2 comments about Ann Of Cleves: Fourth Wife of Henry VIII.

1. This book pulls together a good amount of information about the life of Henry VIII's most neglected queen, Anne of Cleves. The chapters on her life following her divorce are especially interesting. Saaler, however, spends a fair amount of space contrasting Henry's divorce from Anne to his divorce from Catherine of Aragon, and it is here that she makes a number of mistakes. She makes numerous references to Emperor Charles V being Catherine's uncle, when he was actually her nephew. She also states that Catherine was precontracted to Henry's brother Arthur, but that they were never married. They did in fact marry, and the entire divorce question turned on whether or not that marriage had ever been consumated. These may not be grave errors, but they do tend to detract from Saaler's credibility for the reader who well-versed in Tudor history.



2. Ms. Saaler tells us that Catherine of Aragon did not mind being divorced- had no problem with being put aside by Henry VIII. Not true! If this error is any indication of Ms. Saalor's research, then the entire book needs to be read with a huge grain of salt. Very disappointing.

3 comments about The Letters of Samuel Rutherford (Puritan Paperbacks).

1. Aside from Holy Scripture, there is no other writing I have found so close to my heart as the Letters of Samuel Rutherford. If you do not own it, buy it; that is, if you love the Lord Jesus and desire to love Him more, buy it and read it. There is no effort in reading it whatsoever. On the contrary, there is a deep longing for more and more, as it becomes nearly impossible to put it down. Rutherford's letters epitomize the hearts of the Scottish Covenanters, whom he would have surely joined in death by martyrdom if not for his fatal illness. The sweetness of being a child of God is made undisputably known to him who reads these beautiful words.



2. A very fine work indeed! These letters have a lot of insight and wisdom packed into them!! A few of the letters were not very interesting to me, but as a whole I found that reading this was a very profitable exercise for me!



3. Samuel Rutherford (1600-61) was one of the great Scottish puritan Presbyterians, most famous today for his Lex Rex. He was an ardent Calvinist, and was awaiting trial for treason when he died. His letters were collected in printed posthumously (1664). This nicely packaged Banner of Truth set are an abridged edition.
   
   "I find it most true, that the greatest temptation out of hell is to live without temptations. If my waters should stand, they would rot. Faith is the better of the free air, and of the sharp winter storm in its face. Grace withereth without adversity. The devil is but God's master fencer, to teach us to handle our weapons."
   -Samuel Rutherford

1 comments about Oliver Cromwell: Politics and Religion in the English Revolution 1640-1658 (Cambridge Topics in History).

1. This is a good book if you're a historian interested in England's civil war, or Oliver Cromwell. It helped me get published in a historical journal.

5 comments about U2: The Road to Pop.

1. I think this was just really wonderful to read I've read it about 3 times now and again it is wonderful. I think that if you like U2 you should read this. You should also take a look at Far Away So Close it too is wonderful.



2. The Road To Pop focuses on the early years of U2's touring in America from Boy to The Joshua Tree. The reports of U2's activities during this time are entertaining and insightful and Mr. Allens closeness with the band is clear. There are many behind the scenes antidotes and interviews with the band members which really allow their personalities to shine through. The problems begin with the Achtung Baby / Zoo Tv era. Mr. Allens alienation from the band at this time is obvious as the tone of the book changes from a warm first person account to a superficial and almost hostile account. This section of the book contains inexcusable factual inaccuracies, such as the claim that U2 accepted corporate sponsorship for the Zoo Tv tour, which calls into question the reporting throughout the book. Despite this, U2 fans will find the majority of the book about the early years very interesting and well worth the purchase price. Stop reading The Road To Pop at the end of chapter 16 and pick up the story with Bill Flanagans U2 - At The End Of The World.



3. It is not often that a reader gets an in-depth look at one of the greatest bands in the world through the man responsible for introducing them in the United States. Carter Alan's book takes the reader through 17 years of relationships with the band. The book is based off various interviews and general views of the media towards U2 through out the years. This is a MUST-HAVE for all Carter Alan fans.



4. Being a huge U2 fan, I read everything about them that I can get my hands on, but I gotta say I was kind of disappointed with this particular U2 book. It's mainly a collection of interview sound-bytes taken from other sources. If you want an awesome U2 book, go read U2 At the End of the World by Bill Flanagan. The Road to Pop is more of a general U2 history book, and lacks any kind of "insider" feel. If you follow the band at all, none of the stuff in this book will be news to you.



