Read Ireland Book Review
Issue 155
Short Walks in Ireland by Tom Lawton (Hardback; 14.99 IEP / 18.50 USD / 12.50 UK) [Add To Basket]
This book contains 20 superb short walking routes stretching from Wicklow to Connemara and Mayo. Each walk is combined with a visit to a nearby place of interest to make a memorable day out. Lavishly illustrated with stunning colour photographs and innovative, computer-generated route diagrams with relief profiles for each walk. Also contains contact details for local walking guides, accommodation and places to eat.
Exploring Irish Mammals by Tom Hayden and Rory Harrington (Paperback; 20.00 IEP / 25.00 USD / 15.00 UK) [Add To Basket]
Isolated from continental Europe, the mammalian fauna of the island of Ireland is surprisingly rich and varied. As unusual and diverse assemblage of species, how they arrived here and their reason for staying have long intrigued both enthusiast and scholar. Such puzzles are explored in this book, the first accessible, authoritative telling of this unique and fascinating story. Accompanied by vivid and meticulously worked illustrations, two of Ireland's leading zoologists chronicle the history of mammal life on this island. They explore the species that are currently to be found on land or in the waters around the coast, and they offer fascinating close-up studies of the more shy and elusive animals. Beautifully illustrated, this is an invaluable sourcebook which seeks to emphasise the great diversity, richness and heritage value of Ireland's wild animals.
The Names Upon the Harp: Irish Myth and Legend by Marie Heaney (Hardback; 14.99 IEP / 18.50 USD / 12.50 UK) [Add To Basket]
The heroes and villains of Irish myth and legend have fascinated generation after generation for over 2,000 years. Fiercely fought battles, passionate romances, spells and curses, loyalty and betrayal: these tales combine all the essential ingredients of great drama with unforgettable storytelling. Marie Heaney and prize-winning illustrator P.J. Lynch present their own interpretation of one of the world's greatest literary traditions in this stunning collection, which also includes a previously unpublished poem translated from the Irish by Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney.
Ireland: An Island Revealed by Molly McAnailly Burke and Lindsay Hunt (Hardback; 42.00 IEP / 50.00 USD / 35.00 UK) [Add To Basket]
This beautiful book presents a unique portrait of Ireland today, including specially commissioned images by top photographer Simon McBride. Four double gatefolds make the most of outstanding photos. The accompanying text offers insight into the people and places, history and tradition. The book is organised by geographical regions, and coverage includes both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. This book celebrates the mood and the landscapes, people and places which make Ireland a special place in so many hearts.
Send'em Home Sweatin': The Irish Showband Story by Vincent Power (Paperback; 12.99 IEP / 16.50 USD / 10.50 UK) [Add To Basket]
This book takes a deep look at a uniquely Irish phenomenon - the showbands. It describes a remarkable period in Irish life, when showbands epitomised glamour and generated the kind of hysteria that youngsters today reserve for international superstars. It is also a social history of the period when the showbands were at their peak. The ballrooms where they played were an important role in the social life or rural and small-town Ireland at a time when there were few alternative venues for young people to meet and enjoy themselves. This book vividly evokes nostalgia for the excitement, the euphoria and the innocence of these ballroom days.
The Irish Times Book of the Year 1999-2000 by Peter Murtagh (Hardback; 14.99 IEP / 18.50 USD / 12.50 UK) [Add To Basket]
This book contains a selection of the very best news stories, features, reports, cartoons and photographs for the year from September 1999 to September 2000. Drawing on the unrivalled resources of Ireland's leading newspaper, it recalls the year that has passed. It was a year in which the millennium bug did not bite. It was a year of ever growing scandals and new revelations about the seamy side of Irish public life. It was a year in which high hopes for the Northern Ireland peace process were almost dashed by the impasse over decommissioning. It was a year in which the Celtic Tiger continued to roar, although with worrying signs of inflation creeping into the system.
Father Browne's Ships and Shipping by E.E. O'Donnell (Hardback; 25.00 IEP / 32.50 USD / 20.00 UK) [Add To Basket]
This book is a unique maritime record and memoir by one of the 20th century's great photographers. Father Frank Browne's maritime fame and international recognition began with his extraordinary pictures of the Titanic. Those photographs had been discovered in his personal album of photographs, and published to international acclaim in 1997. His albums contained many other photographs, and this volume reproduces a wide selection, most never previously published. It records and reveals the photographer's deep love of sea travel and his understanding of the historical and cultural significance of the world of ships.
The Big House in Ireland by Valerie Pakenham (Hardback; 30.00 IEP / 36.50 USD / 25.00 UK) [Add To Basket]
The Big House has haunted the Irish landscape and imagination for nearly four hundred years. This book attempts to recreate the world of the 'Big House' from the words of those who lived there - or stayed there - quoting from letters, diaries, memoirs, household accounts and travellers' tales. The author has been able to draw on a huge reservoir of private collections of family papers, many of them hitherto unpublished. Part of the book is devoted to the private lives of those who lived there, many of them as racy as the stock characters of Irish fiction: duels, adultery, abduction, family feuds - and extravagant hospitality leading to gout and insolvency. It also deals with their relations with their retainers and with their servants. Another section of the book deals with the relationship of the 'Big House' with the world outside its gates, including its response to the horrors of the Great Famine, to the Land War of the 1830s, and to the Troubles of the early 1920s which led to the burning of over seventy country houses and the collapse of the Ascendancy world. The last chapter deals with the survivors who chose to stay on and the astonishing renaissance of the Irish country house in the twenty-first century. This book is sumptuously illustrated throughout with contemporary paintings, drawings, photographs and caricatures, as well as superb new photographs by Thomas Pakenham.
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