5 comments about Mother Ireland: A Memoir.

1. I wonder how many readers picked up this innocuous-looking little book thinking it to be another shamrock-bedecked little souvenir from the dear old island. It's coruscating and ambitious. Edna O'Brien eviscerates the sacred cows and spatters the pages with their carcasses. This is from a now-obliterated Ireland of only three decades ago, but much of it reads as if a hundred years ago at least. The opening chapter, in which she narrates the mythic and the historical origins of Ireland, dazzled me with its accomplished polyphony. The photos are typical, I suppose, of the sort that any reader will have before seen, but the captions and the comments that O'Brien appends deserve attention, as do the unfortunately uncredited excerpts from readings that she scatters throughout, especially that of the visit to the Garda (police) house full of drunken men in uniform that is cooly set down in prose out of another O'Brien, pen name Flann.
   
   The only let-down from this was its unevenness. As the book progresses, it reveals more an uncertain tone. Later chapters feel to me unsure of what O'Brien or the editors meant them to convey: autobiography? travelogue? social analysis? memoirs? They gradually coalesce loosely into an account of her own maturity and flight to London from Dublin from the Co Limerick village where she was raised, and are worthwhile, but they do make for quite a change from the opening chapters.
   
   A good follow-up from two decades later would be, if read with a considerable amount of grains of salt, Rosemary Mahoney's "Whoredom in Kimmage: Irish Women Come of Age." The jump from these scenes in 1976 to those in 1994 is amazing, and these have only accelerated since Mahoney's stops. Today's unrecognizably permissive Irish cultural shifts would not have been possible without such as Edna O'Brien, who like Flann O'B, mixed satire and bitterness with affection and pride in the people of their stubborn island.



2. Excellent book. A warm intellectual stream, poetry really. O'Brien writes impressionistically of the history, and her memories of Ireland. Have a glass of wine, and read it through once: a very pleasurable task.



3. This is my second book by Edna O'Brien, and it only confirmed my high opinion of this talented writer. Snip: (...).



4. very flowery, slow moving not up to the level of many other Irish writers, not suited to my taste such as history or amusing recollections



5. Ireland is a woman-- womb, cave, bride, harlot, hag-- so, paraphrased, does Edna O'Brien begin her memoir. It is hard to believe this vibrant, lyrical reminiscence of growing up Irish has been out of print for years. O'Brien has created a personal odyssey in seven episodes out of the mystery and mists of Irish life, weaving it into its history and its mythology. Mother Ireland is comparable to Joyce's little books, Dubliners and Portrait of An Artist as a Young Man, in its command and integration of language and spirit. It dances with words, sensuality and the wondrous imagery, juxtaposed against the ever prevalent and monolithic Church and violence in this society. This is a treasure that imbues a unique touch and colouration -- feminine and mystical, earthy and spectral-- into the literary tradition of Ireland's small books.

1 comments about A Dorset Rifleman.

1. This is a unique book. It is one of the few memoirs of a line infantryman from the Napoleonic Wars. It is all the more interesting in that it is a soldier of the famous 95th Rifles. The original version was a stream of conciousness tome dictated by Rifleman Harris some years after the war. In was not in chronological order and could be quite confusing to all but the most informed student of the war. Eileen Hathaway has done two marvelous things in this version that make it much more accessible. First she has sorted out the original narrative of Rifleman Harris in chronological order with very brief explanations of the context in which they were written. (With one chapter of all the bits even she could not figure out when they happended.) Secondly, she has incorporated extracts from other memoirs of the time that bear on the same events that Rifleman Harris is describing. This also helps to give context. Rifleman at the time often had little or no understanding of the larger context. Not only did they suffer the same lack of view of the entire battlefield as any infantryman, but the nature of how riflemen were employed lead to them generally seeing an even more restricted portion of the battle. Hence Eilens narrative and the related memoir extracts puts everything in a perspective.
   
   All ain all a great read and a perspective hard to come by elsewhere on Napoleonic service.

