Ireland Books

A very thorough and perceptive analysis of the Reign of James VI of Scotland, later to be James I of England. Patterson's depiction of James as a conciliatory force within British Christendom is well supported in this excellent period history. Articulate and intellectually stimulating.

Dr. Patterson's King James VI and I and the Reunion of Christendom is a significant contribution to the volume of works written about early 17th Century . The work shows that James tried to acheive an ecumenical union among the fractured states of Europe in a century that saw one crisis after another. The incredible amount of research that went into this book is clearly evident. This would make an excellent addition to anyone's library.

This book was magnificent and must for any fight fan it is dark and the details are incredabley graphic i couldnt put this book doown once i picked it up....READ THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!

The ship hit a rock...Oh what a shock the boat nearly turned right OOver...turned 9 times around and the poor old dog was drowned ....Now I'm the last of the Irish rovers'!

so if you can read Spanish - it's a great book.

Many years after its first publication, Paul Avrich's "Kronstadt, 1921" remains one of the best books written about one of the most important events of the Russian Revolution. The book is a detailed history of the Kronstadt 'mutiny' of March 1921, in which many see the seeds of Stalin's future dictatorship.

Basically, what happened is this: following a wave of strikes and discontent in Russia caused by the repressive methods of "War Communism," the sailors at the Kronstadt naval base in the Baltic Sea published a document proposing the deconstruction of the Bolshevik Party's single-Party Dictatorship (if not necessarily the Party itself). The Bolsheviks responded by attacking the base and executing those behind this 'mutiny.' Since 1921, there has been a continuing debate between Leninists and anarchists/libertarian socialists as to whether this constituted a betrayal of the principles of socialism and the ideals of the Russian Revolution.

The Leninists claim that the Kronstadters were mutineers who needed to be "crushed by the iron hand of the proletariat." The anarchists and libertarian socialists hold that it was the Bolshevik Party itself that betrayed the Revolution and laid the base of Stalin's purges, gulags, and authoritarian dictatorship by attacking the base Leon Trotsky had once called "the Pride and Glory of the Russian Revolution."

As a result of this lasting antagonism, most histories of the uprising tend to be slanted in favor of one side or the other - but Paul Avrich here makes an attempt to cut through the partisan wrangling and establish the factual history of the base once and for all. He reaches the conclusion that the Bolsheviks reacted to Kronstadt's challenge to their authority with unnecessary intransigence and brutality, but does mention the pressures of the Russian Civil War of 1918 - 1920 to help explain their actions. Mr. Avrich also rips apart much of the official propaganda surrounding the myth of Kronstadt (for example, that the mutiny was organized and led by a Tsarist General).

"Kronstadt, 1921" is a well-written account of one of the most important and interesting events in the history of the Russian Revolution and the formation of the Stalinist Soviet Union. Recommended reading for anyone interested in Russia or its history. Five stars.

Whether as Wife, Seeress, or Sovereign, the high-born lady was the king-maker for her people. No new-age wishfullment here. The Author cites archeological finds, medieval texts and histories and established cultural norms for the period under study. Her world may have been circumscribed by tradition, but within her circle she wielded considerable power. The Author also presents evidence for a stronger Celtic influence on Teutonic culture than previously accepted. A wealth of information, not for the casual reader; no titilating tales of witchcraft or Goddess worship or 'uppity women'.

Rede Seeker's review above is dead-on. This is well researched and crucial to reconstruction of ancient European religious practices. However, it is available in pretty much any library in the world (just request it through InterLibrary Loan or your local equivalent). Plus, it only has re-reading value to serious grad students. I would pay a couple hundred dollars for it, since it is out of print, but the prices listed here recently are ridiculous. If you need the info in this book, save your thousand dollars and visit your local library.

I had forgotten I wrote the other review on here. A long time ago, that was. It's so wordy and descriptive and sparkling with life and vitality, too. So I'm going to try to do this book more justice, now that I've had more practise writing reviews.

I believe this book is the fullest of tragedy and melodrama of the five in the series, and at the time I wrote that other review it was my favourite book of all. When I think of this book, I think primarily of Morgan, Finola, and the rest of the clan in Dublin, because most of the action really takes place there. Occasionally you cut back to New York City for a dose of Nora's, "When am I ever going to have a baby, sweetheart?" or "Sara, darling, you will take down your hair just for me!" It must be that I didn't read the New York episodes as often and they aren't implanted in my mind as the Dublin ones are.

