advance revolutionary leadership development around the world.