Customer Reviews

The Course of Irish History

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is the first book I've read which gives a concise and yet broad view of Irish history. It gives a short essay on every major time period and event since the beginning of Irish History. I liked the format of the book with several different authors contributing. I also liked the detail timeline at the back of the book that covered everything even those events/people which did not get mentioned in any other part of the book. A good starting point for anyone interested in Irish History or the relationship between Ireland and Great Britain.

Having studied Irish history in grad school, I found myself coming back to this book over and over for a quick, easily readable general overview of irish history, written (well) by scholars but in a fashion accessible to all readers. It sounds trite to say, but if you only read one general book on the history of Ireland, this should be the one!

I was looking for a good book on the history of the Irish people. I bought a book about the IRA thinking that their history will be helpful but soon found out i had to get a more simpler book that will give me an introduction to Ireland history.In other words, history for someone who needs to start from scratch.That's when i tried this book and struck gold.This book is simple,clear and concise.It goes thru irish history step by step explaining the important events that shaped that history.For example,the account of how England became involved in Ireland is very clear and precise.From that moment on the authors do a very good job of explaining the PM's different policies toward Ireland. As the book approaches the 20th century it is still clear to understand the different forces that interact because the authors describe the events in a clear way.The only flaw that i saw in this book was that the authors dont really explain much of the origins of the terms like Sinn Fein and Fianna Fial.We dont know what they mean.But again very good intro to a history that needs a lot of explaining.

I have a lot of Irish ancestry but know nothing about Ireland or its history. This was my first attempt at understanding something of my grandparents' roots, but I came away with only a rudimentary knowledge of the course of Irish history. It is not written for anyone who has no working knowledge of Celtic, English or for that matter any European history. It was very vague in some areas (St. Patrick, the eras of the plagues and famine and England's reaction to same), far too specific in others (wars and the ever-changing alliances), and, while reading it, I felt as if I should have known what was going on. If it inspired me at all to further study, it was only because I found this book very lacking for my level of knowledge (none). However, on the upside, if you have previously studied Irish history, it is probably a good, overall review for you. The illustrations were wonderful and informative; however, they did not keep pace with the text and I found myself having to flip back and forth between pages and I, oftentimes, was still not clear what or who exactly was being described.

This book is based on the script for a television series by Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ), broadcast in 1966. The book aims to provide a concise but comprehensive survey of Irish history from prehistoric times to the present day. The revised edition includes a large selection of illustrations from the television series. A different specialist has written each chapter, and the change of emphasis can sometimes be quite noticeable between chapters. Because it covers so many centuries of history, it only has a small amount of information about the years from 1966-94, covered in two chapters which were added in the 1994 edition. However, overall, I think that this book is an excellent introduction to Irish history.

being a history major, i love history already so may have a bit of a bias. however this is a great book for anyone interested in irish history. you never get lost of confused, it is well organized, and logical to follow. unlike many history books, it is a fun read and never gets boring. before going to ireland for a month over the summer i read this book and it was great because it gave interesting history to know before i went. also does a great job of looking at the conflict that started over british rule and the politics behind it. i would reccomend this book to anyone. Slainte!

This is an outstanding book which describes the entire course of the history of Ireland. This book is extremely helpful about detailing the history leading to Ireland's current troubles. A defite must read for the Ireland or History enthusiast and for anyone planning a trip to the Emerald Isle in the future. Even though this book is extremely thorough, it is easily understandable to both historians and lay persons both in Ireland and abroad.

This book represented something completely new when published in 1966. It was a companion to a 21-part TV documentary series, produced by Irish historians for the Irish. With that in mind, the individual essays with their references to unfamiliar place names as well as some words in the Irish language, are a bit difficult for the general American reader, even one with a background in history. The book would also benefit from a couple of good maps, though I suspect that most Irish are familiar with thier tiny country's geography.

The book is just detailed enough to provide a general survey, and the extensive bibliography provides numerous, though some dated, points of departure for more serious students.

The book delivers what it's title implies, in a few hundred pages. The different perspectives of the various authors help to reinforce the truth that there are many ways of understanding and interpreting events, even when the facts are agreed upon. After having read the book, the reader knows himself not to be an expert, but has a sense of " the course of Irish history."

I bought this book to get a sense of Irish history since I expect to travel there this summer. However, instead of giving an overview of Irish history, this book is mainly essays by Irish history professors written for a Irish audience. So, this is not a good book for people who want a basic working knowledge of Irish history, it is for more advanced history majors. It has taken me months to get through this book.