Recommended Reading

Thomas_.. · 05-07-2016 12:53pm

bobbyss wrote: »

Started On Royalty by Jeremy Paxman. Very well written very fresh and very critical of the whole idea.

Some time ago, I read Paxman´s book about Britain in WWI and I wasn´t that enthusiastic with his style.

Jesus. · 13-07-2016 10:07pm

Thomas_.. wrote: »

Some time ago, I read Paxman´s book about Britain in WWI and I wasn´t that enthusiastic with his style.

Nor I Sir. But then again I'm not enthusiastic about any Loyalist adventurers.

Manach · 13-07-2016 10:24pm

Mod Note:
Please keep on topic and avoid uncivil responses.

lizzylad84 · 01-09-2016 10:56pm

Recently finished the day michael collins was shot and half way through tim pat coogan michael collins book and am looking for other recommendations on collins/dev books

Thomas_... · 22-09-2016 2:01pm

lizzylad84 wrote: »

Recently finished the day michael collins was shot and half way through tim pat coogan michael collins book and am looking for other recommendations on collins/dev books

Everything by T. Ryle Dwyer is a good reading. I´ve read several books written by that author on Irish history especially Michael Collins / Dev and I prefer him over Pat Coogan.

https://www.mercierpress.ie/authors/tryledwyer/

bobbyss · 22-09-2016 3:48pm

lizzylad84 wrote: »

Recently finished the day michael collins was shot and half way through tim pat coogan michael collins book and am looking for other recommendations on collins/dev books

I have some books by Coogan and I have to say, even though he can be wordy, I really have enjoyed them. A great storyteller.

tabbey · 23-09-2016 10:21am

bobbyss wrote: »

I have some books by Coogan and I have to say, even though he can be wordy, I really have enjoyed them. A great storyteller.

Coogan is a storyteller rather than an historian, but the successful writers usually are.
I am ashamed to say that I have more books by this type of writer than serious historians. Especially when I am always telling people to check their stories with primary sources.

Thomas_... · 23-09-2016 11:02am

tabbey wrote: »

Coogan is a storyteller rather than an historian, but the successful writers usually are.
I am ashamed to say that I have more books by this type of writer than serious historians. Especially when I am always telling people to check their stories with primary sources.

I wouldn´t say that a storyteller can´t match an historian so that one has the qualities of both. What often made it inconvenient to read his books are his small printed quotations. But I´m not like other readers who like to describe his works as being of a lesser value or merit, some even appear to hate him and that´s beyond any reason to me. I have his book about the Irish diaspora ("where ever green is worn") still left to read. Had an overview on the chapters and it promises some interesting parts, covering not just the usual continents where Irish People emigrated to in large numbers, but also parts of European countries.

bobbyss · 23-09-2016 1:28pm

tabbey wrote: »

Coogan is a storyteller rather than an historian, but the successful writers usually are.
I am ashamed to say that I have more books by this type of writer than serious historians. Especially when I am always telling people to check their stories with primary sources.

I wouldn't be ashamed at all. All writing is telling stories anyway. That's why I always love Dickens. But Coogan has a very easy style. I don't mind too much if he deviates. I enjoy that aspect of history and reading. There aren't many historians who can grab you. Antonia Fraser (?) is one such. Martin Gilbert too. People have a lot of good things to say about Anthony Beavor (?) and although i have his Spanish war book, I have still to read it. Dan Jones wrote some books on the Plantagenets which were good too.

MRnotlob606 · 27-01-2017 9:03pm

See this thread is a little dead.

Anyway reading 'A Will To Power' a biography of Éamon De Valera. Written by the late Ronan Fanning (RIP).

Has received great reviews from eminent historians of Irish history such as Roy Foster, Charles Townshend and Diarmaid Ferritter.