5. Carter Alan's Road to Pop takes an extensive look at U2's career from their infancy in Dublin to the recording of their first album, Boy, to their first tour of America through their last album at the time of the book's re-release, Pop. It is a fascinating look at a band who is never at a loss for words.

No comments about When Summer's in the Meadow.

4 comments about The Air Loom Gang: The Strange and True Story of James Tilly Matthews and His Visionary Madness.

1. Any psychiatrist has treated patients who thought their minds and wills were being controlled from the outside, perhaps from mysterious rays or hidden machines. This cannot sound so strange now as it must have a couple of centuries ago. We may not be used to mind control of that type, but we live in a world powered by invisible rays and hidden machines. When James Tilly Matthews entered the famous hospital for the insane, London's Bedlam in 1797, his complaints must have sounded bizarre indeed. He told his doctor that he, and many of the powerful in England and France, were being manipulated by a mysterious gang who were using invisible gases and rays from an unimaginably complex machine called an air loom, and that his thoughts were being altered and controlled and his body was being painfully punished. Matthews's bizarre story is the subject of a surprising and novel-like history, _The Air Loom Gang: The Strange and True Story of James Tilly Matthews and his Visionary Madness_ (Four Walls Eight Windows) by Mike Jay. What is especially peculiar is that although Matthew's ideas were clearly delusional, his complaints stemmed from real persecutions he was made to undergo. As the old joke says, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you.

   Matthews was a wholesale tea dealer who wound up shuttling between Britain and revolutionary France with a peace proposal. It is not surprising that Matthews had little effect; but it is surprising that at the time of the Terror, all he had to endure on the French side was a spell in a French Revolutionary prison. In 1796, after his return to England, he entered the public viewing area of the House of Commons, and yelled "Treason!" into the hall. This got him into Bedlam, and he was to be incarcerated for the rest of his life. His rooms were unheated, he would have straw to sleep on, and for some years he would be chained to his bed. It is quite possible that pummeled first by peculiarities of world events and then by the cruelties of incarceration as a lunatic that he began weaving contemporary ideas about pneumatics, electricity, and Mesmer's animal magnetism into a widespread delusional explanation of just how he got persecuted into such a position. We know about his delusions in detail because in charge of him was the apothecary John Haslam, and Matthews was Haslam's star patient. Jay shows that the delusions can possibly be seen as Matthews's response to persecution, with Haslam as co-creator.

   This is a tangled tale, expertly told. There are parts of it that are deeply mysterious, and for which there is no documentation, only speculation; how Matthews came to be running secret diplomacy, and who was paying him to do so, and what he really was doing, can only be guessed at. The gripping story of Matthews coming to delusional terms with his predicament is actually moving, and his eventual (if posthumous) triumph over Haslam is convincing. Best of all Jay has gone a long way in successfully trying to explain the politics, science, and history of the time. His picture of treatment of the insane in the crumbling Bedlam, at the cusp of instituting sympathetic "moral" treatments of Philippe Pinel, is unforgettable. There may not have been a real air loom, but that doesn't keep it from meaning something; and Matthews may have been an incarcerated schizophrenic, but that doesn't keep him from being a bit of a hero.




2. The Air-Loom Gang by Mike Jay is a book about the most incredible events. It is about one James Tilly Matthews who was declared insane for his beliefs about treason at the highest levels of the British Government during the French Revolutionary/Napoleonic period. As it turns out, Matthews was actually right to some extent and as a former spy, was in a good position to be able to determine if there really was treasonous activities in the British government at the time. Matthews's case became a cause clebre and he was eventually released from the insane asylum and eventually started an architecture magazine and even submitted plans for an insane asylum.

   This is an excellent book dealing with a most fascinating episode in British history.




