Against the Tide [Paperback]

Noel Browne (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0717114589 | ISBN-13: 978-0717114580 | Publication Date: November 1986

'One of the most compulsive and moving autobiographies I have ever read...' The Cork Examiner 'A powerful, passionate and often bitter account of life in Ireland from the twenties to the present day...a beautifully written, autobiography. New Hibernia.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Noel Browne was born in Waterford on December 20, 1915. In 1942 he graduated with a degree in medicine. He later went on to become the Minister for Health implementing the famous 'Mother and Child Scheme'.

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Irish Books & Media (November 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0717114589
• ISBN-13: 978-0717114580
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #866,604 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb picture of 20th Century Irish society., April 28, 2002

By 

David Marshall (Newport, Wales) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Against the Tide (Paperback)

Not just an autobiography: for those seriously interested in Ireland this is an unromantic expose of Irish society by a reluctant author, one who has nevertheless produced an invaluable historical work.

Witness his boyhood excitement during a Civil War clash outside his home, the comedic sight of former enemies trading verbal insults in the Irish parliament, and the hypocrisy of some of the leading players therein.
We have the desperate hard work of his parents, the cruel treatment of his mother by her family, and the sight of his family's destruction by disease, all sensitively measured by Dr.Browne against the knowledge that this little boy's suffering is repeated a thousand-fold across Ireland.

Remembering this, he accepted the chance to become a doctor, transgressing centuries-old sectarian rules which would hamper his future progress. After entering Irish politics he discovered that the ultimate power in Ireland lay not with elected politicians but with the bishops of the Catholic church, whose opulent lifestyle contrasted poignantly with the terrible hardships of the masses, and whose actions to prevent free medical care for mothers and children and to demonise him from the pulpit left him disillusioned with the religion and the Irish Parliament.

Further medical training brought him into the psychiatric field, where he found barriers as high as ever. He could have had an easier life in England or the USA, however he choose to stay and help Ireland develop in spite of itself and at a considerable personal cost.

There is anger and bitterness, but never is Dr.Browne understated about his own inadequacies. A wonderful, frank and engaging autobiography. A five-star read.