1 comments about De Valera.

1. Tim Pat Coogan is one of Ireland's better known journalists, a former editor of the de Valera owned Irish Press, and a noted biographer of Michael Collins. In this critical biography of Eamon De Valera, De Valera doesn't come off looking too good. More importantly, the criticisms Coogan makes of De Valera are well-founded, and well documented.
   
   Despite its many criticisms of De Valera, this book is not so much a book dedicated to denigrating De Valera, as Coogan's lamenting that Ireland was not led by Michael Collins, the brains behind its quest for independence, but rather by Eamon De Valera, who came to prominence as the only commandant in the uprising of Easter 1916 to be spared by the English, because he was deemed to be too insignificant.
   
   As a general rule politicians come in two types: the visionary whose foresight allows him or her to enact policies that are beneficial to the country, and the schmoozer, whose rhetorical abilities and eagerness to set up a spoils systems a la Tammany Hall allows them to enjoy long periods in power.
   
   Coogan emphatically asserts that De Valera was a professional schmoozer and master of bureaucratic infighting, and far less competent as a policy expert. He shows how DeV frequently chose an understanding of history that suited him, so-called "De Valera facts," was very pragmatic when the need arose "As so often happened, De Valera wrestled with his conscience, and won..." questions his paternity, mentions rumors about his relationship with his secretary. He makes much of De Valera's propensity to make political hay out of Ireland's partition, and plead for a reunification, all the while fusing church and state to such a degree as to make this inconceivable.
   
   His most trenchant criticisms are that De Valera plunged Ireland into a civil war to guarantee his preeminence in Irish politics, that he barely if at all understood the economic facts of life. Coogan himself writes that he bears the De Valeras a grudge for what he felt was their shabby treatment of their employees; perhaps for this reason he appears to underestimate the good that De Valera gained for Ireland by keeping it out of the war.
   
   This book is well-written in the sense that if you already have a background in Irish history, Coogan will articulately and thoroughly go over the controversies that he wishes to raise, and give you his take on them. If you don't know that much about Irish history, you'll find many of the issues he refers to be at the very least close to arcane and somewhat baffling.

5 comments about Notes from the Warsaw Ghetto.

1. After I read the book "Diary of Mary Berg" I was so intrigued that I looked up some of the other books that are referenced in the "Diary of Mary Berg". I bought 3 more books from different authors that lived in the Warsaw Ghetto and I have been very pleased with these books because they deal more with the uprising in the ghetto then the diary does. The stories are very emotional and heartfelt. I am not Jewish but I was just as eager to learn from these books about the history of that time. I encourage everyone who may be interested to read this book or others like it to get a better understanding of what life was like in the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII.



2. It is many years since I've read "Notes From the Warsaw Ghetto" but it remains fixed in my memory along with Emannuel Ringelblum, who emodies for me the human ideal. In a time and place where death and destruction reigned, a simple teacher, father and husband bore witness to the inhumanity surrounding him. Ringelblum and a few other brave souls, ojectively recorded the daily lives of the inhabitants in the Warsaw Ghetto in considerable detail; describing the planned and enacted starvation, disease (rampant typhoid), the demands of the Germans on the Jewish Council for more and more Jews to be handed over for "deportation" and "resettlement in the East" (in truth the freight cars would carry the deported Jews to death camps of Treblinka and Auschwitz).
   
   His unearthed notes bore witness to the end of Jewish life in Poland and the attempts to maintain the vibrant society that once existed. Ringelblum's notes relate to us that despite the madness that had become their world, and the unknown future they faced, the Jews of the ghetto played music, sat in cafes (without food or drink), educated their children, worshipped, held political debates, prepared young zionist to make aliyah to eretz yisroel, collected arms and prepared to fight back. When the age old question arises; what does it mean to be a human being, I think one need look carefully at the Jews of the Warsaw ghetto to see how humanity can and does flourish despite the evil surrounding it.



3. It is a little-known fact that, during the first two or more years of the German occupation of Poland, Jews were treated better by the Germans than the Poles. Emmanuel Ringelblum alludes to this (March 25, 1940; pp. 24-25), when Poles felt safer masquerading as Jews! Also (August 6, 1940, p. 45): "True, they [Jews] were beaten; but Poles were shot. True, Jews are impressed into work; but Poles are sent out of the country to work...Jews were deported from Cracow in the course of several weeks, Poles in a few hours." (p. 45). Also (January 22, 1942): "The question of who is worse off now, the Jews or the Poles, is often discussed." (p. 248).
   