In New York, Nora is married, Michael is engaged, and Tierney is working for a crime boss. In Dublin, Morgan is still trapped in the wheelchair. There is no miracle cure here, unfortunately. A Nun (capital N) named Sis. Louisa and a wolfhound named Fergus join the staff at Nelson Hall. Finola becomes the victim of unfortunate circumstances in the red light district and is brought to live at Morgan's house while she recovers, and her "wicked woman" friend Lucy comes along. I think somebody dies too, but I won't say who. Oh, and I think Nora finally was going to have a baby, too. Sandemon's deep, dark past is uncovered, Aine waits patiently to be adopted by Morgan, and so forth and so on. I love the part when there IS a miracle cure - not for Morgan, but for Finola - when she can suddenly talk again. It is a very incredible scene, perhaps a bit unrealistic, but perfect for fifteen or sixteen year old girls who dote on that kind of romantic dramatisation and swoon over it with their friends.

I shall say no more of the wonders between the front and back covers of this book. You must read it yourself and find out all about it.

I love this book. A friend loaned it to me and once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. It is filled with excitement and inspiration. I was very encouraged to read this wonderful story.

Only a handful of historians have the gift for story-telling that Dr. Nicol demonstrates in this great work. It is an academic work in popular style comparable only to the works of Steven Runciman (see especially, The Fall of Constantinople 1453 (Canto)).

In this work, Nicol organizes the post-Latin kingdom into 4 periods, the post-Latin empire restoration (1261-1282), the era of decline (1282-1321), the civil wars (1321-1354), and the final century of Ottoman incursion (1354-1453). Each section could be studied on its own though each builds on the previous sections as a coherent whole. The final chapter concerning the last holdouts after the fall of Constantinople seemed a bit rushed compared with the rest and this reviewer was hoping for more detail there. There was one map for the entire book and that makes understanding the 200 year span of changes more difficult to follow. Inside the back cover is a family tree for the last emperor, Constantine XI. Despite the minor disappointments this important work is a fine overview of the last centuries of Byzantium and a useful and enjoyable read. The book's overall value far exceeds any of its shortcomings.

Donald Nicol's account of the last 250 years of Byzantine history is accurate, well written and neatly organized. Unlike studies of earlier ages for the Empire where the Empire and the Arabs ruled the East, Eastern Mediterranean history after the Fourth Crusade can get rather complex and confusing, as not only the Empire, but the "crusading" Latins, the Islamic nomads, and the Slavic Christian Kingdoms must all be considered. A tale that could easily become entangled and confusing for the reader, Nicol superbly narrates the events and provides detailed accounts of the players. He cleverly demonstrates how entrenched the beleagured Byzantines were, with the greedy Italians to the west, the encroaching Turks to the east, the growing Serbian Empire to the north, and the festering internal decay of Imperial decentralization from within. Yet, the Empire still produced great leaders like Theodore Laskaris I, John Vatazes, Michael VIII, John Cantacuzene, and perhaps the most tragic of all medieval heroes, Constantine XI Palaeologos, who all, in better times and without so many encoaching powers from the outside, may have saved the Empire from such tragedies. But in addition to this sad tale of Byzantium's fall, Nicol also narrates the flourishing of Orthodoxy in the Imperial and Slavic world, as well as the flowering of learning and thought at Mistra, in the lower Peoloponese. This alone, was the spark that triggered the resurgance of knowledge and arts in the Italian Peninsula, less than 100 years after the Fall of Constantinople. What many, scholars and readers alike, tend to forget is that Byzantium's lasting legacy lay in its cultural achievements in the Orthodox Church, as well as providing the materials and teachers that would reawaken Western Europe into that period of rebirth so commonly referred to as the Renaissance.

This is a thought provoking book about the teaching of Latin in traditional, mostly European, educational systems from the 16th through 20th centuries. The author cites numerous examples of the way in which the prestige of knowing or being forced to learn Latin shaped the educational process as well the sometimes unwilling students who needed to acquire a fair amount of Latin in order to be full participants in this "empire." Highly interesting as a social/linguistic history in its own right,much of what Waquet describes could also be applied to any number of other class/educational factors that seemingly separate those who are inside or outside the system. No Latin ("dead language") basher, the author actually provides examples for the continued utilty of the study of Latin, albeit in a more specialized mode than those who wish to restore the classics to a place of prominince might wish. Highly readable for a scholarly book of this sort.

