Eamon De Valera: The Man Who Was Ireland [Paperback]

Tim Pat Coogan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1996

Publishing to coincide with St. Patrick's Day and the 75th anniversary of Irish Independence, this thorough, incisive, and wryly eloquent biography gives a sweeping portrait of Eamon de Valera, who was a part of Ireland and Irish politics for 50 years. of illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Thorough, incisive, and wryly eloquent, this biography gives a sweeping portrait of a true legend. "It is impossible to understand Ireland today without reading this unblinking version of the Eamon De Valera story." (New York Newsday).

Product Details

• Paperback: 784 pages
• Publisher: Perennial (March 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060926902
• ISBN-13: 978-0060926908
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #549,856 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An engrossing biography of a great political figure., January 15, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Eamon De Valera: The Man Who Was Ireland (Paperback)

Since the execution of the leading Irish nationalist rebels after the Easter Rising of1916, nationalist Ireland has produced only two larger-than-life
political figures. With the publication of Eamon De Valera: The Man Who Was Ireland, Ireland's leading journalist-historian Tim Pat Coogan has completed taking on both of these figures as biographical subjects.
A few years earlier, Coogan gave us Michael Collins: The Man Who Made Ireland, lionizing the long-dead guerrilla
commander who forced the British to withdraw from (most of) Ireland but who soon therafter lost his relatively young life to rebels he once led who felt he had compromised too much in obtaining Irish independence. Now Coogan tells the story of Collins' much longer-lived friend, "chief," and, ultimately, rival who harnessed that rebel force and turned
it into a populist political movement that defined Ireland for a half-century and still casts a "long shadow" over the nation today. As usual Coogan does so in mostly elegant lucid prose that is
only dwarfed by his monumentally detailed research. Every issue is here and to cite only a few: DeValera's mysterious Spanish paternity, his record as commandant during Easter Week, his controversial appeal for "extremist support" against Collins' Treaty with England, his role in the Irish Civil War, his influence and in-fighting
with the Irish-American lobby, his return to mainstream politics with his Fianna Fail party, his League of Nations and World War II neutrality record, his Constitution and wearing down of
Britain to obtain full Irish independence, his publications empire, his social and economic policies (or lack thereof). The only serious drawback of the book, apart from the length and academic style which may be a hindrance to some, is that the reader shold be aware that
this book has a point of view. Coogan constantly reminds us that De Valera was a student of Macchiavelli's writings and does not do so to merely impress us with DeValera's literary interests.

20 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Eamon Devalera The Man Who Was Ireland, March 31, 2000

By 

Jerry hughes (Spokane Wa .) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eamon De Valera: The Man Who Was Ireland (Paperback)

In many ways a superior work, but only if you are aware of Coogan's bias, which is blindly pro Collins and unfairly anti Devalera. An anology would be a Nixon apologist [i.e. Pat Buchanan or William Safire] writing an "Objective Biography" of John F. Kennedy. Despite their obvious intellectual talents,neither is capable of an even handed analysis. Devalera was a Giant of the 20 th Century,despite the fact that he represented only a very small nation on the World Scene for nearly 40 yrs. He was the central figure in the the War of Independence with G.B., + in the formation + leadership of Eire in the League of Nations, W.W.11, + post W.W. 11 /U.N., + as a respected + influential nuetral leader.Coogan for all is literary skills, is simply incapable of objective analysis except on rare instance. The detail is impressive, the sources are broad, and the scope is massive ,but he simply finds it virtually impossible to see what history has proven; that Dev was the superior soul in intellect, vision, ethics, and historical perspective. Collins was a good man , but seriously flawed with human weaknesses; while Dev...not a saint,who really is?....was a monumental tower of basic decency,judgement, + historical insight + instinct. Harry Boland,a great Irish patriot, who was extremely close to both Collins + Devalera, choose Dev, + the Collins' forces made him pay with his life. He declared that Dev was "the true Chief" and that the greatness of the man lay in his " incorruptability".If the reader knows Irish history, and if he/she can seperate the bias from the facts, they will gain meaningful insights into Dev and the glory that was his Ireland.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Long but thorough history of Irish leader, November 19, 2002

By 

Paul J. Ditz (Shelby, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Eamon De Valera: The Man Who Was Ireland (Hardcover)

Tim Pat Coogan compiles a sober and thorough history of Eamon deValera, the most influential Irish leader of the twentieth century. Combining painstaking research with first-hand accounts, Coogan presents a well-rounded portrait of this most complicated and controversial figure. Those who hold deValera in a saintly reverence may be angered at some of the less flattering depictions of the "lay cardinal." But this ranks as a most important read for anyone interested in tracking the course of twentieth century Ireland.