3. James Tilly Matthews lived in London in the late 1700s and was a respected Welsh tea merchant who intended to preserve the peace of an increasingly dangerous city out of control in its conflicts with Paris. Arrested and sent to a mental hospital for his accusation of a lord, Matthews became convinced his mind was being controlled by a secret machine called an 'air loom' hidden in a London basement and run by a gang of revolutionaries: Air Loom Gang sets out to pinpoint the political foundations of his 'madness' in an intriguing true 'whodunnit' mystery



4. Mind control goes back thousands of years actually, and was practiced by the early Chinese, Sumerians, Egyptians, and even Mayans by a variety of different methods. Even African / Caribbean "voodoo" is a type of negative mind control that has been shown to have dramatic effects from great distances. In more modern times (such as the late 1800s to the 1920s) a variety of physical "medical" devices were built and used on people, animals, and crops for tremendous BENEFIT. The science that grew from these experiments was called "Radionics", and the radionic devices were often called "black boxes" (in the UK at least). Modern day radionic devices are about the size of a laptop computer, but I firmly believe that the device explained in this book was a very early radionic device that used essoteric (occult) knowledge to broadcast certain frequencies or radiations that could target specific individuals and influence them physically and emotionally, assuming that you had a "witness" from them (such as hair, fingernail clipping, blood spot, or even a photograph). Obviously, such devices could be used for tremendous good or evil, but the government / military has a proven track record for the latter unfortunately.
   
   Nowadays, we wouldn't use the term "radionic attack", but the term EMR / microwave bombardment and torture is certainly on the rise and evidence suggests that upto 2,000,000 Americans have been targeted in one form or another. This type of torture / harrassment is very high tech now, and beyond most people's conceptualization. A lot of "magic" can be created from satelites and underground installations and affect people's thoughts, emotions, and bodies. This phenomenon is well understood in Russia for example, and a popular form of torture for political dissidents or whistleblowers, and there is even a large group of victims in Moscow who are known as the "Moscow Zombies", which is appropriate because it is nothing more than electro-magnetic voodoo afterall. In fact, there was a recent march / demonstration by these Moscow Zombies and their family members (at least those who understand that it has nothing to do with "mental illness") who carried signs that read, "Stop the microwave / EMR / plasma torture", "End Mind Control". True story, but we never saw that on the news naturally.
   
   James Tilly Matthews simply didn't have the vernacular or understand the occult science to better "name" his torture, but his detailed explanations of his symptoms and why he was being targetted are EXACTLY what modern peoples complain of and explain to those who will listen with an open mind. Matthews also discussed how many other people of influence were being targetted, which has HUGE IMPLICATIONS in today's political / economic realm. And Bedlam was also the precursor to Guantanamo in many ways as it was a place to keep people who knew some secrets. "Mental illness" was and largely still is a bogus misdirection. The more things change, the more they stay the same it would appear...

5 comments about Clausewitz and the State: The Man, His Theories, and His Times.

1. Der Krieg ist eine bloße Fortsetzung der Politik mit anderen Mitteln. That one line from Carl von Clausewitz's most famous work, On War, is the most often quoted and perhaps most misunderstood concept that belongs to the Prussian officer's theory of war. Clausewitz's ideas are complex and his writings require study and contemplation to understand, but for those who invest the time and effort the results will be that your view of war will change forever. Professor Paret's book provides a helpful aide to this understanding. While Clausewitz and the State is not light reading and a background in German or at least Napoleanic history is helpful, this book provides the basis for developing a fuller understanding of Clausewitz and his concepts. The Clausewitz that Paret introduces is hardly the stereotype Prussian marinet. He's a reformer and distinctly modern in his outlook. A career officer who joined a line regiment as a cadet at 12, saw his first action at 14 and rose to the rank of Major General, yet wrote of the profound sorrow he felt upon leaving home at such a tender age, Clausewitz put his sense of duty to the state, and by extension the Prussian people, before his duty to the monarch. Branded a radical his career suffered, but he remained true to his convictions. The General Staff officers of the 20 July 1944 plot against Hitler can trace the roots of their decision to him. This book provides an excellent base from which to start in understanding the thoughts of this trully novel thinker. I also recommend a visit to the Clausewitz Page on the web. Read this book before you attempt to take on On War.



2. Clausewitz was not a god of war, nor an advocate of the waging of war for war's, or conquest's, sake. He was a thoughtful, experienced soldier who saw much service, wrote about his experiences and tried to improve the armed forces of his country, Prussia.

   This exceptional book by Peter Paret not only gives interesting information on Clausewitz the soldier and the man, but also explains the interesting enigma that was Prussia before, during, and after the Napoleonic Wars. This is not a companion book to anything, but a well-researched volume that stands on its own as authoritative history.

   Paret goes into detail on why Prussia was defeated, and its army destroyed by Napoleon in the cataclysm of 1806. Conversely, the thoughtful, professional soldiers who sought to rebuild that army, 'with vengeance very much in mind' are developed to the extent that they are perceived as human without the false front of a textbook.