Manach · 27-01-2017 10:05pm

I was trying to skill up on some military history, from the 17th-19th Century, and these are some interesting books:

T. Blanning, Frederick the Great, (Penguin, 2015)

John France, Perilous Glory: The Rise of Western Military Power, (Yale University Press, 2013)

Michael Howard, War in European History, (OUP Oxford; 1 edition 2001)

Piers Platt, From the Arquebus to the Breechloader, (Amazon Press, 2016) - Kindle

D. Showalter, Frederick the Great: A Military History, (Frontline Books, 2012)

M. Van Crevald, The Culture of War, ( Presidio Press, 2008 ).

Russell F. Weigley, The Age of Battles: The Quest for Decisive Warfare from Breitenfeld to Waterloo, (Indiana University Press, 2004)

laoch na mona · 27-01-2017 11:44pm

for the year thats in it Soviet Century by Moshe Lewin. A great read if you want an insight to the evolution of the USSR

MRnotlob606 · 29-01-2017 8:34pm

laoch na mona wrote: »

for the year thats in it Soviet Century by Moshe Lewin. A great read if you want an insight to the evolution of the USSR

Might check that one out!

bobbyss · 14-04-2017 6:01pm

Eminent Victorians Lytton Strachey. A good read. It is quite pacy.

Only read chapters on Florence Nightingale and General Gordon. Gordon used to write hundreds of letters and I often wonder how all these managed to be sent off and get back to England. The telegram was making its first appearance around this time too I think but am very much open to correction.

Frank Power, whom I have heard of before vaguely, died around the 1884 during Khartoum. He was a well respected Dublin journalist working, I think, for The Times.

ilkhanid · 15-04-2017 8:48am

the Caliphate-Hugh Kennedy. A history of the Muslim Caliphs in history and the evolution of that office to it's current meaning and the latest pretender to the Caliphate.

Prisoners of Geography:Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need to Know About Global Politics by Tim Marshall.

This book explains how the geographical situation of countries and regions dictates so much of their present historical and economic state.

bobbyss · 30-04-2017 3:21pm

Am enjoying the First Casulty by Philip Knightley. It is about how wars were covered by journalists.

Interesting to note that he argues the father of war correspondents to be an Irishman called William Russell who reported from the Crimea. Another important war correspondent was another Irishman called Edwin Godkin. And an American of Irish extraction called MacGahan was an important correspondent whose (accurate) reports on the Russo-Turkish War were seen as highly important.

Has anyone read anything else by Knightely? He is very good.

Manach · 19-08-2018 1:41pm

The military history Hapsburg and Central Europe has been a topic I've been reading about of late and would recommend the following:
The Thirty year war by CV Wedgewood
Grand Strategy of the Hapsburg Empire by A Mitchell.
Thunder on the Danube, 1809 Campaign by John Gill.

TomSweeney · 24-08-2018 6:38pm

I am in two minds between these 2 books about Ancient Egypt

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rise-Fall-Ancient-Egypt/dp/1408810026/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535132110&sr=8-1&keywords=rise+and+fall+of+ancient+egypt

https://www.amazon.com/History-Ancient-Egypt-Pyramid-Kingdom/dp/1250030137/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_1/147-2709758-5103102?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=RGESB2E3805RRTP77CX8

Volume I version of the John Romer one ... the fact that it has a Volume II tells me it's pretty detailed and perhaps better for the student.

I as a lay reader on this subject might be better off with Toby Wilkinsons one - they both get good reviews though.

what do you think ?

bobbyss · 30-10-2018 2:02pm

With a view to the upcoming anniversary of the War of Independence can anyone recommend a good comprehensive account?

Thomas_IV · 05-12-2018 11:26am

bobbyss wrote: »

With a view to the upcoming anniversary of the War of Independence can anyone recommend a good comprehensive account?

There's one I could recommend but I also recommend to read the review about it stated in the linked website:

http://www.theirishstory.com/2012/10/28/book-review-a-city-in-turmoil-dublin-1919-1921/#.XAelVU3QZKo

I have read it once and like in that review, the author takes some lenghts in some chapters on subjects which I found rather dismissive to my taste. Some details the author has some chapters extended with. But all in all, it gives you a different view on that time cos it covers the daily life of the ordinary people as well, not just having the focus on the usual Black & Tans vs. the IRA stories.

