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Saturday, July 30, 2005
Read Ireland
Read Ireland Book News - Issue 313
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This is the Country by William Wall
(Trade Paperback; 15.00 Euro / 18.00 USD / 10.00 UK; 272 pages)
A startling light is cast into Ireland's darker corners in this
novel by the author of 'THE MAP OF TENDERNESS'. In an Ireland
far removed from the familiar images of travel brochures, a
bright teenager is heading for trouble: son of a single mother
who has given up, rarely at school, taking drugs, and hovering
on the fringes of the city’s criminal underworld. When he falls
for Pat The Baker’s sister his life changes irrevocably, not
least because when she gets pregnant, Pat breaks his legs. But
as he tries to make a new start and adjust to being a lover and
father, he realises he cannot evade vengeance forever. This is
the Country is a hard-hitting, tense and deeply moving novel
that sets power and corruption against the fragile defences of
love, friendship and family. As gritty as it is tender, as funny
as it is dark, it tells a riveting tale of survival against the
odds.
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The Famine in Mayo: A Portrait from Contemporary Sources
1845-1850 compiled and edited by Ivor Hamrock
(Hardback; 20.00 Euro / 26.00 USD / 14.00 UK; 150 pages, with
black-and-white illustrations throughout)
The Great Famine in Ireland was one of the defining moments of
Irish history. It marked a watershed in the history of the
country causing a change so complete in the Irish social and
economic fabric, that the people’s sensibilities would never be
the same again. No longer could Irish people trust the land to
provide constant sustenance. No longer could they rely on
whatever security of tenure was allowed by the landlords, and
more importantly they learned that their English political
masters cared little for their plight. This book is a portrait
of the lives and deaths of the people as recorded by witnesses
in books, newspapers and official records of that horrific
period.
------------------------------------
The Brendan Voyage by Tim Severin
(Trade Paperback; 15.00 Euro / 18.00 USD / 10.00 UK; 267 pages)
It has been described as the greatest epic voyage in modern
Irish history. Tim Severin and his companions built a boat using
only techniques and materials available in the sixth-century
A.D., when St Brendan was supposed to have sailed to America.
The vessel comprised forty-nine ox hides stitched together in a
patchwork and stretched over a wooden frame. This leather skin
was only a quarter of an inch thick. Yet Severin and his crew
sailed Brendan from Brandon Creek in Dingle to Newfoundland,
surviving storms and a puncture from pack ice. The Brendan
Voyage is Tim Severin's dramatic account of their journey. This
new edition of a book already translated into twenty-seven
languages introduces a new generation of readers to an enduring
classic. Tim Severin didn't prove St Brendan reached America,
only that he could have - that it was possible. Brilliantly
written, The Brendan Voyage conveys unforgettably the sensation
of being in a small, open boat in the vastness of the North
Atlantic, visited by inquisitive whales, reaching mist-shrouded
landfalls, and receiving a welcome from seafaring folk wherever
the crew touched land.
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Follow Your Dream by Daniel O’Donnell
(Trade Paperback, 15.00 Euro / 18.00 USD / 10.00 UK; 142 pages,
with colour and black-and-white photographs)
Daniel O'Donnell has achieved superstardom on the international
music scene. His concert tours sell out six months in advance.
He has achieved well over a million album sales to date, as well
as over a quarter of a million videos. He is the only performer
ever to have had 6 records in the British charts at the same
time. Without doubt the star with the highest media profile in
Ireland, Daniel O'Donnell appears regularly on the covers of
magazines like the RTE Guide, as well as featuring on radio and
TV. Daniel O'Donnell fans are the most loyal anywhere and have
an insatiable appetite for information on their star. Although
much has been written about him, FOLLOW YOUR DREAM is his story,
the Untold Story, written by Daniel with his fans in mind. It
unlocks the door to his private world, taking the reader back to
Daniel's childhood years, through the difficult early days on
the road and his life as a superstar. The book reveals the man
you never knew before, as he talks about success, love and the
driving ambition that almost wrecked his life.