   Excellently reserarched from original sources and credible secondary ones, Paret also goes in depth to cover the Prussian 'War of Liberation' of Germany from the French, the liberation in large part meaning annexation by Prussia. Additionally, he also explains that the Prussian civilian population, somewhat a thing apart from the Prussian army, was persuaded, by force if necessary, to participate in the wars in 1813-1814.

   This book goes a long way into explaining Clausewitz and his times, is worth favorable, consideration, and belongs on the bookshelf of every thoughtful student.




3. This book is a biography of a noteworthy but relatively obscure figure, Carl von Clausewitz, whose main claim to fame is having coined the famous dictum, "War is the Extension of Politics by other i.e. violent means" cited to by V.I. Lenin and others. This work, while dense and sometimes tedious in its explication of Clausewitz' views is fascinating in its description of its subject's life and times which facts serve to illuminate his ideas and their evolution.

   Clausewitz was born into a middle-class family in Prussia in the late 18th Century. His father, not being a noble, was unable to retain his provisional officer rank of lieutenant he had achieved during the Seven Years War (known as the French and Indian War in the North American theater of operations). Thus a subtext of Clausewitz and his family's dubious pretentions to nobility that were finally "recognized" in the wake of his own and to a lesser extent his brother's-who also became a lesser known general-achievements.

   Clausewitz and his older brother were farmed out to the military by their father in 1792 when Clausewitz was 12 years old as officer cadets during the Wars of the French Revolution and he served in the military throughout the entire Napoleonic period and thereafter rising to the rank of major general. It was this highly charged political atmosphere that conditioned Clausewitz' world view and made him-along with his mentor Gerhard Scharnhorst-realize that the old set piece notions of war which played out like a chess game held in a gentleman's club between rival aristocratic principalities were no longer viable. It also gave added fuel to his and the other "reformers" views that certain social changes were needed to neutralize the appeal of the French Revolution. Thus they called for the scaling back of aristocratic privilege and the building of a military based on broader nationalist and meritocratic bases. They also emphasized, ironically given the reputation of mindless obedience that Prussian militarism retained, the importance of inculcating troops with a spirit of self reliance which involved de-emphasizing dogma and promoting analytical thinking that could form the basis for decision making in unforseen circumstances of crisis. These ideas took on greater urgency after Prussia's stunning and swift defeat at the hands of Napolean in 1806 in a few weeks of fighting (when Clausewitz was taken prisoner and actually was granted an audience with the French Emperor)- a situation that ironically suggests the fate of France of 1940, but this in the era of horse cavalry!-resulting in Napolean and the Grand Armee marching triumphantly through the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. As a result Prussia was for a number of years reduced to a virtual vassal state of France, not unlike what Vichy France was to Germany a century and half later, and when war broke out again in 1812 it was forced to take the side of Napolean. This was deeply offensive to patriotic and nationalist advocates like Scharnhorst, Clausewitz and others like Field Marshal Gneisenau and ultimately Clausewitz decamped to Russia where he became involved with the "Russo-German Legion" which after Napoleon's reverses there was able to first convince the Prussian commander Yorck to switch sides and then Prussia-like Italy in WW2-to do the same. Clausewitz then went with the "Allied" armies all the way to Paris and thereafter fought in a rear guard action at Waterloo.

   The sweetness of this victory for him and others (Sharnhorst having died on the field of battle in 1813) was muted by the extreme reactionary turn of the victors towards resurrecting old time aristocratic and monarchical privilege, something Clauswitz from his vantage point of a military instructor in Berlin saw as holding back both Prussia and Germany's social and political development internally towards becoming a modern nation state and only adding fuel to the fire of discontent throughout Europe. Moreover, his reputation as a bourgois, if not "liberal", reformer caused his career to stall. It was in this context, that returned to line duty, he died of cholera while observing the events of the revolution of 1830 in Poland.

   The book's shortcoming is its dense style which makes its ideas less accessible than they could be. Moreover, the ideas of its subject could be elucidated better; the author relies too heavily on extended quotations from his subject's work. For example, an entire chapter of On War is reproduced with little gloss.

   After having read this book, I saw a documentary about James Cameron's recent mission to the wreck of the battleship Bismarck and was able to appreciate its references to two of the heavy cruisers in that great warship's battle group: Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. Finally, for what it's worth, we can speculate about what Clausewitz' view of later German military history might have been, but one conclusion seems inescapable: he would have found Hitler's invasion of Russia a collosal blunder breathtaking in its ingnorance of the lessons of history which resulted in a similar outcome that snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.