What I can tell from my book collection on Irish history about that specific time period is, that one has to pick up some various and several literature to read about it. But there might be some few in the book shops that cover the whole of it.

www.books.ie has a good listing of history books to select from.

It all depends on some special interest even on that subject and I must say that I have very often placed mine on Dublin and Michael Collins. Things have been a bit different in rural areas, but when you brows on the website of The Irish Story, you'll find many very interesting articles to plenty topics in Irish history.

I hold that above mentioned website as of the best in Ireland and highly recommendable.

Hector Savage · 19-03-2019 3:19pm

TomSweeney wrote: »

I am in two minds between these 2 books about Ancient Egypt

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rise-Fall-Ancient-Egypt/dp/1408810026/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535132110&sr=8-1&keywords=rise+and+fall+of+ancient+egypt

https://www.amazon.com/History-Ancient-Egypt-Pyramid-Kingdom/dp/1250030137/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_1/147-2709758-5103102?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=RGESB2E3805RRTP77CX8

Volume I version of the John Romer one ... the fact that it has a Volume II tells me it's pretty detailed and perhaps better for the student.

I as a lay reader on this subject might be better off with Toby Wilkinsons one - they both get good reviews though.

what do you think ?

Just was posting the same ! - but was only looking at Romer.
I'll check the others too

Muahahaha · 15-04-2019 10:14pm

Keen to read a book on Daniel O'Connell but theres a good few out there. Any recommendations on whats considered the best biography of him?

Muahahaha · 01-05-2019 10:14am

Muahahaha wrote: »

Keen to read a book on Daniel O'Connell but theres a good few out there. Any recommendations on whats considered the best biography of him?

Anyone?

Ascendant · 01-05-2019 11:40pm

Muahahaha wrote: »

Anyone?

Seán Ó Faoláin's King of the Beggars is an oldie but goldie.

Ascendant · 01-05-2019 11:44pm

Am eyeing the new book on the Irish Citizen Army, The ‘Labour Hercules’: The Irish Citizen Army and Irish Republicanism, 1913–23, by Jeffrey Leddin, anyone read it?

the-labour-hercules-the-irish-citizen-army-and-irish-republicanism-1913-23-by-jeffrey-leddin-nt.jpg

the-labour-hercules-the-irish-citizen-army-and-irish-republicanism-1913-23-by-jeffrey-leddin-nt.jpg

Muahahaha · 02-05-2019 1:54pm

Ascendant wrote: »

Seán Ó Faoláin's King of the Beggars is an oldie but goldie.

Thanks Ascendant, will dig that out of the library

BalcombeSt4 · 25-06-2019 11:35pm

Peter Taylors series of books on the Troubles (Provos 1997), (Loyalists 1997) & (Brits 1999.

Here's a small bit about the IRA's descion on bombing London in 1973.
Peter Taylor asks Billy mcKee who died a few weeks ago on the thought process behind taking the war to England.
"There had been a dicussion early on about bombing England. I thought we should wait until there was a crisis (in the IRA) before we should start. I agreed with the strategy but I didn't agree with bombing civilians, pubs that were full of people and so forth. I didn't condone that. Blowing up the Houses of Parliament wouldn't have made any difference to me but not ordinary civilians."

BalcombeSt4 · 02-07-2019 2:11pm

Another interesting book I read latley was a about journalist stories from the North when the war was in full swing, say Ian woods would write 2-3,4 pages about an event he witnessed like Sean Grahams Bookmakers Massacre, Peter Taylor wrote about Bloody Sunday, Jim McDowell wrote about the murder of Martin O'Hagan, Sam Smyth wrote about a night spent visisting Loyalists clubs with drag Sammy Duddy & UDA Commander David Payne & so on,

BalcombeSt4 · 08-07-2019 9:25pm

Ordered two books the other day.

