The Troubles: Ireland's Ordeal 1966-1996 and the Search for Peace [Paperback]

Tim Pat Coogan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1997

In this widely acclaimed study of the complex conflicts in contemporary Northern Ireland, Tim Pat Coogan offers a clear, balanced, and reflective assessment of that struggle--and a new Epilogue to address the recent breakdown of the 1994 cease-fire. 50 photos.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Noted Irish journalist Tim Pat Coogan covers the tortured history of Ireland from the beginning of the civil rights movement of the 1960s, through the long, horrible years of violence, and up to the attempts to find peace. Coogan, author of the definitive biography of Michael Collins, knows what he's writing about, and his access to many of the principals gives this book a particular authority. Going beyond the slogans and tabloid headlines, Coogan provides a good hard look at many of the characters, some of whom prefer to live in the shadows, who act out the deadly drama of divided Ireland. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Coogan, biographer of Michael Collins and Eamon DeValera who has written the definitive history The IRA, here tackles the "troubles" that have plagued Ulster since 1966. After looking at the roots of Catholic discrimination of the Northern Irish state, which was created in 1922 at the same time as the Free State, Coogan points to Orange prejudice in housing, education and jobs and the lack of a Catholic outlet for peaceful protest. He also argues that the war in the North started as a civil rights demonstration in the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr., but that radical Orange response soon turned protest into war. He takes a close look at Ian Paisley ("the great pornographer" because of his habit of interjecting sexual metaphor into his sermons); John Hume, the quiet peacemaker; Bernadette Devlin, one of the first to put a "face" on the struggle in the North; Gerry Adams, gunman turned peacemaker; and Albert Reynolds, the Irish Taoiseach who was the first prime minister to insist on peace. Coogan looks at all parts of the war, from Bloody Sunday in 1972 and the Bobby Sands hunger strike to the current peace initiative. Although he has written from the nationalist viewpoint, Coogan has also taken a very complicated history and explained it simply, with grace and wit. A primer for those looking to understand the religious bloodshed in the North. Photos.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 460 pages
• Publisher: Natl Book Network (May 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570981442
• ISBN-13: 978-1570981449
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,748,775 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful and Eye-Opening, December 22, 2003

By 

Richard (Perkasie, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Troubles: Ireland's Ordeal 1966-1996 and the Search for Peace (Hardcover)

While Coogan's Nationalist Opinions shine through like a beacon, his revelations and information appear to be incredibly well-researched. It amazes me how bigotry on the part of Unionists (especially Ian Paisley, who appears to have given birth to the Northern Ireland version of the Ku Klux Klan), closed-minded denial on the part of British politicians, and high-handedness of the British Army brought about the failure of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Movement and led to the accession of the IRA. Even the most unbiased person, when given all the objective facts -- which Coogan's writings amply demonstrate that the British government for years effectively censored such facts -- leads to the inexorable conclusion that British and Unionists played the biggest role in leading Northern Ireland to the violence of the Troubles, and that these entities themselves created a level of violence and murder equivalent to that perpetuated by the IRA. This book is a definitive work on the issues that still plague Northern Ireland.

16 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Worth reading but too one sided, May 2, 2000

By 

"addamski" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Troubles: Ireland's Ordeal 1966-1996 and the Search for Peace (Paperback)

I read this book several years ago because I was fed up of hearing about Northern Ireland on the news and (like most people in Britain) not knowing what the conflict was fully about. However Tim Pat Coogan only half rectified this.

On the plus side this book gives a comprehensive account of the main incidents, in a clear and engaging style, occasionally giving personal anecdotes to add a more human element to the proceedings. It quickly becomes apparent that contrary to the main conception, the conflict has very little to do with religion and all to do with a typical power struggle complicated by nationalism and ineffectual British governmental policy. Coogan presents the horrors (and there are some very disturbing ones) and the missed opportunities in an intelligent fashion. He's also an expert on the IRA.

Where the book falls short however is in it's blatant bias. Coogan is firmly on the side of the Irish nationalists (as am I), however he does not go far enough to explain the Unionist view point, thus many readers will go away bewildered at the protestants, perceiving them as deranged orange devils, as many British people already do (though in Ian Paisley's case they may be correct). Thus Coogan is pretty irresponsible especially as this can be a very emotive issue.

Overall, this book should still be read (it is a very enjoyable read), but with caution or preferably in tandem with another source that gives the unionist side more fully.

10 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as his ealier books, too biased., March 25, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Troubles: Ireland's Ordeal 1966-1996 and the Search for Peace (Paperback)

This is an important book about an important subject, but it fails to reach the high standards of his earlier work (such as the biography of Michael Collins). Its two major faults are that he talks about himself too much (who he has talked to etc) and that he fails to be a detached historian. He is consistently pro-Republican, an understandable viewpoint perhaps, but not good enough in a supposed history book. A telling feature is the ridiculously low profile given to Ulster's majority population, the Protestants. They appear only as faceless bigots or puppets of the British state. This is not just a Brit whinging, I was in Ireland when this book came out, and the Irish press found it equally hard to view this book as a balanced history. It is very hard to find impartial books on Irish history and this is not one of them. Read some Roy Foster as a counter-balance.