Customer Reviews

The Macmillan Atlas of Irish History

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

For the price, this is probably one of the finest graphical summaries of Irish history. The Atlas starts with the Irish origins from pre-Celtic times to modern Ireland of the 1990's. By far the most rewarding attribute of the Atlas are the excellent thematic maps that accompany each important phase of Irish history. Also included with the well-written text are wonderfully clear illustrations. This is a must for any European/Irish history or geography buff!

Editor Sean Duffy's Atlas of Irish history is a fine, worthy addition to your Irish-related library. Whether you're a newcomer to Irish history or a card-carrying gaelophile, this atlas has much to offer, covering several thousand years of Irish history in a concise, highly readable, and strikingly visual manner.

The concept of the Irish Atlas is simple yet highly effective. Generally one page of text is followed by a thematic map. For example, a chapter on the Viking wars of the 8th century is accompanied by a helpful map that reveals the exact location in Ireland of Viking raids, settlements, and more. In another later chapter, The Ulster Question, a fine overview of this critical and longstanding issue is followed by a map that reveals the distribution of Protestants and Catholics in Ulster, 1911. Other chapters include, but are by no means limited to, the 1798 Rebellion, the pre-famine economy, World War 1 & the Easter Rising, and 1990s Ireland.

While some readers might quibble with the rather limited text, it's important to remember this is an atlas. The text (solidly written, by the way) is meant as an overview to these pivotal events in Irish history. It should be used as a gateway to more detailed writings. (The atlas concludes with a two-page "further reading" section.) As for the maps, editor Duffy concedes they "show facts rather than influences or ideas..." But this reader found the maps instructive and creative, a fine complement to the text.

Kudos to Mr. Duffy and his collaborators on the Irish Atlas. It does indeed go "some way to explain the story of this unique and fascinating place."

There are many ways to study history and atlases provide one of the best tools for doing so, offering a visual portrait of the changes that a group, a country, or a region undergo. This book, the first full-color atlas covering the span of Irish history, provides a graphic portrait of the island's past from Celtic times right up through the 1990s. Accompanied by explanatory texts, the maps depict such events as the Viking Wars, the Cromwellian plantation, and the Great Famine, offering insight into the various developments and their impact on the island.

Though the texts provided give only a cursory overview of their various subjects, the value of the book lies in the maps themselves. Clear and detailed, they provide some of the best geographic representations of Irish history available. Each one provides a wealth of information about the social, religious, economic, and cultural developments that took place within Ireland, and are supplemented by graphs and photos. Overall the book itself is a useful tool for studying Irish history and a valuable complement to a larger text or course on the subject.

This book obviously represents a considerable work effort. It presents volumes of information in a clear and concise manner. Invaluable as a reference for those with any interest in Irish history.

This book is a disgrace. I picked it out hoping that it would be an informative read on the trials and tribulations of the Irish people. There is a long, distinct and interesting history that has followed these people, and to read this atlas, you would never know it. While it does outline the major events in Ireland's history, that is all that it does. It provides no insight, no detail, and not even any history to the particular events it speaks about.

If you want to buy a dull, uninformative and terse volume of Ireland's history, then by all means, get this book. Otherwise, I would very seriously suggest that you look elsewhere. I have several atlases on varied subjects, and all give detailed maps, historical references and information which provide in depth views of not only what happened, but where and why it happened. There is no instance of history in this book.

Basically, there is no substance to this atlas. It is an instant disappointment. When you open up the package and out pops this dull pamphlet of Irish History, you will see what I mean.

Somewhat interesting but I ran into a similar problem with another book about Ireland I read recently - it is written as if you have great familiarity with Irish history (which I don't). Very little is explored in-depth, some areas of Irish history seemed skimmed over or omitted entirely. Like the last book I read, it's okay for a review but not for the beginning "student". I'll try again somewhere else.

great overview of Irish history with wonderful maps and illustrations

As a student of Dr. Duffy's I have seen the actual man in action and I do not belive this book represents in whole the genius of the man. This book in its simplicity, limits the intelligence of its reader to but a few pages in which, though well presented, are not close to touching the genius of the editor. I believe that this work, though informational and well made does not show the skill of the editor as an historian. To truly appreciate Dr. Duffy one has to read a work entirely of his own rather than this piece.