Customer Reviews

The Oxford Illustrated History of Ireland (Oxford Illustrated Histories)

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If you are looking for a single volume that offers an engaging account of the grand sweep of Irish history, then I would suggest you steer clear of the Oxford Illustrated History of Ireland. The problem is not with the illustrations, which are numerous, nicely reproduced, well described, and interesting overall. The problem is the essays that make up the text of the book, which are dreary illustrations of history presented in its driest and most unappealing form. The first two essays describing the history of the Island from prehistory to the 15th century are a monotonous chronicle of the names of, and rivalries between, the indigenous and foreign notables who claimed and/or controlled various pieces of Irish turf over the centuries. These accounts shed little light on the people who inhabited the disputed territories, on how they lived their lives, or on the family, social and economic structures of their evolving communities. They also fail to offer much insight on the nature and geography of the land itself, and its different regions, which I find is almost always a feature of any good read about the history of a people. Perhaps the remaining four essays in the book may inject more life into what ought to be a colourful story. I'll never know, since the first two run to more than a hundred pages, and I have a personal reading rule that if a narrative hasn't captured my interest, or otherwise shown much promise, in the first hundred pages, then I am at liberty to cease reading it without any self-recrimination. This doesn't happen very often, but such was the case with this text. The only consolation for me is that the art, drawings, photographs and other illustrations in the book are interesting in and of themselves. If the Oxford folks ever contemplate revising this book, I'd suggest they consider jettisoning the essays and enlarging the illustrations.

I bought this book on a whim a few weeks ago and, after struggling to get past the first 50 pages, recently just returned it. In the bookstore I found the book to be interesting due to the great illustrations and accompanying text. But the actual book is another matter entirely. It's divided into several essays written by different authors. I wish I could remember who wrote the first one, because I would warn Irish history enthusiasts to steer clear of that author's other books.

What bothered me was how the book begins by skipping over thousands of years of history to bring the reader into around 500-700 AD, with the clear implication that before the arrival of Christianity, nothing too interesting happened on the island. Beyond that, the first essay reads like a super-boring recitation of place names, people and titles that are barely explained. Awful, just awful.

I started reading this book after finishing "A Concise History of Scotland" and this one paled by comparison. The book about Scotland was a masterpiece of cohesion and interesting writing. Unfortunately, the only thing the two books have in common are the great illustrations.

The illustrations in this book about Irish history are the ONLY interesting thing, in my opinion, and the writing never lives up to that quality. It is just one dry fact after another--- so unappealing. Where is the humanity--the people, the cultures, the societies? History should be written in the same vital way in which it occurred.

What a shame--this could have been such a good book if the writing had had any life to it.

the writers take it for granted that the reader is already well versed in irish history. if anyone knows of a good book on irish history: please let me know!