Kieran Allen's -1916: Ireland's Revolutionary Tradition - which takes a Socialist view of the Irish revolutionary period. https://www.mayobooks.ie/1916-Irelands-Revolutionary-Tradition-Allen
I really like this description of it.
"
The six days of intense fighting that followed set the course for the next 100 years of Irish history. Today, however, the radical vision of the Easter Rising sits awkwardly with an Irish state which has become a haven for big business.
Kieran Allen's fascinating alternative history follows the thread of Ireland's 'revolutionary tradition' - an uneasy marriage of socialism and republicanism- as it has unraveled over a century. From the strikes and land redistribution in the aftermath of the Rising, to the current campaigns against privatizations and austerity, the book reveals the complexities of a revolutionary tradition that continues to haunt the establishment today. "

And

Jim Cusack & Henry McDonald's - UDA: Inside The Heart of Loyalist Terror - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Uda-Inside-Heart-Loyalist-Terror/dp/1844880206
Which will then mean I have a book on all the 3 main paramilitaries of the war (the Provos & Sticks were guerrillas not paramilitaries and I have tons on the Provos & one on the Sticks.), the Red Hand Commando is covered in the "UVF: End Game" book and the IPLO is covered in "INLA:Deadly Divisions".

And while typing this I realized the main units are covered in books, UVF, UDA, INLA, IPLO, RHC, Dissidents, Glenanne Gang, IRA's South Armagh &, Derry & Belfast Brigade, English units, but no East Tyrone Brigade.

Would anyone like to help a book on the IRA's East Tyrone Brigade?

El Vino · 09-07-2019 2:45pm

Can anyone recommend some good books on the struggle for Catholic Emancipation? My son is doing a project as part of his A level course work. It is taught very differently in the UK than I remember and he is keen to get a different perspective. Is it covered well in the Oxford Companion to Irish History for example or perhaps an objective biography of O'Connell if one exists?

BalcombeSt4 · 09-07-2019 9:24pm

El Vino wrote: »

Can anyone recommend some good books on the struggle for Catholic Emancipation? My son is doing a project as part of his A level course work. It is taught very differently in the UK than I remember and he is keen to get a different perspective. Is it covered well in the Oxford Companion to Irish History for example or perhaps an objective biography of O'Connell if one exists?

I used to have a O'Connell biography but gave it away, but the "The OXford Illustrated History of Ireland" does cover a good section of the book to Catholic Emancipation, starting with the origins of the Catholic Association, certainly worth a read.

Manach · 06-10-2019 10:32pm

I'm finishing off the book, The King and the Catholics: England, Ireland, and the Fight for Religious Freedom, 1780-1829 by Antonia Fraser. She does an excellent of job of creating a context for the era in terms of the politics and personalities and shows the dynamism O'Connell in lobbying for the Repeal.

tabbey · 06-10-2019 10:43pm

Manach wrote: »

I'm finishing off the book, The King and the Catholics: England, Ireland, and the Fight for Religious Freedom, 1780-1829 by Antonia Fraser.

She is a daughter of the previous Lord Longford, if I remember correctly.

ancapailldorcha · 16-11-2019 5:33pm

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for pre-twentieth century Irish history. I don't mind about scope but there seems to be very little about the initial conquest of Ireland by the English, the plantations, 1641, 1798, etc. I have Robert Kee's Green Flag which I've not read but I'm really looking for something predating 1900.

dubhthach · 18-11-2019 12:20pm

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for pre-twentieth century Irish history. I don't mind about scope but there seems to be very little about the initial conquest of Ireland by the English, the plantations, 1641, 1798, etc. I have Robert Kee's Green Flag which I've not read but I'm really looking for something predating 1900.