As the XVIII century advanced, the Latin language tended increasingly to decline in favour of the French, which reigned for the whole XIX century, before itself meeting competition from English.

In a sense it was the end of an era, a long late summer appropriately marked by the French revolution, the Napoleonic wars and the ensuing spreading of nationalisms. The "death" of Latin was more a kind of slow fading away: while it was increasingly superseded by French in the Republic of Letters and in the international diplomacy, it knew his last melancholy bright days with the philological studies in the German universities and the creation of Gymnasium: dissected, revered and enshrined it was no more than the cadaver of that great sovereign who ruled the European continent for so many centuries.

Universal language par excellence, Latin never ceased to be used in Europe even after the fall of the Roman Empire and the spreading of the new national languages. But in the meanwhile its use had changed substantially: from everyday language, increasingly to universal language in the double role of "sacred" language (for liturgy and Scriptures) and language of power and diplomacy. Then with Renaissance it finds a new role as language of culture: it is a second spring, because it becomes the supranational official language of the humanism first, and then of the so called Republic of Letters. Decline is only slowed none the less. Parallel to these roles, others are less obvious: aristocratic language, with its power of exclusion, the power to "say and conceal" and its obvious immediate uselessness that can become a mark of distinction for a proto-leisure class (Veblen).

"Latin or the Empire of a Sign. From the XVI to the XX century" is an outstanding essay on the evolution and role of this language in the European culture.
Well written, in a lively and colloquial style, sprinkled with examples, citations and anecdotes, it successfully captures the attention of the reader.
Certainly, the theme is very specific and targeted to an readership interested in the development of European culture and in Greco-Latin philology, none the less the writer has been able to arrange a "reader-friendly" text: all Latin citations are translated, every theme is carefully expressed in a way that also uninitiated can fully understand.

I found this book almost by chance: a few years ago had read a very flattering review of it, but as often happens, I forgot and reading did not follow. This is a study that springs from a former essay written by Francoise Waquet with Hans Bots: "La République des Lettres" (unfortunately still not translated into English), of which Latin was the common jargon.

So why Latin could be such an alluring theme?
Well, because it was a common primeval language, a common mark in the identity of a culture before the Babel-like fragmentation of the Romantic period.
By looking at the story of the decadence of Latin, the development of the Continental culture can be understood more clearly: the decision of Louis XIV to favor a national literary language and the French great literary blooming (the age of Racine, Molière, Pascal,...) that precede the spread of French as common language of the European Enlightenment, the rise of bourgeoisie and the French Revolution, up to Vatican II Council in the XX century. But still in the XVII century Spinoza, by family and culture Ladino and Dutch-speaking , had to learn Latin to compose his treaties - and we can guess he did speak and write Latin with the Great Condé, with Leibniz and Oldenburg.
So first sacred language of religion and priesthood, then universal language for the Renaissance savants, diplomatic jargon in the European court and common idiom of the European cultural space, increasingly threatened by new national ambitions: the French decision to use national language for diplomatic treaties (to mark the national grandeur) and the development of true national cultures favored by the rise of a new middle class.

Mme Waquet is neutral in presenting the argument: she is neither against Latin nor nostalgic of the Latin golden age: she carefully gives voice to all parties in a well balanced and very convincing portrait. Most of the chapters actually deal with the pedagogic means used to learn Latin, and the contrabanded "virtues" of the fluency in that language.
Nevertheless sometimes the books presents passages of a great evocative force: the title in the first place with its suggestive "Empire of a Sign", the chapters dealing with the French Restoration (the "signe Européen" of Joseph the Maistre, Chateaubriand,...) up to scattered citations. One especially got my attention, and truly deserves to be fully cited:

"The writer Marie Noel, who regarded herself as "ignorant" ("I know no more Latin than my mother, my grandmother and their servants"), gives an admirable description of this experience which was certainly not hers alone: «The words, many times repeated, of Veni Creator, Miserere, De Profundis, Magnificat, Te Deum and all the others had become within us our family treasure». Her "Notes intimes" give a clear impression of what it was like to have contact with a language that - apart from everything else - was neither read nor-spoken, but sung, and that was therefore inseparable from its musical coating: «The little girl of Auxerre will begin ... on hearing Christmas carols, the moving monody of the Stabat, . . . to become aware of the power of words». Words, moreover, that resounded in the nave of a cathedral whose rich decor accentuated the impression they made.
«I had just turned nine, my grandmother took me with her. For me it the entrance to a sublime world, outside the other one, a world in which god and men exchanged unprecedented words that had no meaning in other countries. On the evening of All Saints' Day, at six o'clock, the two of us made our way into the great Night of the Cathedral which at that hour, under its prodigious vaults, had neither beginning nor end... In the tower the knell tolled... that admirable knell of Auxerre Cathedral, a tragic group of deep bells that burst suddenly into sobbing - five or six heartbreaking notes - and then fell back into silence from which, after a few minutes of anguish, they would break out once more in sombre tears drawn from some unknowable well of suffering and fear... Nevertheless, we sang along with the priests! »" (pag.102)

