Customer Reviews

The Easter Rebellion

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After providing an overview of the facts which led to the Easter rising in 1916, Caulfield focuses in a most detailed account of the rebellion. Written originally in 1963, when many of the participants of both sides were still alive to be interviewed, it describes the events almost hour by hour, switching from one place to another. The book is divided in chapters, subdivided in sections of no more than a few pages, as the author goes through the evolution of facts occurring at the same time in different locations in Dublin. There is a lot of thrilling action in the text. Many of the characters, some of which would later be famous are fleshed out with well documented descriptions. There are included some maps which help to understand the text, and some pages of photos for you to gain some atmosphere. At the end it is a chapter which explains what happened after the Rebellion, which events would affect momentously to the subsequent history of Ireland. The book is well balanced, and although focusing more on the Irish side, it has no axes to grind present. Anyone who wants to learn about the Raising which would, on end, led to the independence of Ireland, has to read this book.

You are there, as British troops try to cross the Mount Street Bridge. The withering fire of Irish Rebels cutting an entire British Battalion to pieces. The sense of urgentness in the insurgents, followed by a combined sense of doom and pride for what they had done. This book guides the reader through unbelievable scenes of heroism and tragedy. Nothing seems to be left out, and the flowery additives and imaginary dialogue, that seem to encompass so many books on the subject, are thankfully left out.

Max Caufield's "The Easter Rebellion" is considered by many to be the standard account of the week-long standoff between Irish Republicans and the British Army in Dublin. Thoroughly detailed, Caufield chronologically accounts the events of Easter Week, 1916. This is a good introduction for those researching the events of the week. Some of his characterizations of the individuals involved in the events are off a bit, or in some cases just plain wrong. Use this as a starting place in your research, but don't accept everything in this book as truth.

You can almost hear the bullets whizzing by and feel the dust of a crumbling GPO as Caulfield walks the reader through the streets of Dublin during the days of the Rebellion. From the indecisive start to the tragic end, the reader is shown what the front lines of the revolution were like from both the English and Irish sides. Key Irish leaders like Michael Collins and Eamon DeValera are portrayed expertly as they struggle with commanding a cause they know from the beginning that they can not win. For anyone interested in Irish history, this is an interesting and exhaustive account of one of the key points in Ireland's fight for independence and I would highly recommend it

Caulfield's history is a good read and good fun, but has its odd moments - for instance he weirdly typifies the funny, dreamy, sweet-natured poet Thomas MacDonagh as "arrogant", which would have surprised those who fought by his side and were taught by him. Not the definitive history, but very entertaining.

Although well written, Max Caufied's work suffers from a minute-by-minute focus on the military aspect of the Rebellion. There is an abundance of information in the manner of identifying a rebel who runs down Grangegorman Upper at7 PM, telling what sort of weapon he carried and how many rounds of ammunition he had, and what he reportedly yells to the man next to him as they round a corner. After a while, this reader found himself skipping over the numbing details and looking,in vain, for a broader view of the participants and the historical event they initiated.