This third edition of Joseph Coohill's bestselling book has been fully updated to include the St Andrews Agreement and the decommissioning of IRA weapons. Starting with the first prehistoric inhabitants of the island, the book takes us right up to the present day, covering the Great Famine, Home Rule, the Good Friday Agreement, and beyond. Clear and lucid, Coohill's writing paints an engaging picture of a people for whom history is a key part of present-day reality. Reviewing differing historical interpretations, Coohill ...
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This third edition of Joseph Coohill's bestselling book has been fully updated to include the St Andrews Agreement and the decommissioning of IRA weapons. Starting with the first prehistoric inhabitants of the island, the book takes us right up to the present day, covering the Great Famine, Home Rule, the Good Friday Agreement, and beyond. Clear and lucid, Coohill's writing paints an engaging picture of a people for whom history is a key part of present-day reality. Reviewing differing historical interpretations, Coohill allows the reader to come to their own conclusions. Highly accessible, yet demonstrating a sophisticated level of analysis, this book will continue to provide a valuable resource to tourists, students and all those wishing to acquaint themselves further with the complex identity of the Irish people.
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Very informative about Irish history. Examines a wide range of issues regarding the country. Not difficult to read.
AlbuquerqueStew
Aug 20, 2009
Useful but....
This is the first book on Irish history I read in preparing for a trip to Ireland. It covers the period to 1800 very briefly. Recent history is covered through some time in 2007. Positives: well organized; covers important themes (organized by chapter); section at the end of each chapter summarizes alternative historical interpretations and explanations of the period in that chapter. Negatives: rather dry prose style; terse coverage before 1800 does not give the reader the background to understand some of the prevailing attitudes. For the period from the Neolithic to the coming of the English, an excellent summary is In Search of Ancient Ireland, by a documentary film maker who made a film with the same name.