4. Paret argues that the great Prussian military theorist Karl von Clausewitz was a realist with a life-long affinity to serve the nation-state and pursued a desire to understand this intricate and diverse concept. Clausewitz progressed from an idealized vision of statehood as a young man to a realist outlook in later life. This realism, argues Paret, is evident in Clausewitz's political writings as well as his mot famous treatise _On War_the ultimate extension of policy by concerted use of force. Yet it is the "Psychological and historical genesis" (p. 10) of Clausewitz's theories that Paret ultimately wants to convey. Paret concludes: "Clausewitz combined two very different callings-service to the state and scholarship-with remarkable success" (p. 436). Paret utilizes a contextual approach. Paret contends that in order to better understand Clausewitz's theories, the reader must first identify with the time frame that Clausewitz lived. Paret divides the book between biography and analysis of some prominent historical and political writings. Paret utilizes biography to illustrate Clausewitz's transformation from idealist to realist. Paret's analysis of Clausewitz's writings serves to show the differentiation between Clausewitz the political commentator and Clausewitz the military theorist. The printed materials available on Clausewitz are extensive though Paret leans more towards primary sources in this study. Besides the vast array of Clausewitz's own writings, Paret also makes extensive use of letters. Correspondence between Clausewitz and his fiancée/wife Marie v. Brühl and August von Gneisanau, collected in a plethora of German language sources are the most frequently cited. Paret makes it known, however, that new primary evidence dealing with Clausewitz is still surfacing though "widely dispersed." Source books and collections by Werner Hahlweg, Hans Rothfels and Walther Shering are also critically cited. It is obvious that Paret is enamored with Clausewitz and gives more than a sympathetic portrayal of his subject. Paret only passes lightly over criticisms of Clausewitz mainly the writings of W. Hahlweg and H. Rothfels and completely ignores the works of John Keegan and B.H. Liddle-Hart. Although the vast arrays of German language sources are impressive, they seem overdone for a book aimed at English speaking readers. As Paret mentions, this book provides an excellent companion volume to the M. Howard, P. Paret translation of _On War_ (Princeton: 1976) that is becoming a much-standardized text. Paret has succeeded in helping the reader to better understand Clausewitz by placing him in a contextual setting, especially his early experiences, influences, and education. Without a doubt, Clausewitz lived through some turbulent political changes in Europe between 1815-1831 and Paret illustrates this successfully. A major consensus seems to be that one can only understand Clausewitz by reading him. Paret certainly has created a thirst to do so in this book.



5. I thought I knew Clausewitz. I have an advanced degree in International Relations and Strategic Studies in a program that emphasizes Clausewitz's writings and general influence in its curriculum, including a close, semester-long reading and discussion of "On War" in its entirety. In addition, since graduating I've read several biographical sketches and insightful academic essays on Clausewitz and his theories by Michael Howard, Alan Beyerchan, Christopher Bassford, Barry Watts, and other noted Clausewitz scholars. The only reason I picked this book up was because of the glowing praise it received from Williamson "Wick" Murray, one the nation's most prominent military historians, in a military bibliography he compiled as part of a DoD contract. He listed "Clausewitz and the State" as one of twenty-five books making up "The Essential Military History Library." (To give the reader a sense, other books in this elite category include Thucydides' "History of the Peloponnesian War," Clausewitz's "On War," Tolstoy's "War and Peace," Grant's "Memoirs" and Churchill's "Life of Marlborough." Lofty company, indeed.) Given such a strong endorsement from such a qualified source, I felt compelled to add it to my reading list, although I was only expecting a "Clausewitz refresher." I was wrong.
   
   Paret's work is a masterful mix of biography, philosophy and history, which combine to provide the reader insights into Clausewitz's character and theories like no other secondary work has or likely ever will.
   
