Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Should be filed under "Fiction", January 13, 2000
As a member of the IRSM for the past 18 years, I am well aware of the movement this work claims to be the history of, and it is from this vantage point that I can state it is so filled with false information it is impossible to rely upon as a historical source.From start to finish the authors depart from any pretense of historical objectivity and instead turn of vicious black propaganda of the worst sort. Noone active in the Irish Republican Socialist Movement was interviewed for the book, but instead it is based almost entirely on the testimony of Harry Flynn, who left the movement in 1983-84 in a bitter dispute and never returned. Never, that is, other than in a strange alliance with Gerard Steeson who had once ordered his death, the sole purpose of which was to destroy the Irish National Liberation Army. Even the supposed interview with the INLA's chief of staff published as an appendix is false, having actually been composed by IRSP member Liz LaGrua in response to written questions the author submitted.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
More fiction than fact, enemies used to relay INLA history., October 19, 1999
By A Customer
The trouble with this easy to read book is the fact that Jack Holland and Henry McDonald used people outside the Republican Socialist Movement, namely former members of IPLO, to tell the history of the INLA. With this obvious bias, of course it will be a hatchet job.It is akin to having a history of the IRA written with the aid of loyalists or IRA informers, who have reason to paint the organisation as negatively as possible. The main problem beyond this, then, is that it is referred to as the ultimate history of the INLA, and used to discredit the republican socialist movement. For those with an anti-republican or anti-socialist agenda, their needs are met with this book. Sadly, people have bought the myth of the INLA that this book presents, much to the detriment of activists and supporters of the movement. While the authors never even bothered to interview members of the IRSP or INLA for their book, it is still a must-have book if you can locate a copy, which is easier said than done. Again, it's easy to read, and it does give some basic background info, but the maze of speculation and unfounded allegations passed as fact makes it a bad start for a beginner.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Obviously biased and badly researched, August 3, 2001
By A Customer
In response to the review by the so-called teacher from Belfast(who couldn't even spell teacher, and several other words) I must point out that this is a review of the book, not a forum for you to air your bigotry and hatred of a certain organisation. This book is obviously badly researched, relying on information from sources who have reason to show the INLA in a bad light.It would have benefitted from the input of a range of objective and informed contributors who want to present a well researched and true reflection of this organisation. And, as I currently live in Northern Ireland, and have lived there all my life, you may not find it so easy to discredit my opinion on this matter.
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