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Yes, Taoiseach by Frank Dunlop
(Paperback; 10.00 Euro / 13.00 USD / 7.00 UK; 355 pages)
Frank Dunlop became Fianna Fáil's first Press Officer in 1974
and Ireland's first Government Press Secretary in 1978. For
nearly two decades he had a bird's eye view of the good that
politicians do, and the bad. Sitting at the shoulder of the
legendary Jack Lynch during his fall from power; working with
the most intriguing, charismatic - and beleaguered -politician
of his generation, Charles Haughey; observing how Haughey's
worthy opponent Garret FitzGerald, turned the screw on his
embattled boss; dealing with men like Des O'Malley, Ray
MacSharry, Albert Reynolds, Charlie McCreevy and an up and
coming young fellow called Bertie Ahern - Dunlop saw it all. And
Yes, Taoiseach is a sparkling, intimate and unsparing chronicle
of his experiences.
---------------------------------
Love and the Monroes by Suzanne Power
(Paperback; 11.00 Euro / 14.50 USD / 8.00 UK; 465 pages)
DO YOU BELIEVE IN LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT AND AGAINST ALL ODDS?
Marilyn Monroe is a thirty-something mathematical genius who
applies a percentage calculation to yield the perfect man. But
so far she hasn't even found the wrong one. Elizabeth, her
mother, has replaced men with an addiction to all things New
Age. Having her heart broken once proved enough. CHANCES ARE
YOU'RE NOT A MONROE Brigid, head of 'the family shrub', has
devoted her life to schooling her descendents against the kind
of foolish marriage she made. But she's done her job to well.
But all is about to change...When the tealeaves predict that the
men are coming to No 51 Verbena Avenue, Brigid, having made a
discovery of her own, sets out to ensure that the prophesy is
fulfilled before it's too late. Love and the Monroes is an
enchanting story of three women whose lives are upended when
they open their door to chance, cupid and consequence. Not even
the tea leaves can predict what's in store...
----------------------
Available Again:
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The Magnificent Irish Wolfhound by Mary McBryde
(Large Hardback; 70.00 Euro / 90.00 USD / 50.00 UK; 335 pages,
with colour and black-and-white photos throughout)
The Irish Wolfhound, the biggest of all dog breeds, has an
ancient history, dating back some 3,000 years. These giant-sized
hounds were used for hunting wolf, deer and wild boar, and they
were even used in battle to pull men off horseback. However, by
the 19th Century numbers had dwindled, and following the Irish
Famine of 1845, the breed almost died out. Fortunately, a
revival took place, and today the Irish Wolfhound has a strong,
enthusiastic following worldwide. This is the most comprehensive
book to date on the Irish Wolfhound - indeed, it is one of the
most impressive books ever published on a single breed. The
Irish Wolfhound is traced through its chequered history to its
emergence as an impressive show dog and a lovable, gentle
companion. Extensive coverage is given to choosing and rearing a
Wolfhound puppy, with particular emphasis on diet and exercise
during the vital growing period. The Breed Standard is analysed
in detail, and there is expert guidance on training the
Wolfhound for the show ring. Using her extensive experience, the
author gives invaluable advice on breeding Wolfhounds, and there
is a complete section on health care and breed associated
conditions. Illustrated with more than 200 top-quality colour
photographs showing the breed in all aspects, this is essential
reading for all Wolfhound enthusiasts.
--------------------------------
Brabyns Handbook of Irish Wolfhounds by D.E.S. Hudson
(Paperback; 15.00 Euro / 18.00 USD / 10.00 UK; 75 pages, with
black-and-white photos)
Written by the late Suzanne Hudson specifically for those new to
the breed , this book distills the seventy or so years'
experience the author had with wolfhounds, from her childhood
with her father's dogs in the twenties till her recent death in
Ireland. A recommended starting point for the new enthusiast.
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New in Paperback This Week:
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Nell by Nell McCafferty
(10.00 Euro / 13.00 USD / 7.00 UK; 450 pages)
Journalist Nell McCafferty has been an iconic figure in Ireland
for over thirty years. Nell is the revealing story of the woman
behind the image. Whether describing her challenging and tender
relationship with her mother, Lily; her fears about being gay;
war on the streets of her native Derry; the blossoming of
feminism in Ireland; or the joy of finding a domestic haven with
the love of her life, Nuala O'Faolain and the pain of losing it,
McCafferty doesn't spare anyone, least of all herself, in
telling the truth of her life. The result is Nell: a journey
that is moving, funny, inspiring and often jaw-droppingly frank.