   The great feature of this book is the 360-degree view of Clausewitz it presents. Even with the best intentions, most biographers end up presenting an idealized view of their subjects. But the Clausewitz presented by Paret is entirely human. It's a tall task to get a twenty-first century American to truly understand an early nineteenth century Prussian, but that's precisely what Paret's book enables. The author includes a number of incisive quotations on Clausewitz from military performance evaluations, professional recommendations, book reviews of his work, and the diaries of leading socialites. Some are effusive in praise; others are quite denigrating. But nearly all capture the essence of a man of intense ambition and genius, but from a humble background, socially awkward and perceived (incorrectly) by the senior state leadership as a man with dangerously radical political tendencies. All of this combined to create a remarkable career given his social roots, but nevertheless supremely frustrating to a man of rare ability. The effect is similar to the character development of a great novelist. You begin to feel that you actually know Clausewitz, as though he were a close, life-long acquaintance. You begin to sense that you could accurately guess how he would react to any given situation. All of this is more than just interesting reading: it makes Clausewitz's theories and intentions much more understandable.
   
   One of the most common complaints from Clausewitz critics and enthusiasts alike is that his original ideas and writings have been misunderstood and subsequently warped over the years. Even some of the philosopher's sharpest critics - most notably the British military historian B.H. Liddell Hart - have conceded that much of the destruction done in Clausewitz's name is attributable to those who misread his true point or, more commonly, never actually read "On War" at all except for a few phrases taken out of context. "Clausewitz and the State" was written as a companion to Paret's groundbreaking 1976 re-translation of "On War" and it should not be viewed as a substitute for that great work. Nevertheless, no serious student of war and peace will want to approach Clausewitz, his theories and his magnum opus without also closely reading this book. It is simply indispensable.

No comments about Roger Casement: A Biography.

4 comments about The Billy Boy: The Life and Death of LVF Leader Billy Wright.

1. An account of how the man who brought the IRA to its knees in mid-Ulster was betrayed whilst in prison. An interesting read, although why the author got the ludicrously biased "Tim Pat Coogan" to write the intro is beyond me.



2. The life and death of Billy "King Rat" Wright told for the 1st time in great detail.As a portadown loyalist he intimidated and bullyed his way around in the only way he knew. He died as he lived-by the gun at the hands of the INLA at the maze prison.
   A Great Read,well written and great to know this guy is off the streets for good. Questions remain though wheher or not there was state collusion in his death. Buy It.



3. This book is an unfortunate attempt to justify the cowardly, and muderous actions of a notorious terrorist leader. The book also seems to be filled with misrepresented facts. The book details the rise of Billy "King Rat" Wright,who (after failing to defeat the superior forces of the IRA's East Tyrone, and North Armagh brigades) had to resort to killing scores of unarmed, innocent Catholic civillians.

   The book talks about how Billy Wright and the UVF, were forced to call a ceasefire in 1994, after a series of IRA assassinations of UVF leaders, left thier organization is disarray.

   Wright however, felt that the war against the IRA should go on, and in 1995, created his own UVF splinter faction called the LVF. After running the LVF for two years, Wright was put in prison for threatening to kill a Catholic woman. Upon entering prison he was immediately targeted for assassination by the IRA and INLA. Finnally in December of 1997, INLA commandos were able to ambush him inside a van in the prison courtyard, and shoot him to death. This book shows the life, death, and futile war that men like Billy Wright waged against a vastly superior foe...the IRA.




4. This book is an unfortunate attempt to justify the cowardly, and muderous actions of a notorious terrorist leader. The book also seems to be filled with misrepresented facts. The book details the rise of Billy "King Rat" Wright,who (after failing to defeat the superior forces of the IRA's East Tyrone, and North Armagh brigades) had to resort to killing scores of unarmed, innocent Catholic civillians.
   The book talks about how Billy Wright and the UVF, were forced to call a ceasefire in 1994, after a series of IRA assassinations of UVF leaders, left thier organization is disarray.

   Wright however, felt that the war against the IRA should go on, and in 1995, created his own UVF splinter faction called the LVF. After running the LVF for two years, Wright was put in prison for threatening to kill a Catholic woman. Upon entering prison he was immediately targeted for assassination by the IRA and INLA. Finnally in December of 1997, INLA commandos were able to ambush him inside a van in the prison courtyard, and shoot him to death. This book shows the life, death, and futile war that men like Billy Wright waged against a vastly superior foe...the IRA.

5 comments about Danny Boy: The Legend Of The Beloved Irish Ballad.

1. This book was thrown together with little effort. It only has 100+ pages due to the double spacing and large type. Save your money for a better effort.



2. Beyond question, the melody variously known as "Danny Boy" or "Londonderry Air" is one of the great tunes of all time. Its measured rising and falling cadences would grace the catalog of Franz Schubert or any of the other great classical vocal composers.