The Nine Years War, 1593-1603: O'Neill, Mountjoy and the Military Revolution
(James O'Neill back dates to 1593 having the actions against Maguire been part of proxy war been fought by Hugh O'Neill)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nine-Years-War-1593-1603-Revolution/dp/184682754X/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=nine+year+war&qid=1574075166&s=books&sr=1-1

Gaelic and Gaelicized Ireland in the Middle Ages (2003 reprint/paperback -- kindle version very good value)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gaelic-Gaelicized-Ireland-Middle-Ages/dp/1843510030/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=9781843510031&linkCode=qs&qid=1574074789&s=books&sr=1-1

Early Christian Ireland (Paperback)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Early-Christian-Ireland-T-Charles-Edwards/dp/0521037166

Chunks of which can be read on Google Books, Charles-Edwards deconstruction of origin of both Uí Néill and the Airgialla is a Tour-de-force.
https://books.google.ie/books?id=g6yq2sKLlFkC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

Medieval Ireland (Cambridge Medieval Textbooks)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Medieval-Ireland-Cambridge-Textbooks/dp/1107651654/ref=pd_sim_14_5/262-0306847-9174579?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1107651654&pd_rd_r=0eeca8ca-3400-4997-a2f2-24e46bad1e1d&pd_rd_w=W3gRq&pd_rd_wg=wTC9m&pf_rd_p=32ad4a08-4896-4172-a2ea-821c9be00310&pf_rd_r=B1EZGCFZMM6PQA5FPVA3&psc=1&refRID=B1EZGCFZMM6PQA5FPVA3

Early Medieval Ireland 400-1200 (2nd Edition)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Medieval-Ireland-400-1200-Daibhi-Croinin/dp/1138885436/ref=pd_sbs_14_1/262-0306847-9174579?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1138885436&pd_rd_r=252e2e5d-d6bd-4e75-8a99-a8b9bbf06dbd&pd_rd_w=uJj9q&pd_rd_wg=IRZAG&pf_rd_p=cc188cba-1892-42b3-956f-6c67d0ab7a00&pf_rd_r=4H5E7PXVHHNN0Y6HCF5F&psc=1&refRID=4H5E7PXVHHNN0Y6HCF5F

The 'Mere Irish' and the Colonisation of Ulster, 1570-1641 (Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies Series)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Colonisation-1570-1641-Cambridge-Imperial-Post-Colonial/dp/3319593625

Google book preview mode: https://books.google.ie/books?id=iHg5DwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=colonisation+of+ulster&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwin956t0PPlAhVBrHEKHa9jDSoQ6AEIKTAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

The Roots of English Colonialism in Ireland (Critical Perspectives on Empire)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/English-Colonialism-Ireland-Critical-Perspectives-ebook/dp/B0075D1V9O/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=The+Roots+of+English+Colonialism+in+Ireland&qid=1574075952&sr=8-1

Chunks can be read on Google books:
https://books.google.ie/books?id=L5IgAwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

ancapailldorcha · 18-11-2019 8:16pm

Appreciate that, dubhthach. I'll have a look at some of those.

I was hoping to avoid textbooks but I'm sure they're fine.

Manach · 09-12-2019 9:49am

Going through a French course so getting some background info from the following:

Age of Napoleon by A. Horne - Some Short Corsican bloke
Metronome by L. Deustsch - Modern history of Paris
History of France - J Bainville - Overview of French history up till 1930s

Captain Havoc · 10-12-2019 2:58pm

Manach wrote: »

Going through a French course so getting some background info from the following:

Age of Napoleon by A. Horne - Some Short Corsican bloke
Metronome by L. Deustsch - Modern history of Paris
History of France - J Bainville - Overview of French history up till 1930s

What French course are you doing?

Manach · 11-12-2019 11:44am

An Open University language course on French Language and Culture. So far, so good - it provides insights and a overview of various Francophone countries but I would recommend doing a Duolingo in parallel to get the full benefit of the language. Metronome is available in French as well as an English translation, so reading both is a good practical exercise.

wgman · 01-01-2020 8:21pm

I've become very interested in the Irish War of Independence recently so I'll post some of books on that subject that I've obtained in the last couple of years.

"Kerry's fighting story, 1916-21 : told by the men who made it : with a unique pictorial record of the period"

wgman · 01-01-2020 8:24pm

Another good book on the period of the Irish War of Independence about a figure from the war who should be much more well known.