---------------------------------
The Catalpa Tree by Denyse Devlin
(10.00 Euro / 13.00 USD / 7.00 UK; 450 pages)
When Jude is orphaned at fourteen, her father's best friend
comes to the rescue. Oliver wants to remain her friend as well
as her guardian, but spirited Jude isn't a girl you can shelter
from the world - not after she's already suffered so much
heartache. And with each passing year, both Jude and Oliver
struggle in their own ways against the ties that bind them. What
place has love inside and outside of their relationship? Who is
really protecting whom - especially when Jude grows into a
desirable young woman? And what future can a relationship with
so many complications ever really have?
--------------------------------
An End to Flight by Vincent Banville
(10.00 Euro / 13.00 USD / 7.00 UK; 235 pages)
Michael Painter, an Irishman teaching in a Catholic Mission
School in Nigeria, is, by temperament and choosing, an observer.
Boredom and the fear of emotional involvement seem always to
prevent him from taking a decisive leap. And so, as the relief
planes lift the European doctors, teachers and priests out of a
country convulsed by a violent Civil War they cannot comprehend,
Painter remains behind. Still in search of something to give
meaning to his life, Painter is submerged in the conflict as
rival armies shuttle back and forth across the enormous
battlefield, wreaking identical cruelties, slaughtering and
being slaughtered. For Painter, as for the starving Biafrans,
there is no real end to flight. In a spare, muted style,
Vincent Banville communicates the horror of Africa at war in a
work of extraordinary power and depth. This is a timely reissue
of a celebrated and award-winning novel that paints a picture of
the beginnings of a struggle that endures to this day.
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Highlights from the Previous Issue:
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Throw in the Vowels: New and Selected Poems by Rita Ann Higgins
(Trade Paperback; 16.00 Euro / 18.50 USD / 10.00 UK; 224 pages)
Throw in the Vowels is a new retrospective from Rita Ann
Higgins: provocative and heart-warming poems of high jinx,
jittery grief and telling social comment by a gutsy, anarchic
chronicler of the Irish dispossessed.
-------------------------
The Eternal Paddy: Irish Identity and the British Press,
1798-1882 by Michael de Nie
(Trade Paperback; 20.00 Euro / 25.00 USD / 15.00 UK; 320 pages)
In The Eternal Paddy, Michael de Nie examines anti-Irish
prejudice, Anglo-Irish relations, and the construction of Irish
and British identities in nineteenth-century Britain. This book
provides a new, more inclusive approach to the study of Irish
identity as perceived by Britons and demonstrates that ideas of
race were inextricably connected with class concerns and
religious prejudice in popular views of both peoples. De Nie
suggests that while traditional anti-Irish stereotypes were
fundamental to British views of Ireland, equally important were
a collection of sympathetic discourses and a self-awareness of
British prejudice. In the pages of the British newspaper press,
this dialogue created a deep ambivalence about the Irish people,
an ambivalence that allowed most Britons to assume that the root
of Ireland's difficulties lay in its Irishness.
--------------------------------
Passing Through: The 82nd Airborne Division in Northern Ireland
1943-44 by John P. McCann
(Trade Paperback; 14.00 Euro / 18.00 USD / 10.00 UK; 128 pages,
with full-colour and black-and-white illustrations throughout)
On 9 December 1943 the first men of the United States 82nd
Airborne Division set foot on Northern Irish soil. By the end of
that day 12,000 of them had been disembarked from their ships
and were being transported to camps throughout the Province. By
March the following year, however, they had all moved on again,
to England and something bigger - the final preparations for
the invasion of Europe.
In these pages John looks not just at the 82nd’s short stay in
Northern Ireland but also its service in North Africa, Sicily
and Italy and later the missions in France, Holland, Belgium and
Germany beginning with D-Day on 6 June 1944, all told using the
reminiscences of the men who proudly served with the 82nd
Airborne Division.
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The Steam Age in Ireland: A Collection of Railway Art by The
Lord O’Neill
(Hardback; 45.00 Euro / 55.00 USD / 30.00 UK; 128 pages with
full-colour and illustrations throughout)
Few things are more evocative of a bygone era than a
well-executed painting. The Steam Age in Ireland depicts the
golden age of railway travel, bringing to life a period when
most photographers used black and white film and when colour
pictures were rare.
Using art as a medium of communication allows us to play out our
fantasies, creating scenes as we imagine them to have been.
