Discovering the Mid-Atlantic

Discovering the Mid-Atlantic is a unique travel book. In it, Patrick Cooney covers the history of the mid-Atlantic region from the arrival of the Dutch through the Eisenhower and Kennedy years, integrating descriptions of historic sites with the lives of the people or trends connected with them.

   

What makes Discovering the Mid-Atlantic so unusual is its historicalÐÐas opposed to alphabeticalÐÐorganization. Since most travel books are arranged alphabetically, the sites usually represent vastly different time periods. For instance, in one region a traveler can see a 17th-century Dutch settlement, a Victorian mountain house, and the home of Franklin Roosevelt.  This mixing of periods can result in a haphazard, jumbled sense of history.  This book singles out sites located near one another, but from the same time period. 

The entries for the sites give a clear sense of the historical richness of the mid-Atlantic states, covering not only important political events such as wars and growth of settlements, but also art, literature, architecture, transportation, and industry. Each section of the book also contains maps, directions to the sites, visiting hours, and a geographic cross-reference that lists all the sites in a given area, regardless of their place in time, so the reader can cut across time periods if she or he wants to use the book in a more conventional way.

Discovering the Mid-Atlantic is a unique travel book. In it, Patrick Cooney covers the history of the mid-Atlantic region from the arrival of the Dutch through the Eisenhower and Kennedy years, integrating descriptions of historic sites with the lives of the people or trends connected with them.

   

What makes Discovering the Mid-Atlantic so unusual is its historicalÐÐas opposed to alphabeticalÐÐorganization. Since most travel books are arranged alphabetically, the sites usually represent vastly different time periods. For instance, in one region a traveler can see a 17th-century Dutch settlement, a Victorian mountain house, and the home of Franklin Roosevelt.  This mixing of periods can result in a haphazard, jumbled sense of history.  This book singles out sites located near one another, but from the same time period. 

The entries for the sites give a clear sense of the historical richness of the mid-Atlantic states, covering not only important political events such as wars and growth of settlements, but also art, literature, architecture, transportation, and industry. Each section of the book also contains maps, directions to the sites, visiting hours, and a geographic cross-reference that lists all the sites in a given area, regardless of their place in time, so the reader can cut across time periods if she or he wants to use the book in a more conventional way.

Patrick Mark "Paddy" Cooney (born 2 March 1931) is a former Irish Fine Gael politician.[1] Most notable as Minister for Justice from 1973 to 1977, he was a Teachta Dála (TD) for 15 years, a senator for four years, and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for five years.

Cooney was born in 1931 and was educated at Castleknock College and University College Dublin.[2] He first stood as a candidate for Dáil Éireann in the Longford–Westmeath constituency at the 1961 general election, but failed to win a seat, and he was defeated again in 1965 and 1969. However, after the death of the Fianna Fáil TD Patrick Lenihan, Cooney was elected to the 19th Dáil in the Longford–Westmeath by-election in April 1970.[3]

The 1973 general election brought a Fine Gael-Labour Party National Coalition government to power, and Cooney was appointed to Liam Cosgrave's Cabinet as Minister for Justice. He ordered the coffin of Frank Stagg, an IRA volunteer, to be covered in concrete.[4] In spite of being a high-profile Cabinet Minister he lost his seat at the 1977 general election but was elected to the 14th Seanad on the Cultural and Educational Panel. In 1979, at the first direct elections to the European Parliament, he stood unsuccessfully in the Connacht–Ulster constituency.

At the 1981 general election, he was returned to the Dáil again by his old Longford–Westmeath constituency. Cooney then held a number of positions in Garret FitzGerald's two governments. He was elected as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Leinster constituency at the 1989 European Parliament elections, and did not contest the 1989 general election.