I did read this book because of my passion for the history of the European culture and also because of my old studies in Greco-Latin philology.
This book is unique in his genre, and while I strongly recommend it, it is not easy to suggest other books on the same theme. Nonetheless, I think that these titles could be excellent associates:
- "The Republic of Letters. A cultural History of the French Enlightenment" by Dena Goodman. Very interesting and well written, but uneven in the result, and sometimes with a too marked militant feminist approach (yet the author doesn't seem to appreciate the fact that Enlightenment was the first period in which women had a true relevant cultural role).
- "The Age of Conversation" by Benedetta Craveri - a must read for sure! Gripping like a novel and hugely learned, this is the story of the development of that culture of bonne manieres, intelligent conversation, informal culture and tact that we now tend to associate with Enlightenment and the last years of the Ancien Regime.
- "The Renaissance Bazaar. From the silk road to Michelangelo" by Jerry Brotton. One of the best presentation of the European Renaissance I had the chance to read: extremely lively and hugely learned (if interested, I have written a review on it)
- "Scribes and Scholars" by L.D. Reynold & N.G. Wilson, still unsurpassed introduction to classical philology. One of the few books in which academic and poetical are not incompatible adjectives. Extremely interesting the chapters dealing with the re-discovery of classical Latin texts, the struggle to emendate from errors and improve understanding.

You are truly welcome if you can suggest other readings or just share ideas and comments!
Thanks for reading.

I am grateful to the American Bar Association for publishing this wonderful collection of legal tales full of drama and history. And thanks to the authors for giving us a hearty portion of the juice in jurisprudence. Law Makers, Law Breakers and Uncommon Trials is an ideal traveling companion for each chapter tells a complete story that can be enjoyed while in flight, at the dinner table or at bedtime.

As a law student, lawyer and Superior Court Judge, I have read hundreds of books about the failures and triumphs of our legal system. I have never read anything that comes close to this book in recounting so many compelling stories of heroes and villans who have passed through the courts. Before reading this book, I knew a few facts about some of the 25 stories it tells. I am so pleased now to know what really happened in these famous cases. Once I got started, I couldn't set it down. Roderic Duncan

This is a great book! It moves along so seamlessly, you'd think you were having a conversation. I felt like I knew the characters. I had tears in my eyes when I finished and didn't want the book to end.

This book, A Leck in th'Ear is, probablly, the best book on Irish living I have ever read. The stories deliver exactly as promised, and then some. This is an informative, witty, nostalgic, accurate depiction of rural Ireland in the 20's and 30's. On top of all that, it is a marvelous read and captures one's imagination right from the first paragraph through the all too quick finish.
I cannot wait to get information on the author and her other books.
A Leck in thEar is a must read for anyone who has had a childhood. Period.

I received this book as a gift from my husband the year I was going to visit my grandmother in Ireland. It was terrific!! Not only was it informative, but it actually made you feel as though I visited all of the places listed in the book. I have since re-read it and also just came back from my second trip in less than 10 months.

Just want to let the reader from Boston know, you have to go and visit Ireland. You will never forget it and you will always want to go "home" again and again.

Well, I've never been to Ireland, and now I'll never have to go! I just finished reading Let's Go: Ireland 1998 from cover to cover and it was fantastic. I never read so many restaurant reviews, hotel reviews, and pub reviews in my life. My favorite section was Practical Information where you can find out who to call in Dublin when you trip and fall or lose your luggage. I may not need that info right now, but who knows? If I ever go to Co. Cork, and furthermore lose my luggage, I may not know what to do but boy will I wish I was in Dublin. Even though the information in this book shines, it is the writing that makes this edition a classic in the annals of travel writing. I think it was the editing. The researchers did a good job, but I could tell that most of the value added to the book from the previous year came from the keen eyes and golden pens of these two fabulous editors. For instance, circumambulate! Who else would be able to work that word into a budget travel guide. Five stars!