Irish History of Civilization, Vol. 1 - Hardcover

Akenson, Don

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1862078041 ISBN 13: 9781862078048

Publisher: Granta Books, 2005

Synopsis

St Patrick catching sight of Ireland for the first time as he is taken there as a prisoner...Joyce and Yeats eating sticky buns in a Dublin cafe...There has never before been an Irish history book remotely like this one, composed as a vast mosaic of incidents, encounters and vignettes. It is not so much a 'history of Irish civilization' as an 'Irish history of civilization'. In telling a wide range of stories about the Irish everywhere this historical-fictional account of the Irish peoples around the globe from the time of Christ to 1969 opens up the really big issues - the relationship between the minute particulars and the larger patterns which gradually become apparent. The stories themselves are by turns funny, acerbic, ironic, score-settling - never quite what they seem at face value. They are also deeply informed by the author's vast knowledge of Ireland, its history and its diaspora. For once the hyperbole is true - after this book, Irish history will never be the same again.

About this title

About the Author:

Don Akenson is an internationally acclaimed scholar and author who is considered the world's foremost authority on the Irish Diaspora. He has written many books, including Surpassing Wonder: The Invention of the Bible and the Talmuds and a biography of Conor Cruse O'Brien.

About this edition

• Publisher: Granta Books
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1862078041
• ISBN 13: 9781862078048
• Binding: Hardcover