Bitter Freedom
Ireland in a Revolutionary World

A grim description of the carnage that took place in Ireland following WWI. Well written (and narrated), this book iterates in excruciating detail the levels of brutality men on both sides resorted to in order to achieve... What? From the IRA side the goal is never quite made clear, other than 'free......more

After summering in Dublin during this, the centennial of the Easter uprising, I was intrigued to know how the celebrated (and failed) rebellion led to Irish independence. This book provided an interesting tale of the sausage making, revolution and semi-civil war that went into the post-uprising peri......more

Politics have always been corrupt. This book was interesting but made me sad how it’s always the people, the backbone of a country, that takes the beating while the powers in charge do their corrupt powermonging.......more

The best introduction to the Irish revolution of 1918 to 1922 It is a easy and thoughtful read it allows us to understand the Irish revolution and subsequent civil war. For too long the Irish focused on the Easter uprising and rise of Seinn Feinn leading to the Anglo Irish treaty. The civil war was b......more

This book was a great history of the Irish uprising and early days of the IRA from 1918-1923. The author uses an easy narrative style, and from the outset, attempts to tell the story of these of events from a global context. I am not sure he quite succeeds in the endeavor, but we do get a great dist......more