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A Farther Shore: Ireland's Long Road to Peace [Hardcover]

Gerry Adams (Author)
3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)


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Book Description

November 4, 2003
He’s been imprisoned, shot at, denounced, shunned, and banned, yet Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams remains resolute in his belief that peace is the only viable option for the Irish people. Adams led the oldest revolutionary movement in Ireland on an extraordinary journey from armed insurrection to active participation in government. Now he tells the story of the tumultuous series of events that led to the historic Good Friday Agreement as only he can: with a tireless crusader’s conviction and an insider’s penetrating insight.

In vivid detail, Adams describes the harrowing attack on his life, and he offers new details about the peace process. We learn of previously undisclosed talks between republicans and the British government, and of conflicts and surprising alliances between key players. Adams reveals details of his discussions with the IRA leadership and tells how republicans differed, “dissidents” emerged, and the first IRA cessation of violence broke down. He recounts meetings in the Clinton White House, tells what roles Irish-Americans and South Africans played in the process, and describes the secret involvement of those within the Catholic Church. Then—triumphantly—this inspiring story climaxes with the Good Friday Agreement: what was agreed and what was promised.

Gerry Adams brings a sense of immediacy to this story of hope in what was long considered an intractable conflict. He conveys the acute tensions of the peace process and the ever-present sense of teetering on the brink of both joyous accomplishment and continued despair. With a sharp eye and sensitive ear for the more humorous foibles of political allies and enemies alike, Adams offers illuminating portraits of the leading characters through cease-fires and standoffs, discussions and confrontations. Among the featured players are John Major, Tony Blair, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Jean Kennedy Smith, and Nelson Mandela.

As the preeminent republican strategist of his generation, Gerry Adams provides the first comprehensive account of the principles and tactics underpinning modern Irish republicanism. And in a world where peace processes are needed more urgently than ever, A Farther Shore provides a template for conflict resolution.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Born in Belfast in 1948, Adams has spent his entire life in the nationalist movement and immediately states that he was never a member of the IRA; he similarly denies that Sinn Fein is "the political wing of the IRA." Northern Ireland politics is always a complicated array of facts and contradictions, but Adams has done a workmanlike job of defining events and personalities. He puts the 1988 Gibraltar assassinations of three IRA members squarely at the feet of Margaret Thatcher. And while he excoriates Thatcher and her ilk, he embraces Nelson Mandela ("the greatest political leader of our time"), Steve Bilko, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Rosa Parks and Ho Chi Minh as mentors and heroes. The Good Friday Agreement is at the book's heart. There are many heroes, including Nobel laureate John Hume, Irish Prime Ministers Albert Reynolds and Bertie Ahern, Tony Blair and, most prominently, Bill Clinton. Adams shows how he and his cohorts reached across the Atlantic for help and support. It was Clinton's unilateral 1994 act granting Adams a visa to enter the U.S. that started the peace process rolling. Adams takes us step-by-step through the tense negotiations, which culminated in the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. Adams's eighth book is suspenseful, biased, subversive, blunt and often funny. Edifying for both the neophyte and the veteran observer, it will open eyes as to how this master politician thinks and operates. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Although a complete end to the Troubles will require decades of healing, 1998's Good Friday Agreement between the Irish and British governments proved to be a significant step toward peace in Northern Ireland. Nudged along by George Mitchell, Bill Clinton, and the world's spotlight, Downing Street relaxed its longtime unwillingness to negotiate with Sinn Fein, and the IRA relaxed its longtime unwillingness to cease fire. This book is Sinn Fein president Adams' account of a quarter-century of progress and setbacks leading up to the agreement. It also takes issue with the conventional British and media wisdom that Sinn Fein is the "political wing of the IRA." Rather, Adams' Sinn Fein is a social-justice-minded political party that shares the objectives of the IRA while eschewing its violent means, and Adams himself is a passionate yet ultimately peaceful patriot. But violence, by both the IRA and the unionist paramilitary, punctuates his narrative, adding urgency and keeping feelings of progress in check. Yet there's always rhetorical distance between Sinn Fein and these violent acts. Packaged for posterity? Perhaps. But not to obscure the point: this is a story about peace. Brendan Driscoll
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 448 pages
  • Publisher: Random House; 1 edition (November 4, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0375508155
  • ISBN-13: 978-0375508158
  • Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,063,006 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.1 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Sinn Fein's gamble on the peace process, December 14, 2003
By 
This review is from: A Farther Shore: Ireland's Long Road to Peace (Hardcover)
This book begins with the hunger strikes of 1980-1981 and ends with the Good Friday Agreement of 1992, as seen by Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams. It also goes over events during that period - the beginnings of secret negotiations with the British, the Anglo-Irish Agreement, the Gibraltar executions, the initial ceasefire, support for the peace process from the USA as well as a country that had just had a peaceful settlement after years of fighting, South Africa, bad faith from the British, and finally the Good Friday Agreement.

