1916: The Easter Rising (10 MINUTE SERIES)

There being no shortage of books on the Easter Rising, this book must have been published for its pictures of fighters, damaged buildings, and typed orders. Viewing the current peace process through the legacy of the rising is the core of Coogan's (The IRA; Ireland Since the Rising) narrative. That legacy and the political extremists on both sides keep colliding, he writes, and when peace seems at hand another group claims the mantle of the IRA or the Orange Order and resists. Coogan ultimately touches on a more irresistible force than Easter 1916 the Catholics of Ulster are reproducing faster than the Protestants are; democracy should ultimately yield to demographics. In the meantime, this volume is bound and printed more like a coffee-table book than a history, so perhaps it would do better as a gift. An entertaining read but strictly for devotees. Robert Moore, Parexel Corp., Waltham, MA
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