Customer Reviews

May the Road Rise to Meet You: Everything You Need to Know About Irish American History

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For accuracy, this book is a disaster! [It was] said she was "completely immersed in Irish History". That can not be or she would have realized this book was researched in a few pubs, but never in any reliable source! It contains so very many inaccuracies it at first appears to be a diversionary tactic for some other intent. After reading about half, anyone that has actually studied Irish History seriously will feel insulted, angry and frustrated at the nerve of these two "wanna be" historians. Example 1. There was never a "land bridge" with any other part of Europe. An ice bridge, hence mammals crossed, but no reptiles did. Ireland was originally two small valcanic islands in the south Atlantic, and through Tectonic Plate movement have arrived "off the coast of western Europe". Read: "Where Ireland Came From" for more on this. Example 2. Brian Boru is the only man to ever completely unite all of Ireland (two Clans,one in the north, and one from the west opted not to join Brian, but kept away also), and on Good Friday of 1014, his combined armies defeated the Vikings and their Irish allies at the famous Battle of Clontarf. His success cost him his life in the afternoon at the age of about 74! (some think 64, either way he was very old for the times). These authors are so unfamiliar with Irish History's actuality that they give Ireland's greatest leader less than one paragraph in their sorry little book. There are some wonderful books on Irish history that will teach you plenty. If you like your history in novelized form to add pleasure to your lessons, seek out books by: Walter Macken (always 5 stars - deceased) Morgan Llywelyn (another consistant 5 star writer-living) A good book on the Easter Rising on 1916 is: "Agony at Easter" Save your money on this worthless rag!

If you don't laugh out loud reading this book better check your pulse. At a minimum, write ten things down from it and pass it along to a friend--they'll thank you for it. Even before I knew that I had a small smattering of Irish blood in me (my great grandmother was a Fitzgerald), I have always appreciated the dignity and wit of Irish writers and envied the Irish people for their enormous capacity for life--both the joy and sorrow of it. In May the Road Rise Up to Meet You, Padden & Sullivan have come up with a book that's perfect for all us quasi-Irish and non-Irish. If you "don't know much about Irish history" it is a must read. It's part trivia, part humor, and part history lesson and it won't cost you a pot of gold. At the Amazon price, it's worth buying a bunch to give as gifts. I highly recommend it.

I received this book for Christmas, and could not put it down Christmas day (much to the dismay of family!). What a treat to get all the answers about my heritage in readable form for guys like me who have only a few minutes here and there to read. Frank McCourt is quoted as saying that this book is as satisfying as a pint of Guinness or a Connemara sunset. For once, a readable book that gives me stories to tell my grandchildren about the rich heritage of the Irish.

This little book was a real treat to read. Chapters in this book are as follows: there is a forward written by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Chapter 1: Clannishness: some background, Chapter 2: Ancient Ireland, Chapter 3: The Middle Ages: Christianity comes to Ireland, and the Vikings Invade (meanwhile the Irish discover America), Chapter 4: Troubles Brewing, Chapter 5: Fighting Irish, Founding Irish, Chapter 6: An Ulster American Miscellany, Chapter 7: Boston Bound (or, Philadelphia here I come), Chapter 8: The Fightin' Irish in the Wild, Wild West, Chapter 9: Irish Nationalism, the American Role, Chapter 10: The Lit'ry Life (and other Artsy Pursuits), Chapter 11: Sporting Irish, Chapter 12: The Road Rises: Irish Americanism in the Twentieth Century, Chapter 13: From County Wexfor to Camelot: a family saga, Chapter 14: The Road from Here.

This book doesn't cover everything in extreme detail -- you'll have to find a bigger, more serious tome for that. This book gives you a little background on Irish ancestors in Ireland and the US and the Irish in America today. It was a great, enjoyable read. I highly recommend it!

I got this book as part of a series on American ethnic histories. I have used it extensively in my high school class, where my students have just devoured it. It is in a cool question and answer format, so the students can just pick part of it to read, then explore more. Parents want it now. It is fun to have around -- I recommend it.

As an Irish History Major and Ancient Irish History hobbiest, I find giving this silly book even a 1 star rating a difficult option. It would seem that our enthusiastic co-authors did much of their research in the Pubs. Great place to be, but a lousy place to learn real information. For example: Probably the single most important person in ancient Irish history was a you man named: Cennedi (now Kennedy). As he aged he was able to accomplish something that no other person in history has been able to do from the beginning of time unto this very writing. He got ALL the Irish tribes to unite in a fierce battle north of Dublin on Good Friday, 1014, and defeated the Norsemen (some refer to them as the Vikings)who held Dublin and the surround area. He is known to those knowledgeable in history as: Brian Baru. Brian means: he asends, and Baru would be interpreted as: chosen or elected. Therefore, his name/title was: The People's Choice. Our authors' zeal to get on with other nonsense afforded Ireland's only true King with one very short paragraph! Credibility wanes! Also, they discuss Ireland's connection to the Euro-Asian continent. Ireland was never part of the continent, and according to the excellent book by Frank Mitchell, Where Has Ireland Come From?, it started as two volcanic islands in the southern Atlantic. As they moved north and were pushed together they formed the present Ireland which has moved as far north and west as to have pulled some of Greenland's rocks away with it. These rocks on the west coast are 1700 Million (!) years old! As a retired, International Airline Captain, I can tell you that when flying between Dublin and Shannon one can see the seam to this day where the two old islands where pressed together. The rocks actually run in different directions in many places. We are also (incorrectly) told about the land bridge between Ireland and the rest of the continent, i.e. England or Scotland. The only possible bridge could have been ICE. That's why mammals have crossed, i.e. the great Irish Elk (now extinct), and the wolves that followed them (extinct too). There are very few anphibians or reptiles as they don't like slithering across ice. If you choose to read this book, take it very, very lightly, and never quote it to anyone that might have a clue about the truth.

I love this book! Who could ask for a better, more accessible introduction to Irish history? I recently had the pleasure of reading "May the Road Rise to Meet You," and--as a person completely immersed in Irish history--must say that it served as a wonderful overview of the history of a nation. I'd like to thank the authors for writing such a terrific intro to Irish history! Can't wait to buy it for my friends as St. Patrick's Day gifts! (I just wish I could meet the authors so they could sign it for me!)