1 comments about Smiling Irish Eyes: Art Rooney And The Pittsburgh Steelers.

1. Big Ben: 27-4 as a starter (2004-2005 seasons)---only losses (3 of which were injury-related): Patriots, 2004 AFC Championship game (if Plax holds on to sure TD pass, we are only down 7 with about 7+ minutes to go in that game; Ben did some good things and was battling thumb and toe injuries) and also in 2005 (if Randle El doesn't get `cute' and lateral that pass to Ward, we probably win; again, Ben did some good things), as well as the Bengals in 2005 (Ben has beaten Carson Palmer's Bengals 3 times: twice in 2004 and big-time in the AFC Wild-Card game in 2005; Ben had 3 TD passes in this lone defeat and was battling a thumb injury) and Indy in 2005 (as we know, he got revenge in the AFC Divisional Playoff game; Ben threw a TD pass to Ward in this Monday night defeat and was coming off an injury-induced layoff).
   
   Ben's FIRST NFL game: 2004 Pre-season at Ford Field vs. the Lions...last game of 2005 season: 2/5/06 at FORD FIELD, SUPER BOWL XL VICTORY!!!
   
   
   So Ben didn't play a superb game in Super Bowl XL and there was some controversy...
   
   --Super Bowl IX, 1/12/75: Steelers win 16-6 over the Vikings---Future Hall-of-Famer Terry Bradshaw is only 9 for 14 for 96 yards...BEN WAS 9 FOR 21 FOR 123 YARDS...Bradshaw threw a lone TD...BEN RAN FOR A LONE TD... Future Hall-of-Famer Fran Tarkenton's numbers were putrid: 11 for 26 for 102 yards, 3 interceptions, NO TD's! We were only winning 2-0 going into the third quarter (on a safety); a boring game. The Steelers wore their white shirts and Terry had a beard (the other 3 Super Bowls: black-and-gold shirts, Terry clean shaven)...WE WORE OUR WHITE SHIRTS IN XL AND BEN HAD A BEARD...the game turned on a VERY controversial "fumble-that-wasn't" by the Steelers Larry Brown: the Steelers left the field dejected, the Vikings were in prime territory...then the officials ruled Brown was down before the ball came loose (no way!!!!!)...and the rest is history;
   
   --Super Bowl X, 1/18/76: Steelers win 21-17 over the Cowboys---Future Hall-of-Famer Roger Staubach almost pulled out another miracle comeback...Swann's great falling-to-the-ground acrobatic catch led to no points (!);
   
   --Super Bowl XIII, 1/21/79: Steelers win 35-31 over the Cowboys---the Cowboys' Jackie Smith drops a SURE TD pass that would have tied the game AND our go-ahead TD was aided by a very controversial tripping penalty that cost Dallas 33 yards: Lynn Swann fell over Benny Barnes's ankles and, as Bradshaw has admitted, it shouldn't have been a flag...we were ahead 35-17 at one point...Staubach almost brought them back (35-31);
   
   --GAME BEFORE SUPERBOWL XIV: AFC Championship game vs. the Oilers, 1/6/80: Steelers win 27-13---late in the third quarter, officials ruled that Oilers receiver Mike Renfro did not have possession of what appeared to be a game-tying TD (WRONG!!!! He was in bounds; bad, bad call)...and the rest is history...
   
   ---Super Bowl XIV, 1/20/80: Steelers win 31-19 over the Rams---Bradshaw threw 3 INTERCEPTIONS and we were losing for most of the game...until Lambert saved our butts by intercepting QB Vince Ferragamo's pass...and the rest is history
   (Steelers in the 1970's: regular season---99-44-1; playoffs: 14-4)
   
   NON-STEELER SUPER BOWL "LUCK"---
   Super Bowl XXV, 1/27/91: Giants defeat Bills BECAUSE SCOTT NORWOOD BARELY MISSES A RELATIVELY EASY FIELD GOAL, one of the biggest blown plays ever!;
   All 3 of the Patriots victories were by exactly 3 points...and the Eagles really blew it with poor clock management (sound familiar?)!;
   Super Bowl XXXIV, 1/30/00: Rams defeat Titans, 23-16--- The Rams' Mike Jones tackled Kevin Dyson at the 1-yard line as time expired. Dyson would have tied the game; Super Bowl V, 1/17/71: Colts beat Cowboys, 16-13, via a field goal... Dallas' Chuck Howley, who picked off two passes, became the first defensive player and the first player from a losing team to be named MVP.
   