   Many Holocaust films exhibit a simplistic hagiography of Jews and demonization of Poles. In contrast, Ringelblum appreciates the diversity in the conduct of members of both groups, which can be summarized as follows (April 26, 1941): "[I] heard the opinion expressed that war reveals the best and the worst in people. It's like a high fever, in which everything is clarified. On the one hand, some Christians offer to help the Jews; on the other hand, bestial anti-Semitism; on the one hand stony hearts [among the Jews]; on the other, devoted self-sacrifice to aid those suffering from hunger." (p. 157). As Jews were being ghettoized, Poles showed sympathy in some locations and not in others (p. 45). The same holds for exploiting vs. helping Jews with regards to post-Jewish properties (pp. 51-52).
   
   Polish hoodlums' attacks were not limited to Jewish victims: (February 27, 1941): "On the other side of the Jewish graveyard, young Poles have formed bands that attack Christians as well as Jews." (p. 127). Sometimes Poles came to the defense of Jews under attack by Polish hoodlums.
   
   Ringelblum mentions positive Polish attitudes and helpful Polish actions towards Jews many times (p. 21, pp. 51-52, p. 64, 66, 91, 137, 152, 199, 216-217, 322-323). In terms of generalizations, at least some Jews believed that most local Poles were good to the Jews (May 15, 1941): "The Catholics displayed a far-reaching tolerance...Mr. Isaac estimates the percentage of saintly gentiles in Starograd at 95 per cent." (p. 170). Polish organizations are credited with doing away with Polish blackmailers (October 15, 1942; p. 322).
   
   Ringelblum alludes to the Germans' torching of a synagogue in Lodz and then blaming the Poles for it in an attempt to divide Poles and Jews (p. 39). He also never loses sight of the fact that Poles were also victims of the Germans. He discusses the privations and mass murders of Poles, notably of the Polish intelligentsia, numerous times (p. 21, 26, p. 30, pp. 38-39, 137, 145, 154, 169, 259, 288). The Poles realized that they were "next" when they saw the Jews ghettoized (p. 91).
   
   All illegal acts had to be conducted away from the prying eyes of the Germans and their informers of various nationalities. Ringelblum spoke of Jewish informers (p. 251, 339-340), Jewish Gestapo agents (p. 182, pp. 280-281), and the search for Jews hiding within the ghetto (December 14, 1942): "In 90 percent of the cases it was the Jewish police who uncovered the hideouts. First they found out where the hideouts were; then they passed the information along to the Ukrainians and Germans." (pp. 340-341). Ringelblum doesn't mention the fact that Jewish agents, specially trained for the unmasking of hideouts, were also sent to Polish urban areas, and into fields and forests, in order to uncover Jews hidden by Poles.
   
   A recurrent theme in Ringelblum's diary is the avariciousness of both the Polish Blue Police (Policja Granatowa) as well as the Jewish ghetto police (e. g., p. 145, pp. 154-155). Also (May 25, 1942): "As a result, a smuggler has to buy off four parties: Polish, Jewish, and German policemen, and now civilian agents as well." (p. 278).
   
   In common with other chroniclers, Ringelblum's harshest criticisms are directed against fellow Jews (September 22, 1942): "The Jewish police had a very bad name even before the resettlement. The Polish police didn't take part in the forced-work press gangs, but the Jewish police engaged in that ugly business. Jewish policemen also distinguished themselves with their fearful corruption and immorality. But they reached the height of viciousness during the resettlement...And now people are wracking their brains to understand how Jews, most of them men of culture, former lawyers (most of the police officers were lawyers before the war) could have done away with their brothers with their own hands...Very often, the cruelty of the Jewish police exceeded that of the Germans, Ukrainians, and Letts...For the most part, the Jewish police showed an incomprehensible brutality." (pp. 329-331).
   
   Owing to the actions of the Jewish ghetto police, a relatively small number of Germans and their Ukrainian and Baltic collaborators sufficed to send over 300,000 Warsaw Jews to their deaths at Treblinka (October 15, 1942): "Why could 50 S. S. [SS] men (some people say even fewer), with the help of a division of some 200 Ukrainian guards and an equal number of Letts, carry out the operation out so smoothly?" (p. 310).
   
