No comments about Lost Voices: An Oral History of East London Women Hop Pickers.

1 comments about Tom Barry: IRA Freedom Fighter.

1. I had read the classic Guerrilla Days in Ireland, by Tom Barry, before I read this book. Reading that book before this one is HIGHLY recommended, it's invaluable.
   
   This book is very well researched and relatively easy to read for a serious biography. In particular, the chapters on the Kilmichael Ambush and the Drumminway(sp?) killings refute several arguments and outright falsehoods in Peter Hart's recent books. The idea that there was no false surrender and Hart's arguments promoting this view are completely and decisively picked apart in a long, interesting chapter. Also, the idea that Protestants in southern Ireland were targeted because of their religion during the Revolutionary period is shown to be lacking any real evidence. In fact, Miss Ryan shows how hart would take quotes out of context or pick one part of a sentence from a report without adding the rest of the sentence or passage that would hurt his argument. Anway, I found those chapters of great interest to me as I had read Harts book on the IRA campaign in Cork.
   
   This book also showed Barry's role in the Civil War in detail, which I had not been able to find before. It describes the last days of the Republican resistance to the Free Staters.
   
   Throughout his life, Barry never lost his fire, his deep republican beliefs or his refusal to compromise. When his former nemesis General Percival wrote to him wanting to meet and talk about their campaign Anglo Irish War, he wrote back that if he came to Ireland "You escaped once, but I will make sure you won't leave with your life this time." Percival and his unit were notorious for their use of torture on suspected IRA men They also killed many unarmed IRA men and suspected sympathizers. Barry held Percival personally responsible.
   
   I found this book to be enjoyable, but I would be hesitant to recommend it to a casual reader of Irish history. But if have read Hart's accusations and want to learn the truth or if you want to learn what Barry did in the 59 years from the end of the Anglo-Irish war until his death, check it out. But, like I said, reading Barry's classic memoir of his role as a brilliant guerilla leader against the British is a must for any reader of Irish history, military history, or struggles for freedom through history.

No comments about The Movers & Shakers of Medieval England: A Who's Who of History's Most Gifted, Famous and Influential People (Movers & Shakers).

No comments about A Sexual Life, a Spiritual Life: A Painful Journey to Inner Peace.

No comments about Science and Russian Culture in an Age of Revolutions: V.I. Vernadsky and His Scientific School, 1863-1945 (Indiana-Michigan Series in Russian and East European Studies).

No comments about Bonnie Dundee: John Graham of Claverhouse.

1 comments about Fast Facts on the Kings and Queens of England.

1. This book a big tome of the monarchy through the ages and gives you little details of things you may or may not know. There is tragic reading but also great reading about the Kings & Queens who have ruled countries over the centuries. A great book to have if you don't want to read up on a long list of information. It is easy to read and follow, and is great for fact finding. I do recommend this book to anyone.

1 comments about Turn Left at Greenland: In Search of the Real America.

1. Mark Little was an Irish TV correspondent in D.C. for several years. If his reporting was as good as this book, he's sure to enjoy more success.
   
   I admit that I'm a sucker for a great first chapter title. Thus, when I opened this book in an Irish bookstore and saw: Chapter One--The Potato-Sucking Moron, Little had my attention. He never lost it. He lived long enough in the United States to come to know us perhaps better than we know ourselves.
   
   The problem with European authors writing about us, Americans that is, is not that they're usually wrong. We usually deserve whatever lumps we get. The real consistent problem with Eurowriting about the USA is that the Eurowriter tends to hypocrisy--to fail to also see our strengths and his or her own nation's weaknesses. Being lectured about our violent, racist society rings pretty hollow from the continent that birthed two horrific world wars and even now faces extreme-right nationalist movements that promote xenophobia.
   
   That's what I like best about Little: he does not roll the same tired old gutterball. His observations about politics, society, commerce and climate are all tempered with balance and no small amount of wit. A case in point is his inside look at the latter days of the Gore 2000 presidential campaign: the marketing focus, the cynicism, the utter absence of actual principles and ideas. For my money, he summarized the faults with our current political climate better than any American has yet done.
   
   _Turn Left at Greenland_ is a worthy purchase. Special-order it if you have to.

1 comments about Memories of Childhood.

1. I PURCHASED THIS BOOK TO SHARE WITH MY FATHER WHO SERVED WITH THE ARMY AIR CORP IN ENGLAND DURING THE 2ND WORLD WAR AND FOR MY 10 YEAR OLD GRANDDAUGHTER AS I WISH HER TO KNOW ABOUT THIS TIME IN OUR HISTORY AND MORE IMPORTANTLY IN THE LIFE OF HER GREAT-GRANDFATHER.
   THE BOOK IS BEAUTIFULLY PRESENTED FROM THE NUMBERED AND SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR BOOK PLATE IN THE FRONT TO THE BINDING AND THE PAPER COVER. THE ART WORK IS DELICATE AND YET REALISTIC.
   THE BOOK IS WRITTEN ON A LEVEL THAT CAN BE WELL UNDERSTOOD BY A YOUNG CHILD AND YET WITH THE DIRECTNESS AND HONESTY OF A CHILD TRULY BRINGS HOME THE DEVESTATION OF THIS WAR IN A COMPLETELY NON-VIOLENT WAY.
   I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ANYONE WHO SERVED IN THE WAR, TO ANYONE WHO WANTS TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS WAR. MY FATHER FOUND IT A WONDERFUL WAY TO OPEN A DISCUSSION OF HIS EXPERIENCES DURING THE WAR WITH HIS GREAT GRANDDAUGHTER WHO QUICKLY BECAME ENTRANCED BOTH BY HIS STORY AND THE BEAUTIFUL ILLUSTRATIONS IN THIS VOLUME.

1 comments about One Family.

1. This elegant juxtaposition of personal stories with historical insights is a most welcome addition to the literature of the Holocaust. Using scholarly research and powerful, personal stories, Kolin has created a moving portrait that chronicles the experiences of one family during the Holocaust. The book traces the political aspirations of some of the members of the Kolniczanski family around the turn of the century, their involvement in the Polish fight for independence and their rise to political and economic success in Warsaw. It then uses both historical research and personal testimony to describe the family's tragic experiences in the Warsaw Ghetto and in the concentration camps. The book also describes how the Holocaust affected the lives of family members who emigrated to France, how they fled Paris twice, and how the family business was taken over by Nazis. Stories of other family members, including those who fled to Denmark and the U.S. are also included. A poignant and powerful book.