How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe (Hardcover)

by Thomas Cahill (Author) "On the last, cold day of December in the dying year we count as 406, the river Rhine froze solid, providing the natural bridge that..." (more)
Key Phrases: saved civilization, Middle Ages, Mac Roth, John Scotus (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
In this delightful and illuminating look into a crucial but little-known "hinge" of history, Thomas Cahill takes us to the "island of saints and scholars," the Ireland of St. Patrick and the Book of Kells. Here, far from the barbarian despoliation of the continent, monks and scribes laboriously, lovingly, even playfully preserved the West's written treasury. When stability returned in Europe, these Irish scholars were instrumental in spreading learning, becoming not only the conservators of civilization, but also the shapers of the medieval mind, putting their unique stamp on Western culture. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Publishers Weekly
With the fall of the Roman Empire in the fifth century, Ireland, according to the author, "had one moment of unblemished glory"-when Irish monks copied almost all of Western classical poetry, history, oratory, philosophy and commentary. But this book is more than the story of monks preserving manuscripts; it is an irreverent look back at how Ireland came to be. Celts who had traversed Europe, Irish warriors and their women were primitive and blatantly sexual. Next came a taming of the land with the help of St. Patrick, who hated slavery and loved scholarship. Patrick was followed by St. Columcille, a great lover of books who became embroiled in a war and, as penance, exiled himself to the island of Iona, off Scotland. It was here that Ireland became "Europe's publisher," as other warrior-monks followed Columcille's example and began to colonize barbarized Europe. They put Ireland in the vanguard of intellectual leadership, a position the Irish would not surrender until the Viking invasion of the 11th century. Cahill (A Literary Guide to Ireland) has written a scholarly, yet cheeky, book that will have strong appeal to Celtophiles. Illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 246 pages
• Publisher: Nan A. Talese; 1st edition (February 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385418485
• ISBN-13: 978-0385418485
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (268 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #222,795 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

153 of 167 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars WORST METHODS AND FALSE., June 1, 2006

By	???????????? (Queens, N.Y.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How the Irish Saved Civilization (Hinges of History) (Paperback)

I have been reading the history of this period for over forty years. This is the worst bunk I have ever read. Here are my reasons. 1, He fails to cite his sources. 2,He fails to prove his thesis. 3,He contradicts the very title by stating that books never vanished from Italy, Greece, and the most Romanized parts of the western Roman world. 4,He pads the book with a ton of extraneous info that has nothing to do with the topics. 5,He inexplicably bashes other groups for no reason. Lastly, the so-called style is a disorganized, and incoherent rambling. I suggest that before anyone wastes their money. They read all of the reviews of this book wih a fine tooth comb and an open mind.

213 of 235 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Shameful, and I'm Irish!, March 15, 2006

By	I'm Irish - See all my reviews

This review is from: How the Irish Saved Civilization (Hinges of History) (Paperback)

Goethe: "Choose well, your choice is brief, and yet endless." This propaganda was endlessly FALSE!!!!! As a history buff I have to take issue with the positive reviews of this Fluff. The most recent rev. by Mr. J. Egolf was largely wrong. First, Ireland did not have 8 million people untill 1840. The climate changes in 535 led to the island losing half its population to famine. The Irish did not precede the Benedictines or most other orders of monks! The Benedictines grew in part out of the earlier orders founded by "Origen in the second century." As the astute rev's have poignantly mentioned THE IRISH GOT THERE BOOKS FROM THE HIGHLY ORGANIZED BENEDICTINES AFTER THE YEAR 500 and from others before that. Despite, Monte Cassino being sacked in 580 and 846 the Benedictines did not lose any books since they hid them in caves were the Lombards and Arabs could not get to. Mr. Cahill even mentioned that the Irish monks were very de-centralized and often at odds with all authority and each other. That removes most of the authors claims in their BIAS TOTALITY. I found the authors remarks about non-Irish very offensive. Why do we Irish have to mock others to build ourselves up? Pieter Balsetiers "Saint Benedict, The Father Of Western Civilization" is a far more in depth and FAIR WORK OF SCHOLARSHIP. He gives the Italians, Jews, Arabs, Armenians, and Greeks the credit they DESERVE! I am returning this book.

80 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars What a nightmare!, April 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: How the Irish Saved Civilization (Hinges of History) (Paperback)

Thomas Cahill's book is a feeble (and cheap) attempt to whip up Irish-American patriotism. In fact, a catchy title and an attractive cover are about the only things this book has "going for it." Cahill is completely misguided and presents his arguments with a chaotic incoherence. He is also misinformed. For ex., he states that the art of the medieval period was filled with smiling and playful demons, as it was meant to be perceived as "light" by the audience. It is common knowledge that medieval art, religious art, was on the apocalyptic end of the church propaganda spectrum. His tone is always condescending, as if he were speaking to a group of children who could never possibly comprehend the sophisticated arguments he's making. He attempts to elevate the Irish to the status of the saviors of civilization, but does so by mocking other groups, such as the Mormons (whom he calls uneducated). His style makes the topic itself less interesting. It is not scholarly or even acceptable for main-stream readers. I would love to read a book which deals with the same subject written by someone else, as the topic itself, divorced from Cahill's inaptitude, is fascinating and definitely overlooked by true scholars, since it deals with a transitional period. Probably THE worst book I have ever read.