   During the actual extermination process, there was the Jewish outcry over the fact that the world was not doing anything to stop it. But even what later became known as the Holocaust was at first contextualized by Ringelblum (June 25, 1942): "Why should the world be shaken by our suffering when rivers of blood are spilled daily on every battlefield? In what respect is our Jewish blood more precious than that of the Russian, Chinese, English soldiers?" (p. 296). Ringelblum concluded with several proposals for stopping the extermination of the Jews (pp. 297-298).



4. This book presents a factual chronological statement on the conditions, daily tribulations, and perils of the Warsaw Ghetto. It is written in a documentary style rather than an emotional diary, thus providing a basis to compare and contrast against other "diaries". THIS SAID, it is a moving statement on Warsaw Jewry and their ability to overcome impossible odds, eventhough the overwhelming majority perished. The plethora of historical revisionists that now claim the Holocaust was a hoax must FIRST contend with "Notes"( aginst which they will lose). A truly powerful work.



5. As we each sit in our little world each day perhaps having pity on ourselves. This book should be a guideline to keep us from self-pity. The author fairly reports from diaries gathered throughout the Holocaust Horror. He does not only blame Nazi Germans but Jewish Police. This is a bold, honest reflection into the eyes of children, adolescents, parents, as they were waiting for their fate. This book made me smile about humanitarism even when they truly did not have alot to share. This book made me scared for what the power of humans can do to weaken spirits. It made me cry to realize the horror they felt. I cheered hoping the author would go unharmed. I wept when I realized a man and his family perish because of a cause they firmly defended. True heroism.

   Unquestionably, this is one of the best written books I have read pertaining to the tragic historic event. It is an easy reading book however, it is hard to put down once you start.

   I will cherish my book always.

2 comments about The Green Fool (Penguin Modern Classics).

1. ...was to pick this book up at the Dublin airport on my way home to Atlanta. It is charming and, no surprise since Mr Kavanagh is a poet, very poetic. My favourite quote, which should give you the flavour of the book is: "But though the coin of joy isn't legal tender in the mundane shops of the world, it is in the lands of Imagination, and I to-day, jingling my purse of memory, know I am richer than Rockefeller or Henry Ford or the Rothschilds ever were."
   This book gives you a feel for the harsh realities and magic of living in Ireland in the first half of the 20th Century. I highly recommend it.



2. Patrick Kavanagh's autobiography of life in rural Ireland differs in many ways from McCourt's ubiquitous Angela's Ashes offering. In my opinion, it is far superior on every level - humour, pathos, wisdom, language, love...

   Being from Ireland, this book speaks volumes in its meagre 250 pages. The final paragraph reads... "I returned to Ireland. Ireland green and chaste and foolish. And when I wandered over my own hills and talked again to my own people I lookde into the heart of this life and I saw that it was good".

   Beautiful stuff... Seek this treasure out.

No comments about King Henry VIII (British History Makers).

No comments about James I: The Masque of Monarchy (English Monarchs Treasures from the National Archives) (English ... Treasures from the National Archives) (English Monarchs Treasures from the National Archives).

1 comments about London: The Biography of a City.

1. I read this book in preparation for a trip to London. It really helped to focus on the city and its people through the ages. On occasion, the details threatened to get a bit overwhelming. It followed the history of London from pre-Roman times to the modern era by time period. We look at how they lived and the quality of their life. The book is well illustrated with photographs, maps and drawings. I went to London with a friend who had NOT read the book and I found myself appreciating aspects of older London more than she. I also appreciated modern London more because I know about its struggles. I credit my appreciation and knowledge to this book. I highly recommend it, but don't take my word for it. Some of my guides recommended it, too.

1 comments about Irish Saints.

1. While not of Irish Ancestry, I thoroughly enjoyed this book on Irish saints and saintly people. Robert Reilly is an excellent story teller of these historical figures. I have read several books of St. Brendan, possibly the first European person to locate America and to leave a report about it which was able to influence Christopher Columbus into deciding to sail west to find it again. This is the best and most factual, or believable of the several accounts that I have read about him
   But the emphasis of all of these stories is on the love of these saints for Jesus and what they did as a result of this love. He closes the book with a prayer about which he says, "Since saintly lives are calculated to inspire us, a fitting close might be a 'Prayer to the Saints of Ireland' which I first learned from an Irish missal as a prisoner of war in Germany." I think this says a lot about why Robert strived so hard, and I believe succeeded, in writing a wonderful book about these saintly people.
   The saints that Robert Reilly has discussed in this book are:
   Saint Patrick
   Saint Brigid
   Saint Brendan
   Saint Columcille
   Saint Columban
   Saint Malachy
   Saint Laurence O'Toole
   Saint Oliver Plunkett
   Mother Catherine McAuley
   Father Theolbald Mathew
   Matt Talbot

3 comments about The Road to Culloden Moor - Bonnie Prince Charlie and the '45 Rebellion.