Aside from going over the history, he details the negotation back-and-forth minutiae - sometimes going into too much detail about tactical political maneuvering by the various parties. He also includes humorous anecdotes like how during the Good Friday agreement negotiations, the Sinn Fein representatives went out of their way to be extra nice to the unionist representatives, who wouldn't speak to them, always holding open doors, smiling, saying hello in such a "lovefest" of niceness that the unionists eventually complained.

What I found particularly interesting was his discussion of the RTE and BBC censorship of Sinn Fein, and the effect that this had on people in England and the 26 counties perception. He discusses the gap between republicans and loyalists throughout, his earlier work has some insightful reflections on this as well. Gone is the young idealistic man of "Before the Dawn", in this book he is an older man, a tactically sharp politician who was smart enough to get rid of some of the harmful archaic dogmatic blockades of republicanism (like not running candidates in the 26 counties), and who is at the vanguard of a new republican strategic gamble - success via peaceful politics.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Recommended Reading, September 6, 2007
Gerry Adams is a native of "northern Ireland" and he is a politician and head of Sinn Fein party which means in translation "ourselves". As a nationalist he has worked for many years for the cause on Irish unity. He has had many ups and downs including being shot, serving jail time and being elected an MP to Westminster, etc. The book covers the period from approximately 1970 to 1998.

I would like to quote one passage from the book that says a lot about his thinking. This was during negotiations with all the parties in London at Lancaster House, the building of prior historical negotiations. Here 150 years after the great famine he describes the setting for the negotiations..." It was here-amid the grandeur and the Lousi XIV interiors and the other fine furnishings, undoubtedly stolen from around the world or purchased with other ill gotten gains...". So his Irish nationalism and his annoyance with the colonial English rulers are abundantly clear even in the late 1990's. People that understand colonialism certainly can empathize with Mr Adams.

Gerry Adams has written approximately eight other books so he is not new to books. This is a substantial book about 400 pages long, small font, lots of details. He is not a professional writer and sometimes the writing is a bit cumbersome. Having said that this is simply an excellent read both entertaining and engrossing.

He professes to be a politician (only) and explains many of his meetings, discussions, jail time, etc. He describes his meeting with Clinton and Blair in great detail, often hour by hour, and often explains the actions of many people working with him on various negotiations. Beyond that I think you should read the book. It is his view of a complicated subject whether you agree with him or not, and it is an excellent book.

Adams's path towards a political solution, as opposed to more of the same, has been a key ingredient to peace in Northern Ireland.

Good book: 5 stars.
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16 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Lesson in Peace, November 6, 2003
This review is from: A Farther Shore: Ireland's Long Road to Peace (Hardcover)
This book is a great learning tool for those who would like to know the history of the troubles in Ireland. This book offers insight into a man and an organization that are often misrepresented. I recommend this book to all of those who are sympatric with the Irish fight for self government and for those who wish to learn more. The least you can walk away with from reading this book is that Adams and his supporters never give up and continue to struggle for what every person deserves peace
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Inside This Book (learn more)
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First Sentence:
Sometimes I go to the edge of the world: to the northwest of Ireland, where on dark clear nights the skyscape stretches forever. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
republican political prisoners, unionist paramilitaries, armed republicanism, interparty talks, loyalist death squads, unionist veto, talks venue, decommissioning issue, republican funerals, peace strategy, first hunger strike, northern assembly, republican struggle, political unionism, equality agenda, unionist votes, republican prisoners, loyalist prisoners, loyalist parties, prisoners issue, nationalist vote, substantive talks, marching season, unionist party, arms issue
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
John Hume, John Major, White House, West Belfast, British Army, Downing Street, President Clinton, David Trimble, Ard Fheis, Castle Buildings, Senator Mitchell, Father Reid, George Mitchell, New York, Albert Reynolds, South Africa, United States, British Prime Minister, Patrick Mayhew, John Bruton, Anglo-Irish Agreement, Tony Blair, Farther Shore, Irish America, Long Kesh
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