   
   
   The Steelers have been in the Super Bowl in the 1970's. 1980's, 1990's, and in the new millennium (2000's)---
   IX (1975), X (1976), XIII (1979), XIV (played in 1980), XXX (played in 1996), XL (2006)
   
   Big Ben---ONLY QB to ever go to Championship game his first two years; youngest to win the Super Bowl (Steelers: first 6th seed to go/ win; only team to beat #1, #2, and #3 seeds on the road and win; three-way tie for most Super Bowl victories: 5, along with Dallas and San Francisco; tied for second with most Super Bowl appearances: 6, along with Denver [who have `only' won 2])...comparison to other Hall-of-Fame and/or outstanding QBs---
   Jim Kelly: 0 for 4; never won a Super Bowl;
   Fran Tarkenton: 0 for 4; never won a Super Bowl;
   Dan Marino: 0 for 1; never won a Super Bowl;
   Kenny Anderson: 0 for 1; never won a Super Bowl
   Len Dawson: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
   Johnny Unitas: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
   Joe Theismann: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
   Brett Favre: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
   Kurt Warner: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
   Ken Stabler: won one Super Bowl
   Joe Namath: won one Super Bowl;
   Phil Simms: won one Super Bowl;
   Steve Young: won one Super Bowl;
   Also: John Elway: after FIFTEEN YEARS IN THE LEAGUE, won two...after losing 3 very badly!
   
   BEST run in sports history (as confirmed by a Congressional resolution!): won 8 in a row---
   Bears (who had an 8-game winning streak), Vikings on the road (who had a 6 game winning streak...and Cowher NEVER won in a dome stadium before!), Browns on the road, and Detroit on 1/1/06 (where, unbeknownst to us at the time, we were headed for 2/5/06!); Bengals on the road (#3 seed, previously beat us), Colts on the road (#1 seed, league's best record, heavily favored, dome stadium, previously beat us; the Fumble, the Tackle, and the Miss), Broncos on the road (#2 seed, favored, 10-0 at home)...and the #1 NFC seeded Seahawks "on the road" in another dome, Detroit's Ford Field (where Big Ben started his NFL career vs. the Lions in the 2004 pre-season!!!)
   
   YOU HAVE TO GET THE TWO-DVD SET "STEELERS: THE COMPLETE HISTORY" (2005; NFL Films), 1933-2004 (too bad they didn't wait a year haha!)---the main feature is 2 hours and 20 minutes long and covers 1933 up to and including Beg Ben's 2004 season; incredible. All the `lean years' (1930's-1960's; 1980's) are covered, NOT just the "glory seasons"---Kordell, Brister, Malone, Stoudt, Hanratty, etc. etc. etc. The bonus feautures are awesome, ESPECIALLY the 45-minute Jerome Bettis special-VERY IRONIC!! You will see Tommy Maddox with the Bus when they were both Rams in 1995...excellent miked-on-the-field comments, often funny, by Bus, Ward, and Cowher...Jan. 2005 AFC lowlights, Hines Ward crying, Jerome's reaction, and the tantalizing hint that Super Bowl XL wil be played in Jerome's hometown of Detroit...which makes what they did in 2005/2006 VERY story book! Also: the Bill Cowher, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Rocky Bleier, Myron Cope, Dick Hoak, and Bill Saul segments/ specials are very entertaining, as is the Super Bowl XIII feature..get this...as well as the SUPER BOWL XL DVD---2005 season highlights included, as well as the 2006 playoffs!

1 comments about Thomas More: The Search for the Inner Man.