   Malachy McCourt, brother of novelist Frank McCourt (ANGELA'S ASHES) and a well-known writer and radio-TV luminary in his own right, has produced a curious little book of less than 95 pages about the famous tune and its well-known lyrics. His book is part history, part speculation, part myth and part personal editorial essay. And it is not free from touches of Irish blarney.

   McCourt's findings may surprise --- and dismay --- many. The great tune, long since adopted as a kind of unofficial Irish national anthem, may not be of Irish origin. A folklorist named Jane Ross supposedly first noted it down around 1851. She reportedly heard it played by a blind fiddler, Jimmy McCurry, in Limavady, Londonderry --- but there is at least a possibility that the melody may have originated in Scotland. No one knows for sure. At least one respected musical scholar claims that the tune follows no known metric scheme for Irish folk music.

   Many different sets of words were attached to the tune after its first publication in 1855 --- but those that have become indissolubly identified with it ("O Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling, from glen to glen and down the mountainside....") were written in 1910 by an English lawyer and song-lyric cobbler named Frederick E. Weatherly, who probably never set foot in Ireland. They were actually intended for a different tune, but when Weatherly's sister-in-law sent him some years later the familiar melody from her home in Australia, he saw that it was a perfect fit for his earlier verses. Thus an "Irish" classic was created from a melody that may be Scottish and words by an Englishman.

   McCourt gives us this information straightforwardly enough, but he fleshes them out with a good deal of barely relevant material. It seems strange to arraign a book of 95 pages on charges of padding, but the complaint seems justified. McCourt solicited opinions about the song from Irish celebrities (including brother Frank) and speculates at length on such side issues as who is singing the song and to whom it is addressed (one possibility among several: it is the song of Danny Boy's gay lover!). The author's tone varies between straight historical writing and folksiness, including occasional cutesy use of "tis" and "t'was." McCourt also grinds a personal axe or two. He thinks ill of those Catholic dioceses that have banned the singing of "Danny Boy" at funerals because it is "secular."

   There are some fascinating bits of trivia here, however. Victorians hesitated to refer to the song as Londonderry Air because, to their prudish ears, it sounded too much like "London derriere." Irish nationalists never use that title either, because they want no mention of London in the title. Wordsmith Weatherly was once in legal partnership with one of the sons of Charles Dickens. And another of Weatherly's lyrics was the popular "Roses of Picardy," set to music memorably by Haydn Wood. Wood studied under the composer Sir Charles Stanford, who quoted "Londonderry Air" in one of his Irish rhapsodies. Make of that what you will. This is a curious little book, entertaining in its quirky way but almost undone by its relentless folksiness. "Londonderry Air" remains a musical treasure, regardless of its origin.

   --- Reviewed by Robert Finn




3. We don't know why "Danny Boy" touches our hearts -- but it does. I was pleasantly surprised to have a chance to learn something about the lore that came together to help create the feeling whenever I hear this ballad. You may want to consider reading the novel Yours, Aiden (isbn 1403319898)as it too creates a stir within.



4. An excellent book by an excellent writer!McCourt has awaken the intrest in all of us to get to the bottom of what this song is all about.I think he has done it, and each time I hear it ,I will think of this book,and of what the song means to me.
   Though there are numerous ideas about what the song means,who was it to and from etc.,he has shown that doesn't really matter.It is a song expressing deep love,and it can mean whatever the listener wants it to mean.I have dozens of versions and although they vary greatly I love them all.I am always happy to hear it by another singer whether a professional or just an ordinary person singing from the heart.
   As to whether or not the words were written in Ireland by an Irishman;it doesn't matter in the least,it's a great Irish song.
   When you stop and think about it,there's no way it could be anything else but Irish.Johnny Cash wrote "Forty Shades of Green" as he was flying over Ireland,a school teacher living in Ontario wrote "Maggie" to his lover,and if that isn't enough, the song "I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen" was written in America and had nothing at all to do with taking Kathleen back to Ireland,because she didn't come from there in the first place.
   However;all these songs are Irish .What you have to remember is that there over 50 million Irish dispersed all over the world including about 4 million in Ireland.This book would be a great gift for anyone with a song in their heart and a twinkle in their eye for there's sure to be some Irish in their blood.



5. This item (to call it a "book" would be an insult to books) has perhaps three pages of information about the history and substance of "Danny Boy". The remaining 138 pages are irrelevant Hamburger Helper. Save your $18.95 (or even your lower Amazon price) for something worth the money.