Between the covers of this book you will see many different
styles and interpretations. Most of the artists are
contemporary; most of the paintings are commissions - some for
book covers, some for posters but the majority for private
individuals who, for their own enjoyment, want a particular
scene to be immortalised in a painting.
These pictures allow us to recapture the trains of our youth,
when, as well as passengers, the country railway conveyed
cattle, coal, racing pigeons, letters and milk churns.
-----------------------------
Citybus: Belfast’s Buses 1973-1988 by Will Hughes
(Trade Paperback; 25.00 Euro / 30.00 USD / 18.00 UK; 180 pages,
with full-colour and black-and-white illustrations throughout)
In this long-awaited addition to the Buses in Ulster series,
Will Hughes looks at Belfast's red buses from the takeover in
1973 to the retirement of Managing Director Werner Heubeck in
1988.
This was a difficult period for the new company, with many
vehicles maliciously destroyed and passenger numbers in decline.
It was, however, a time of much interest to the enthusiast with
numerous vehicles acquired second-hand from operators throughout
England - Daimler Fleetlines from Potteries Motor Traction and
Northern General, AEC Merlins and Swifts from London and Eastern
Coach Works-bodied Bristol REs from various National Bus Company
subsidiaries.
All of the types of vehicles operated are illustrated, as are
some of the people who worked on them. Interesting asides are
the sections on preserved former Citybus vehicles and those
buses which operated in the city during the period covered and
then moved 'Beyond Belfast'.
-------------------------------
Car Ferries of the Irish Sea 1954-2004 by Justin Merrigan
(Trade Paperback; 20.50 Euro / 25.00 UK / 16.00 UK; 168 pages,
with full-colour and black-and-white illustrations throughout)
At the Court of Inquiry into the loss of the Princess Victoria
on 31 January 1953 it was declared that as the ship was, to some
degree, experimental her owners should have kept a closer eye on
the design and construction. Ship design has changed
dramatically over the last fifty years and on the Irish Sea in
2004 we have the giant 208 metre long Ulysses, with capacity for
1875 passengers and 1342 cars and the Stena HSS ships, which are
capable of more than 40 knots.
In the pages of this book Justin Merrigan looks at the story of
the Irish Sea car ferry since 1954. His research has uncovered
much information and every ship is illustrated. Ro/Ro freight
ships are outside the boundaries of this title, but as RoPax
vessels are the modern day development of the freight vessel and
passenger car ferry he has included a considerable number of
these important ships, with passenger certificates in excess of
200 persons, which have appeared in these waters.
----------------------------
Mystical Landscapes: Irish Images – Photographs by Tom Quinn
Kumpf
(28 Postcards; 6.00 Euro / 9.50 USD / 4.50 UK)
This ancient land of misty hollows and humid light has been
shaped by the forces of nature and the hand of man from the
highest of the windswept highlands to the rain-blasted cliffs
and strands of the coastline. (28 color images.)
--------------------------
Misty Places and Tranquil Light: Irish Images – Photographs by
Tom Quinn Kumpf
(28 Postcards; 6.00 Euro / 9.50 USD / 4.50 UK)
Ireland is known as the Emerald Isle, a paradise of green, a
place of rich and robust color. It is also a land of line, form,
and constantly changing light. This makes it an ideal place to
explore, slowly and intentionally, in black and white.(28 B&W
images.)
----------------------------
The Burren: Irish Images – Photographs by Tom Quinn Kumpf
(28 Postcards; 6.00 Euro / 9.50 USD / 4.50 UK)
The Burren is an amazing expanse of limestone cliffs and
plateaus in northwest County Clare. Lacking the lush greens
which so distinguish Ireland, the grey limestone pavements often
shock the first-time visitor with their severity and starkness.
But the Burren is far from just the stony place its ancient name
implies, and a closer look reveals a landscape full of life and
vitality. (28 color images.)
--------------------------------
Embracing the Magic: Irish Images – Photographs by Tom Quinn
Kumpf
(28 Postcards; 6.00 Euro / 9.50 USD / 4.50 UK)
From the eerie starkness of the Burren highlands to the
rain-lashed cliffs and strands of the coastline, Ireland speaks
of strength, of resonance, of life. Every square inch of Irish
turf has been pressed flat by the tread of a human foot. Every
mountain and lough has been host to a hero, every new scene
draws the soul to another, and in Ireland especially, every
place name is linked to some special character or event in the
past. (28 B&W images.)
-------------------------------------------
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