1. Martz has some good credentials in coming to write about More: for instance he is Sterling Professor (emeritus) of English at Yale and Chairman of the Editorial Board overseeing Yale's series of the complete works of Thomas More. And properly he writes from that grand vantage point, turning More's life and thought around like a crystal to be examined, facet by facet. What he fastens on to considered in this too-short book is interesting in itself, such as the conclusions to be drawn from the changes in the composition and poses of the family in the draft and revised final copies of a More family portrait. (Historians can learn much here.)

   Martz asks the big questions, too. Was More a religious zealot, unceasingly hounding men like Tyndale to their deaths? Or, as Martz well argues, a man fulfilling the duties of his position in an age of harsh remedies and punishments? (These were not kind times for anyone.) Again and again, Martz maturely considers More and More's actions in the context of that period, and brings a sophistication, perhaps even a wisdom,to a debate that rages between those who wish the man to be fully a saint without blemish, and those who wish to find a monster under those rich robes. As experience would suggest, the truth is at neither extreme - and not even on a line to be drawn between these poles.

   This is a book to savor and reflect on, and while Martz's insights may not bring the search for the inner More to conclusion, he starts us on the way. Here is More looked at as an actual human being, and not an icon for either camp or ideology, to worship or despise; here is the man that Erasmus loved and treated as a dear and close friend. More must have had some mightly virtues to engage the heart of the tolerance-loving Erasmus, and I think that is the man Martz is searching for, and that is the man, the More, he finds.

1 comments about My Village My World.

1. This is a wonderful book. Serious with a simple spirituality but with some of the funniest stories I've ever read. As far as I know his short description of the Anglo-Irish situation is very accurate. At the end I was inwardly shouting, "More...more!!!"

5 comments about King Arthur.

1. This is a very well researched book, and I am very impressed by Goodrich's connections from disparate stories into geographical and linguistic results. That being said, many of her claims and explanations are spurious, relying on an overriding implied belief. At best her results are inconclusive, if intriguing, while at the worst they are foolish.



2. Reviewers' opinions of Norma Lorre Goodrich's "King Arthur" jump from those who hate it to those who love it. There's not much middle ground. "What grief and what a shame!" as Lancelot says on page 160. It's time to bridge the extremes. Speaking of bridges, I shall cross carefully, as if on Lancelot's sword bridge (p.167). Of course, as Goodrich tells us, the blade-like quality of that bridge was nothing of the sort. It was a mis-translation which gave French listeners a good laugh to imagine English knights doing something as stupid as walking on blades. If only Goodrich employed more humor she would score points for explaining such pieces of arcana, leaving fewer reviewers mad at her. (I can't resist this digression. Lancelot's sword bridge falls into the category of Cinderella's slippers. In French they weren't glass (verre). They were made of the finest squirrel fur (vaire). The English never caught on.)
   
   Here's what is really at work between these covers: impeccable, exhaustive research is rescued from its envelope of academic writing by a great index, making "King Arthur" a valuable reference book. And not just about Arthur and his court, but also the machinations of King Henry II of England and his consort Eleanor of Aquitaine, who pressed the legends of Arthur into use as a political tool. Like Arthur, they ruled a large empire (from the Scottish border to the Pyrenees) whose peoples had different customs, spoke different languages and owed loyalty to different lords. Henry II, struggling to reassert the broken line of his grandfather after nineteen years of dynastic war in England, promoted the Arthurian legends as a shining possibility, of a polyglot empire enjoying peace under a central government such as Arthur's in a former, golden age.
   
   Goodrich's book limits the great wizard Merlin in these pages, perhaps because the author was holding him back: Merlin would become the subject of her next book a few years later.
   
   I used Goodrich's "King Arthur" as valuable research. If you are a general reader, here's a tip: open it at random and read section by section; or open to the index and wander from there. Personally, I needed to learn about Queen Eleanor's propagandist, the author Wace. Not many other books give thirteen page references for Wace. Goodrich can, and does. Accept what she gives in good grace. If you let your mind bend like a reed to the subject, you'll enjoy her "King Arthur" on its own terms. If you want a quick read, this is not for you.
   
