Read Ireland Book News - Issue 17
<-- [Back To Main Menu] 1. Love Like Hate Adore by Deirdre Purcell (hardback; 17.50 Irish pounds / 26.25 US Dollars approximately) [Add To Basket]
This new novel from one of Ireland's favourite novelists breaks new ground in its power and honesty. Its premise: What happens when someone you know and trust is accused of rape? What if that person is your brother who was placed in your sole charge from the age of a few months and whom you live as though he were your son? In this novel, Angela Devine tells how it happened to her. Angela's story, revealing the intricacies of her relationship with her brother James, is one of warmth, sensitivity and courage, but mostly of overwhelming love. Interspersed with flashes of perfectly observed wit, it is the challenging tale of an extraordinary woman who thinks herself ordinary.
2. Earth Goddess: Celtic and Pagan Legacy of the Landscape by Cheryl Straffon (hardback; 16.99 IRP / 25.50 USD) [Add To Basket]
This book looks behind the 'established' view of religions and unearths the roots of native spirituality, often to be found in the landscape itself. It illustrates the extent and longevity of the goddess religions, and how knowledge and understanding of them is still being uncovered by researchers.
The background to the goddess belief throughout history is followed by a comprehensive county-by-county guide to all the sites and locations throughout Ireland and Britain. Not only are specific sites detailed, but many are shown to be places where the goddess was once - and can be again - celebrated. Above all, this book is a treasury of a thousand tales of the goddess, all real and all waiting to be discovered.
3. Celtic Women in Legend, Myth and History by Lyn Webster Wilde (hb; 17.99 IRP / 27 USD) [Add To Basket]
In this impressive book, the author attempts to find the reality behind the images by assessing the role of Celtic women of different eras and societies, comparing them with their Anglo-Saxon and Roman sisters and examining their everyday lives. What did they eat and wear in the Iron Age? Could they divorce their husbands? Did they know about birth control? Did women have authority and status or were they subjugated and suppressed?
From the jumbled and often contradictory mass of Celtic research, the author teases out the threads of travellers' tales, archaeological evidence, folklore, myth and historical record and weaves them together into a pattern in which a fascinating glimpse can be seen of the true essence of Celtic women both past and present. The text is enhanced by the special colour plates of noted Celtic artist, Courtney Davis.
4. Celtic Cross: An Illustrated History and Celebration by Nigel Pennick (hb; 18.70 IRP / 28.00 USD) [Add To Basket]
This book combines a fascinating and informative text with beautifully detailed line drawings and photographs to present a historical overview of the emblem acknowledged throughout the world as the symbol of Celtic Christianity.
The book traces the rich diversity of the Celtic Cross through its historical background and predecessors, by way of the evolution and development of Celtic Christianity, and through its influence on the form and pattern of Celtic art. Countless crosses have been destroyed throughout the centuries, first by iconoclasts, and more recently through basic neglect, but fortunately many have survived. Nigel Pennick provides a comprehensive gazetteer covering sites in Ireland, Britain and Brittany as a guide for those who wish to celebrate the cross as a continuing manifestation of the finest tradition of Celtic art.
5. Celtic Connections: The Ancient Celts, Their Tradition and Living Legacy by David James and Simant Bostock (hb, 16.99 IRP / 25.50 USD) [Add To Basket]
This book presents the story of the Celtic peoples of Europe in a fascinating and informative blend of text, colour photographs and illustrations. It tells of their beginnings, and expansion across Europe and into the British Isles, detailing their achievements, monuments, and the ongoing Celtic legacy found in modern life.
Although largely confined to western parts of Ireland, Britain and mainland Europe, the Celtic influence is widespread. Interest in the Celtic arts, traditions, religion and teaching has recently undergone a tremendous revival, with a parallel upsurge in Celtic music and languages. This book is the ideal starting point for those seeking knowledge on all things "Celtic". Drawn from material and contributions from the innovative magazine of the same name, this book is a treasure trove of historical, spiritual and aesthetic information. Coupled with the authoritative text are striking colour images from Simant Bostock's unique photographic collection of ancient Celtic sites, artefacts, monuments and buildings. Additional illustrations and photographs complete an enthralling and rich assembly of Celtic connections.
6. Egon Ronay's Jameson Guide 1997: Ireland (pb; 10.90 IRP / 16.50 USD) [Add To Basket]
A comprehensive guide to the best places to eat, drink and stay in Ireland, recommended by Egon Ronay's independent inspectors. The range of establishments covers a wide spectrum, allowing the Guide to be used by business travellers and leisure tourists alike; all budgets are covered from B&B in guest houses to luxurious accommodation in grand castles, and from bar snacks in Ireland's famous pubs to the up-to-the minute gourmet creations in trend- setting Dublin. Includes maps and references alongside each hotel, restaurant or pub entry.
7. Off the Beaten Track: Irish Railway Walks by Kevin Cronin (pb; 7.99 IRP / 12.00 USD) [Add To Basket]
Ireland provides the perfect setting for railway walking. Over 3,000 km of abandoned lines criss-cross the country, many in areas of great natural beauty. Moreover, railway walks are distinctive, engendering a real sense of exploring lost and forgotten trails. This book contains walks on over twenty lines, from once-busy suburban and provincial routes to quiet rural backwaters and the remote western seaboard runs, histories of each line, sketch maps for each walk, details of relevant Ordnance Survey maps, how to get there and back by private and public transport, information on accommodation and food and drink enroute.
<-- [Back To Main Menu]