Ireland in the Twentieth Century [Hardcover]

Tim Pat Coogan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 4, 2004

A rousing history of Ireland in its most tumultous century by one of the most well-known and beloved Irish writers of our time.

Tim Pat Coogan's Ireland in the Twentieth Century will be a must-read for his legion of fans and anyone interested in Ireland's path through the twentieth century. Encompassing the violent and bloody days of the early twentieth century and peopled with such characters as Michael Collins, Eamon DeValera and James Joyce, this promises to be one of the most popular histories of Ireland yet written. Bringing the story up to the present day, Ireland in the Twentieth Century will become, like Coogan's The IRA and The Troubles, standard bearers in the canon of Irish history.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Coogan, the respected biographer of Eamon De Valera and Michael Collins, takes a fascinating in-depth look at the country that went from colony in 1900 to economic dynamo by the advent of the 21st century. Coogan takes illuminating looks at De Valera, who gave a face to Irish nationalism, and Collins, who, through his superb intelligence network and the handiwork of his personal assassination squad, literally terrorized the British out of Ireland. Although no fan of De Valera, Coogan shows what a master politician he was during WWII as, under threat of invasion by the British, he stood firm for Ireland's neutrality, while at the same time accommodating the British by returning downed airmen. One of the heroes of the Irish century is Sean Lemass, who went from being one of Collins's gunmen to being prime minister, starting to bring Ireland out of its economic doldrums. During his regime, from 1959 to 1967, Lemass instituted many changes in education and laid the groundwork for Ireland to join the EEC. Coogan compares the government of Northern Ireland and its policies toward Catholics to "South Africa under apartheid." He shows how, by gerrymandering, the Unionists stripped Catholics of all power in the "Six Counties." This powerlessness resulted in the civil rights marches of the 1960s, which, when repressed, nourished the long-dormant IRA. Coogan goes through the long process that led to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and fully credits the work of Bill Clinton, U.S. Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith, Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams and Prime Minister Albert Reynolds. The politics and culture of Ireland changed dramatically in the 20th century and Coogan has done a masterful job of taking a very complicated history and making it lively reading.
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Review

"...a fascinating in-depth look at the country that went from colony in 1900 to economic dynamo by the advent of the 21st century...Coogan has done a masterful job of taking a very complicated history and making it lively reading."--Publisher's Weekly

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 896 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan; 1st edition (March 4, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1403963975
• ISBN-13: 978-1403963970
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.6 x 2.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,587,830 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Complete (modern) history of Ireland to 2003, July 1, 2004

By 

D. Stevens (Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ireland in the Twentieth Century (Hardcover)

A thorough, highly detailed account of the current history of Ireland, especially political. While an extremely long book (750+ pages not counting indices) and you have to get used to Coogan's writing style that no sentence shall be less than 50 words long with multiple phrases embedded), this is an excellent account of the evolution of modern day Ireland. Coogan knows the internal political scene well and gives considerable weight to detailing it. This tends to take away somewhat from the readability since as a North American, I'm not familiar with the multitude of names that I'm sure are second nature to an Irishman like Coogan. Nevertheless, I feel that I came away with a better understand of how the Irish situation has developed and it did give me new and better background in which to frame my thinking. Recommended reading but only for true, non-fiction, history buffs.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Informative, August 5, 2007

By 

R. Swaney - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ireland in the Twentieth Century (Paperback)

If you're looking for a comprehensive history of modern Ireland: you've found it! Coogan is thoroughly knowledgeable in this area and any reader who makes it through the book leaves with concrete answers to much of Ireland's modern history. However, Coogan is also a rather tedious writer and the massive book can be a lot to swallow. Incredibly informative but I do suggest digesting the book in bite size pieces!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Complete (modern) history of Ireland to 2003, July 1, 2004

By 

Dan Stevens (Thornhill, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: IRELAND IN THE 20TH CENTURY (Hardcover)

A thorough, highly detailed account of the current history of Ireland, especially political. An extremely long book (750+ pages not counting indices) and you have to get used to Coogan's writing style that no sentence shall be less than 50 words long with multiple phrases embedded. This is an excellent account of the evolution of modern day Ireland. Coogan knows the internal political scene well and gives considerable weight to detailing it. This tends to take away somewhat from the readability since as a North American, I'm not familiar with the multitude of names that I'm sure are second nature to an Irishman like Coogan. Nevertheless, I feel that I came away with a better understand of how the Irish situation has developed and it did give me new and better background in which to frame my thinking. Recommended reading but only for true, non-fiction, history buffs.