   By Robert Fripp, author,
   "Power of a Woman. Memoirs of a turbulent life: Eleanor of Aquitaine"



3. Goodrich provides evidence that King Arthur had life beyond the myth, based on Medieval documents, her knowledge of Middle-Ages languages, and present-day Ordinance maps. In conjunction with her works on Merlin, Guenievere, and The Holy Grail she documents his life and times and is most persuasive. She cites research by Marie of France, Eleanore of Aquitane's daughter, and the story that one written account was lost by Richard the Lionheart in a card game.
   
   This dense-with-information study takes dilligence -- I'm a college graduate with an English minor and it's the hardest book I ever read. But well worth it.



4. I waited a long time to pick this book up and I am sorry I did not do it sooner. This book gets many bad reviews, most claiming that it's unreadable or not well researched. While the reading may be tough going for some, to claim that this book isn't well researched shows that you didn't read it. The author loses a star for her method of research though, because she mainly deduces sixth century locations from the consistencies in twelfth century texts.The author is a philologist so most of her arguments are based in those ancient languages in which she is an expert. Most of her arguments are convincing and some are not, but her work should not be discounted when trying to locate Arthur in history.



5. It has taken me several years to read this and I'm still not finished. The "scholarly" writing is confusing at best and totally lost me at worst. As much as I try, I cannot find anything about this book making it worth recommending to others. Goodrich's theory (theories?) rambles all over the place, she goes on and on about phonetics and linguistics to the point where even the most dedicated reader must be bored to tears, and it makes me wonder exactly what the point is that we are supposed to get from the book. If I had a professor who rambled like Goodrich I'd probably have dropped out of the course in the first week from boredom.

No comments about Lafayette and the Liberal Ideal 1814-1824: Politics and Conspiracy in an Age of Reaction.

1 comments about SHOOT TO KILL (Cassell Military Paperbacks).

1. This extremely well written book recounts the first hand experiences of Michael Asher throughout his time in the British Parachute Regiment, the Special Air Service and the Special Patrol Group in Northern Ireland. The book proceeds at a brisk pace throughout but is replete with enormous detail.

   The brutally honest text grips the reader into a sense of "almost being there". Having completed a regular engagement in the British forces during the same period as that illustrated here, I can confirm the accuracy of many of the matters described, including some of the "less savoury" elements which may upset some readers.

   The reader does not have to agree with the views expressed throughout this book, but needs to understand the realities on the ground which are so commendably portrayed and which form the basis of this work. Not least of these are the realism and humanity of the raw recruits undergoing such harsh physical & military training as well as the raw honesty of the writer.

   The stress and pain endured throughout the many stages of specialist training are almost tangible and the reader can but grimace at times along with the author as he relates pivotal periods of his experience where the reality and atmosphere of occasional brutality & intimidation together with periods of humiliation are so vividly evoked.

   The book is not one to be "enjoyed" as there is little here to lead the reader in that direction. This is a soldier writing about soldiers' experiences and some of the content might be considered "distasteful" to many readers who are not familiar with military life. Be warned.

   The fear and frustration during patrols in Northern Ireland during the "Troubles" are among other realities really brought home to the reader, where every street corner, window, alleyway or shadow might hide a gunman. (The politics of the situation in Northern Ireland are largely avoided apart from reference to the occasional quote from those involved in a number of incidents.) Situations now being experienced by the military in numerous locations Worldwide.

   All in all this is a thoroughly readable and informative study which reveals aspects of the British military and the "soldier on the ground" which might otherwise be largely overlooked. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in military history and experience. Thank you.

No comments about The Ruba'iyat of Omar Khayyam: Translated by Edward Fitzgerald. With a Commentary by H. M. Batson and a Biographical Introduction by E. D. Ross.

No comments about Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother: The Life that Spanned a Century 1900-2002 (Illustrated London News).