Read Ireland Book Review
Issue 208
A Heritage of Beauty: The Garden Plants of Ireland - an Illustrated Encyclopedia by E. Charles Nelson
Large Hardback; 75.00 Euro / 70.00 USD / 62.50 UK; Irish Gardens Plant Society Publication, 342 pages with full colour illustrations throughout [Add To Basket]
This unique, illustrated encyclopedia contains descriptions of around 5,300 garden plants that were raised in Ireland or that are, by various means, associated with Irish gardeners and gardens. It is the culmination of 25 years' research by an acknowledged authority of Ireland's garden heritage and garden plants. It is also a tribute to all those Irish men and women who have contributed to the enjoyment of gardens throughout the country.
Dublin's Little Jerusalem by Nick Harris
Paperback; 12.50 Euro / 11.50 USD / 10.50 UK; Farmer, 229 pages [Add To Basket]
The heart of Dublin's little Jerusalem was Clonbrassil Street. The author was born nearby, in 1915, and in this lively memoir he tells of its characters and customs from the inside. Mostly refugees from the pogroms of Eastern Europe, Dublin's Jews were determined to succeed in their new lives, full of initiative and willing to work all hours. They brought with them the rich tradition of Orthodox Judaism, lovingly recalled by the author - the weekly rituals of the sabbath, the preparation of food according to kosher rules, the elaborate preparations for great festivals such as Passover, celebrated with solemn ritual and private joy. Since prosperity and emigration have sadly dispersed the once close-knit community, this memoir provides a unique insight into a distinctive part of Dublin lift and history.
The Ulysses Guide: Tours Through Joyce's Dublin by Robert Nicholson
Paperback; 9.99 Euro / 9.50 USD / 8.50 UK; New Island, 178 pages [Add To Basket]
This book follows the 18 episodes of Joyce's Ulysses to their original locations. With it, the reader and walker and retrace the footsteps of Stephen Dedalus and Leopold Bloom on eight tours through the Dublin, with detailed text relating to landmarks, and assorted tales and anecdotes. The book includes map, comprehensive directions, summaries of each episode, and photographs, as well as practical information on opening hours and bus routes. This is an essential handbook for anyone exploring Dublin.
Black Mass: The Irish Mob, the FBI, and a Devil's Deal by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill
Paperback; 16.20 Euro / 15.00 USD / 14.00 UK; Public Affairs, 382 pages [Add To Basket]
John Connolly and James 'Whitey' Bulger grew up together on the tough streets of South Boston. Decades later, in the mid-1970s, they met again. By then, Connolly was a major figure in the Boston office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Bulger had become a godfather of the local Irish-American Mob. What happened next - a deal to bring down the Italian-American Mafia in exchange for protection for Bulger - would spiral out of control, leading to murders, Bulger's takeover of the neighborhood drug trade, racketeering indictments, and, ultimately, the biggest informant scandal in the history of the FBI. A gripping, epic trust story of violence, double-crosses and corruption, this book is much more than a crime story: it is also a fascinating book about Irish America.
Whiskeys of Ireland by Peter Mulryan
Hardback; 25.00 Euro / 24.00 USD / 23.00 UK; Obrien Press, 160 pages, full colour photos throughout [Add To Basket]
Irish whiskey has a rich history, with traditions going back hundreds of years. This book tells of the ancient origins of distilling and the exciting period of the great Gaelic chieftains, of running battles between 'poitin' makers and excise men, of the industrial revolution and the trials and tribulations of the twentieth century. It brings the story up to date with the resurgence of whiskey in the present day. Ireland is home to some of the world's greatest and most famous whiskeys, and included in this book is an A-Z of the fifty-five most popular Irish whiskey brands, with tasting notes. The careful process of whiskey-making is also detailed - from barley, water and yeast, through malting houses, washbacks, giant copper stills and oak casks, to the finished, matured and mellowed whiskey. A guide to tasting whiskeys is also included to encourage a full appreciation of the subtle flavours, aromas, textures and colours of fine whiskey. The book is a colourful, entertaining and comprehensive introduction to the rich world of Irish whiskey.
The Modern Irish Novel: Irish Novelists After 1945 by Rudiger Imhof
Paperback; 14.99 Euro / 14.50 USD / 13.50 UK; Wolfhound Press, 308 pages [Add To Basket]
In this book, the author explores the lives and works of contemporary Irish novelists, including Samuel Beckett, Brian Moore, Edna O'Brien, John Banville and John McGahern. He also discusses in detail Dermot Bolger, Roddy Doyle and Patrick McCabe who have yet to attract as much critical attention as their predecessors. Each of these writers plays or has played a vital role in shaping Irish culture. This definitive and absorbing study fills in many of the gaps in understanding their essential role in Irish literature.