1. Bonnie Prince Charlie has long been a staple of Scottish legend, almost as much myth as reality. Diana Preston has given us in this book a true look at not only the man but also the rebellion he led. And it is not always an appealing picture that the author paints of the Young Pretender.

   Preston leads her readers along Charles' life laying a solid foundation for his actions in 1745. The reader is taken with the Prince to France where he expects to get aid from the French for his cause. As usual however, the French only use the Scots for their own purpose of distracting England and Charles finds only lip service there. Finally he sails for Scotland on his own, still expecting a French army to come to his aid. Indeed, he expects this right up until Culloden.

   The author does a fine job of relating the emotion of the times as he raises many of the Highland clans to his cause. She also clearly details the problems Charles faces in trying to command his clan army. For example, being posted on the right flank is an honor to the clans and at Culloden, when the MacDonalds end up on the left, they stand under heavy fire sulking, and refuse to attack. Still, Charles manages to almost enter London and if his clan chiefs hadn't decided that without the French an attack on London was doomed, the Stuarts might well have been restored.

   Until the battle at Culloden, the reader will feel great sympathy for the young Prince, but his actions immediately following the battle are rather shameful. Dejected, he refuses the call to rejoin the part of his army that remains and leaves the poor Highlanders to the not so tender mercies of the Butcher Cumberland. His flight from the British and their Highland allies is told in a spirited way that once again brings forth sympathy for Charles. It is during this period that Flora MacDonald rises to prominence.

   Finally, Preston deals with Charles remaining years, which are not nearly so appealing as his years as the Young Pretender. She also details the remaining years of many of his closest followers, several of whom are executed. This is a well written and intriguing account of the '45 and will be enjoyed by almost anyone with Scottish roots. My only quibble is a lack of notes to back up the author's statements, but that seems to fade as a concern as one is drawn into this truly remarkable story.




2. Bonnie Prince Charlie is a figure of myth and romance, and anyone who enjoys Scottish folk tunes will hear his name sung with reverence many times over. It is easy to get lost in the story and lose hold of the reality.

   "The Road to Culloden Moor" is a fantastic book, telling the history of Charles Edward Stuart and his quest to regain the British throne in 1745. This is no "hero with feet of clay" revisionist history, but instead equally recalls the strengths and weaknesses of the young pretender. Beginning with the raising of his father's standard at Glenfinnan, the Jabobite rebellion would capture of Edinburgh and march to within 130 miles of London and end in a devastating defeat at Culloden Moor on 16th April 1746.

   This book brings the rebellion alive without resorting to purple prose or dramatic emphasis. The facts are facts. The characters are accurate portrayals, based on journals and eyewitness accounts. One of the most interesting pieces of this story is the role the English media played in the rebellion, manipulating stories to achieve emotional effect. "Sweet" Prince William (also known as "William the Butcher") was sold to the English people as a charming and brave defender of the crown. Charles Stewart, the Young Pretender, was marketed as a rapist and eater of babies.

   A very interesting book to those interested in Scottish history.




3. Bonnie Prince Charlie is a figure of myth and romance, and anyone who enjoys Scottish folk tunes will hear his name sung with reverence many times over. It is easy to get lost in the story and lose hold of the reality.

   "The Road to Culloden Moor" is a fantastic book, telling the history of Charles Edward Stuart and his quest to regain the British throne in 1745. This is no "hero with feet of clay" revisionist history, but instead equally recalls the strengths and weaknesses of the young pretender. Beginning with the raising of his father's standard at Glenfinnan, the Jabobite rebellion would capture of Edinburgh and march to within 130 miles of London and end in a devastating defeat at Culloden Moor on 16th April 1746.

   This book brings the rebellion alive without resorting to purple prose or dramatic emphasis. The facts are facts. The characters are accurate portrayals, based on journals and eyewitness accounts. One of the most interesting pieces of this story is the role the English media played in the rebellion, manipulating stories to achieve emotional effect. "Sweet" Prince William (also known as "William the Butcher") was sold to the English people as a charming and brave defender of the crown. Charles Stewart, the Young Pretender, was marketed as a rapist and eater of babies.

