Description
Book SynopsisThe first volume of the definitive political history of Northern Ireland.
Trade ReviewThis three-volume set is quite the remarkable achievement...I will continue to spend time with these volumes, which will not be surpassed anytime soon. Unlike in so many history books, O'Leary is always trying to explain what happened, or what did not. * Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution *
O'Leary colors his work throughout with lively writing, moving past equivocation and pulling no punches in his assessments of participants or previous scholarship. He sees the disputatious state of Northern Ireland as the result of attempts to instill an Irish or British national identity among its residents....Although the cumulative length of this work might be daunting, the author has thoughtfully structured his books and chapters in a way that is accessible to both non-experts and specialists. Whatever the audience, this is a work of canonical importance for understanding Northern Ireland. * M. J. O'Brien, Franciscan University of Steubenvill, CHOICE *
The detailed coverage is astonishing, the range immense. The book exemplifies best practice in social science and history, combining both disciplines, asking analytic questions of the historical record and widening the remit of social science - above all by looking carefully both at political calculations and the details of constitutional arrangements. It is important to stress that he offers us an analytic history of Ireland as a whole, paying special attention to developments in the Irish Free State and to the Republic thereafter. * John A Hall, McGill University in Montreal, Dublin Review of Books *
The most prolific, perceptive and powerfully analytical writer on the north in the last 35 years, Brendan O'Leary, has just produced his magnum opus. * Brian Feeney, Irish News *
Table of ContentsVolume 1: Colonialism The Shackles of the State and Hereditary Animosities List of Figures List of Maps List of Tables List of Boxes Abbreviations and Glossary Terminology 1: An Audit of Violence after 1966 2: Conceptual Conspectus: Colonialism 3: Wild and Bitter Fruits and His Majesty's Royal Pains: Colonial Triangles and Trilemmas, 1603-1800 4: Overlooked by the Tall Kingdom before Dying of Political Economy: Ireland under the Union, 1801-1857 5: Crying Aloud for Vengeance and the Power of a Colonial Caste: Toward Union's End, 1858-1914 6: "'Twas better to die 'neath an Irish sky than at Suvla or Sud-El-Bar": Revolution and Counter-Revolution, 1914-1922 7: Scratches across the Heart: Comparing Ireland's Partition Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index