Tarot of the Celtic Heart by Julian de Burgh
Paperback; 16.20 Euro / 15.50 USD / 14.50 UK; Rider, 180 pages [Add To Basket]
This book is an inspirational guide to love and relationships that marries the wisdom of the Celts with the intuition of the Tarot. Although often fabulous and fantastical, ancient Celtic tales provide great insights into the ways that we behave in relationships. The stories' universal themes remain relevant to us today and connect with the cards of the Tarot. With this book's guidance, the reader will discover how to use the Tarot and the corresponding Celtic myths to gain understanding about any given relationship.
Compulsory Irish: Language and Education in Ireland 1870s-1970s by Adrian Kelly
Paperback; 27.50 Euro / 25.00 USD / 22.50 UK; Irish Academic Press, 183 pages [Add To Basket]
In independent Ireland, the attempt to revive the Irish language was the single most important policy in shaping the education system, with significant negative consequences for both the standard of education and the perceived status of the language. This book, which draws on previously unused government files, is the first detailed account of how the promotion of Irish, the central defining factor in moulding the education system and curriculum, was detrimental to the quality of education given and received. It examines why the schools were chosen as the chief instrument of Gaelicisation, why it was thought necessary and acceptable to trade educational achievement for linguistic ability, and why the policy was a significant failure in terms of what it set out to achieve.
From Connemara to Cock o' the North: Railway Journeys in Ireland and Scotland, 1920-1950 by Laurence Liddle
Paperback; 20.00 Euro / 19.00 USD / 17.50 UK; Colourpoint Press, 144 pages, with b/w photos throughout [Add To Basket]
This is a railway book about the days when trains really were trains and steam reigned supreme. Based on his own personal experiences of travel on Irish and Scottish railways from 1920 onwards, the author's vivid writing recreates for the reader the railway scene in the second quarter of the last century. This book reminds the reader of operating practices now passed into history and recalls events now almost forgotten. In the course of his travels, the author takes the reader to Howth, Co. Dublin, Bray, Co. Wicklow, Mullingar in the early GSR days, Edinburgh and the lines radiating from it in the early 1930s, and the GNR(1) lines in the mid-1930s. This is followed by a look at Irish railways during the war years and at the lines radiating from Belfast in the late 1940s. It is illustrated throughout with contemporary photographs.
Jews in Twentieth-Century Ireland: Refugees, Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust by Dermot Keogh
Paperback; 23.50 Euro / 20.50 USD / 18.50 UK; Cork University Press, 336 pages [Add To Basket]
This book analyses the relationship between the Irish state and the Jewish community in the 1930s and throws new light on the rise of anti-Semitism and on Nazi propaganda activity in the pre-war years. The anti-Semitism of the Irish envoy in Berlin, Charles Bewley, is evaluated in the context of the country's restrictive refugee policy. Particular emphasis is placed on the friendship between the Taoiseach, Eamon de Valera and Chief Rabbi of the Irish Free State, Isaac Herzog, which endured through the war years. The author assesses Ireland's humanitarian record during the Holocaust and its aftermath and examines the place of the Holocaust in the memory of Irish people, and finally traces the history of the Irish Jewish community from the 1950s to the 1990s.
The Big House in Ireland by Valerie Pakenham
Large Paperback; 30.00 Euro / 25.00 USD / 21.50 UK; Cassell, 192 pages, with colour and b/w photos throughout. [Add To Basket]
The Big House has haunted the Irish landscape and imagination for nearly four hundred years. This book attempts to recreate the world of the 'Big House' from the words of those who lived there - or stayed there - quoting from letters, diaries, memoirs, household accounts and travellers' tales. The author has been able to draw on a huge reservoir of private collections of family papers, many of them hitherto unpublished. Part of the book is devoted to the private lives of those who lived there, many of them as racy as the stock characters of Irish fiction: duels, adultery, abduction, family feuds - and extravagant hospitality leading to gout and insolvency. It also deals with their relations with their retainers and with their servants. Another section of the book deals with the relationship of the 'Big House' with the world outside its gates, including its response to the horrors of the Great Famine, to the Land War of the 1830s, and to the Troubles of the early 1920s which led to the burning of over seventy country houses and the collapse of the Ascendancy world. The last chapter deals with the survivors who chose to stay on and the astonishing renaissance of the Irish country house in the twenty-first century. This book is sumptuously illustrated throughout with contemporary paintings, drawings, photographs and caricatures, as well as superb new photographs by Thomas Pakenham.
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