   A very interesting book to those interested in Scottish history.

5 comments about An Evil Cradling: The Five-Year Ordeal of a Hostage.

1. This is undoubtedly one of the most powerful books I have ever read. It is not a chronological or day to day catalog of how one man survived an ordeal which most of us could only imagine (being held hostage in Lebanon for five? years because some terrorists mistook him for an Englishman, when he was actually Irish), but rather a look at how his inner resources helped him survive, and helps the reader understand what a resourceful and mentally strong will it takes to do so. This is a cut above, and frankly, a book that has not been far from my thoughts since I finished it...



2. What words describe this book?

   Powerful, disturbing, haunting and yet beautiful, inspirational, darkly humorous, certainly well written. Every emotion is experienced as one is taken into the dark world and life he lived. Every emotion stays alive within you for some time after reading it.

   Although the book describes in detail the horrible events of his hostage ordeal, the overwhelming theme is the absolute need and tremendous importance of human relationships, interdependancy and love. Mr. Keenan shows us the depths possible in friendship and trust. If these can sustain hostages in hell, certainly they can transform any life. He has caused me to re-evaluate my own human condition.

   Equally important in today's post-9/11 world, anyone who is asking what is in a terrorist's mind to drive them to such evil will find answers here. He describes the beliefs, motivations and values of those terrorists who held him - not much removed from those of today. Their world is in every sense foreign to "Westerners."

   It is an honor to have read this book. One is left thinking "God bless Brian and God help the rest of us."




3. I have reviewed this already. How come it is not linked?



4. In 1982 Israel invaded Lebanon and pursued the leaders of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), who were operating out of Beirut. A Multinational Force, in support of the then government, was set up in an attempt to stabilise the situation by separating the Muslim and Christian communities, however, by February 1984 the risks had become so great that the MNF was obliged to pull out of Lebanon, threatened by the prospects of civil war, and fearful of further terrorist attacks.

   The author of "An Evil Cradling", Brian Keenan, was taken prisoner a couple of years later, in 1986, and in this work he gives a gruelling account of his harsh and lonely imprisonment, enlightened mainly by vitally important snatches of human contact and interaction, largely with John McCarthy, a British journalist also held prisoner at the same time.

   Keenan left Ireland for Beirut in an attempt to flee the interminable, religious troubles of his homeland. It is true that by birth, he should have been less implicated in the religious conflicts of Lebanon, and yet ironically he came to suffer four and a half years of imprisonment, despite being an "outsider" to the difficulties in Beirut. He was an Irishman, not a Brit, an American or a Frenchman. His country had played no role in Lebanon and yet as an Irishman on the run, perhaps mistakenly taken for a Brit, he innocently fell into the very heart of the troubles. What he lived and felt is recounted here in beautifully written poetry and prose. It is a book which I know will remain engrained in my memory, and this being the case, I can only begin to imagine how much the experience will haunt him for the rest of his life.

   In my opinion, the most striking part of this book is the courage Keenan demonstrates in putting this experience on paper and confronting it head on.Rather than running away and hiding, he chooses to draw the most positive conclusions we could hope for with sanity and poise, conclusions which lead him to face the conflicts in Northern Ireland fearlessly. That is not to say that he escaped unscathed, far from it, but at least he tries to learn from what he suffered and attempts to share that learning with those willing to listen, and to try to understand. The intellectual and human strength demonstrated in this writing marked me forever.




5. I have recently read this book for my English class and I would have dropped it into the waste bin if it hadn't been my homework. Keenan's style is so egotistic and exaggrated you can't stand the book. His inner conflicts and complexes are all around the book. He keeps swapping between slang and his so-called academic language.

1 comments about The Life and Times of William IV (Kings & Queens).

1. This is a wonderful bio of William the IV. It gives great detail without to much depth. The pictures add a lot more to his story when a yank like myself can see the palaces, places and what the people looked like. I was please to see that this Anne Somerset did include the story of the Fitzclarences who are sometimes omitted for what seems to me as a PC move. They did a great job of explaining the Reform issues and just of showing that Midshipman Guelph, Prince William, the Duke of Clarence, and King William IV, no matter the title he was just your average man in a extraordinary situation.