Customer Reviews

The Illustrated Life of Michael Collins

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Everyone has heard the cliche "A picture's worth a thousand words" and Connolly proves it is true. History comes to life beautifully as the reader is enveloped in headlines, photos, drawings and letters of the time. As well as eye candy, The Illustrated Life of Michael Collins provides an accurate, easy-to-read biography and a palatable political analysis. Unlike some other historical profiles, Connolly stays away from melodrama and hero worship, telling the facts as they were and leaving the observer to make his own choices. A worthwhile purchase for anyone interested in Michael Collins and/or Irish history.

Ever since I saw the outstanding 1996 Neil Jordan film "Michael Collins", I have been fascinated in the story of Collins and the violent early years of the IRA. This excellent pictorial history gives a brief but concise summary of his life, along with dozens of extraordinary and rare photos. From his growing up in West Cork, Ireland, to his tragic death at the age of 31, this book explains his amazing life in a simple, straightforward way that will please both experienced Irish history buffs and "rookies" who're looking for a good place to start.

What I find most tragic about Collins is that after years of fighting the British to achieve Irish independence, he was ambushed and killed by his own countrymen during the Irish Civil War of 1922. There are photos of his fiancee Kitty Kiernan, his best friend Harry Boland, and various IRA associates, and of course photos of his enemies, both Irish and British. There's a particularly chilling photo an R.I.C. Constable alongside two Auxiliaries (known for their brutal methods), all with evil grins and guns drawn. This book is an absolute must for any Irish history buff!

For anyone interested in getting to know more about Michael Collins and Ireland's finally successful struggle for freedom from Britain, this book is an excellent, easily read introduction. It depicts in words and photos a terrible and critically important period in Irish history and introduces the reader to one of the most fascinating and compelling figures in that history or any other. Highly recommended.

Being a fan of Irish history and in particular the life of Michael Collins I was very impressed with the content of the book.This book show's the man as he really was to the Irish people.A hero who died in the persute of freedom for his people.