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Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In what PW described as an ``engaging revisionist chronicle,'' the author traces Irish history from 1600, when the country had a subsistence economy and was home to a welter of peoples, each of whom defined their ``Irishness'' differently, to the 1970s, when Ireland--despite three centuries of conquest and fissure--was a country with a powerful identity. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Irish historian (U. of London) Foster (Charles Stewart Parnell: The Man and His Family and Lord Randolph Churchill: A Political Life) here undertakes a grand survey of Irish history from the end of the Elizabethan wars to 1972, the year that Ireland joined the Common Market. Irish history has too often been presented as a morality tale--""us"" against ""them"" (the British), depending on who's doing the writing. But Foster, representative of a new style in Irish history, offers a more cohesive picture of Ireland, as strong on thematic issues like emigration and ascendancy culture as it is on political history and social, cultural, and economic observation. In undertaking this wide-scoped study, Foster frees Irish history from the familiar Anglocentric view by focusing on the provinces rather than on the usual (Anglo-inspired) obsession with Dublin, investigating such issues as changes in farming practices, rural resistance, and the indigenous nature of Irish Catholicism. Throughout, he sees an important thread of ""Irishness"" (as distinct from ""Britishness"") informing the historical process. (Even when the Irish were forced by circumstance to emigrate in droves, the exodus ""created the sense of being part of an international community, centered on a small island that still claimed a fiercely and unrealistically obsessive identification from its emigrants."") Despite Ireland's oppressive history, Foster finds, the staying power of the Irish character has inspired a powerful state apparatus, a strong Catholic middle class, powerfully entrenched rights of landed property, and a stable political system ""built on the English model but adapted to Irish preoccupations."" Foster's sweeping survey, combined with his obvious engagement with his subject, makes this a valuable addition to our knowledge and understanding of Irish history. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Foster's chronicle of Irish history aims to go beyond the morality play that, until recently, historians had created from Ireland's tangled relation with England during this period. Foster charts the country's political, economic, and social evolution in his examination of just what and who were responsible for Ireland's problems over the centuries. The author interprets and analyzes events and developments while at the same time giving his opinion on significant but unresolved historical controversies. Foster is also the author of Charles Stewart Parnell: The Man and His Family [BKL My 15 77]. Chronology, references, and bibliography; indexes. -- John Brosnahan
Choice Review
Foster's artfully crafted and gracefully written study is a major contribution to Irish history. He has aimed neither at an exhaustive narrative of events nor at a series of thematic reflections but instead seeks to provide "a narrative with an interpretive level, stressing themes as much as events." He is also very conscious of writing an Irish history of Ireland, though the very nature of some of the material with which he has to deal makes that a difficult interpretive challenge. Foster is at his strongest in describing and analyzing "Irish" mentalities; there are marvelous sections, for example, on the minds of the 17th-century Scots-Irish planters and the 18th-century Anglo-Irish ascendancy. His analysis of the post-Parnellite period challenges the normal assumption that the period was marked by a transfer of energy from politics to culture. What are perhaps the least successful parts of the study are those pertaining to independent Ireland; here more attention to the process of politics would seem to be in order. Useful maps and tables, full notes at the end, bibliographic essay, and frequent biographical notes in the text. The book will take its place as a standard work alongside J.C. Beckett's The Making of Modern Ireland, 1603-1923 (CH, Dec '66). Highly recommended for college, university, and public libraries. -R. Howell Jr., Bowdoin College
Library Journal Review
Foster's previous books, on Lord Randolph Churchill and Charles Parnell, established his reputation as a fine political biographer. He now turns his attention to a wider subject--the sweep of Irish history from the English intrusion of late Elizabethan times onward--with considerable success. Foster cuts through the Gordian knot of myriad complex issues to give his reader a solid feel for the key factors that have made modern Ireland. Anyone who wants to understand Ireland as it now is must know it as it has been, and that is what Foster does for his audience. For both academic and public collections.-- James A. Casada, Winthrop Coll., Rock Hill, S.C. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.