"Rebel Heart: George Lennon: Flying Column Commander" by Terence O'Reilly

Captain Havoc · 09-01-2020 3:51pm

I'm slowly going through Kilkenny in revolutionary times by Eoin Swithin Walsh. It's good and easy read, I'm just stuck for time to read it in.

Nika Bolokov · 23-01-2020 7:58pm

Found the Nigerian History Quiz Book a fun way to navigate the history of Africa's most populous and diverse country.

BalcombeSt4 · 10-03-2020 9:07pm

I have a ton of books on Northern Ireland conflict. The Best ones I have are

A great series by Henry McDondald, Jim Cusack & Jack Holland on the non-IRA paramilitaries which include.... "INLA - Deadly Divisions" I have both the 1994 & 2007 versions, the updated version of "UVF - Endgame" & "The UDA - Inside The Heart of Loyalist Terror" - Great books, I love all the little details about dates, times, places, how exactly an action happened etc... I don't like the political tone, but it's a very well written book.

"The Road to Balcombe Street: The IRA Reign Terror in London" by Steven P. Moysey - Very interesting book, badly written in that there's spelling mistakes on every second page, but even still a fascinating book.

BalcombeSt4 · 10-03-2020 9:55pm

Peter Taylors book on the IRA, "Provos: Behind The Mask" - I thinks that's the best book written on the Provisional IRA. Peter Taylor unlike a lot of other authors really understands the the Republican movement & it's culture, and he has a great insight into it.

"Big boys Rules: The SAS and the Secret Struggle against the IRA" by Mark Urban is briliant. Again I love the little details he goes into, for example like explaining the IRA's digger bomb attack on The Birches, from planning stages, right up until the IRA Volunteers got back to safety, explaining how man men were used & how they were used, that a small bomb attack on Pomperoy barracks wa just a diversion, how the IRA vols escaped into Belfast b boat through Lough Neagh which is only about a mile from the Birches. Details like that in it were great.

Anne CadWallader's books "Lethal Allies: Britih Collusion in Ireland" is a great book on the activities of the Glenanne Gang from 1972 - 1978.

And both Don Mullan's & Joe Tiernan's books on the Dublin & Monaghan bombings are both very good.

Manach · 17-03-2020 7:30pm

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing.
Re-reading this for the excellent sections on how the crew survived months of social isolation on limited rations during the time they were trapped on the ice-flows.

ancapailldorcha · 29-03-2020 11:01pm

I mentioned in another thread that I'd read Marc Morris' three books, A Great and Terrible King: Edward I and the Forging of Britain, King John: Treachery, Tyranny and the Road to Magna Carta & The Norman Conquest. I highly recommend all three books. Morris seems to have really done his research and constructs an excellent and compelling narrative for all three books.

I recently finished Dan Jones' The Plantagenets: The Kings Who Made England. It's a good primer to the subject but I do think that, for myself at least it's better to read a whole work about a specific monarch or historical figure as even a few chapters only really scratch the surface. I think this book was originally only intended to chronicle the life of Richard II but it evolved to cover the entire Plantagenet line beginning with Geoffrey of Anjou and finishing with Richard II's deposition by Henry of Bolingbroke.

Today, I've started Lauren Johnson's Shadow King: The Life and Death of Henry VI. My housemate has been raving about this one and he's quite well read on English history. So far, I'm impressed. Johnson writes a very engaging narrative. So far, I'm still on the introductory material about Henry V but I think I'm going to really enjoy this. The Wars of the Roses is a very complex topic but to read the Yorkist side, I've picked up Thomas Penn's The Brothers York: An English Tragedy, again at the recommendation of my housemate.

BalcombeSt4 · 12-04-2020 11:18pm

Homage To Catalonia.

It's still so relevant to our world today.

It's a little more to do with the revolution rather than the civil war & a lot on the in-fighting between the the CNT, the POUM, The Stalinists & other left groups. It paints a grim picture of war, Orwell points out that the poorer people in Barcelona looked upon the Francoist Assault Guards "as something rather resembling the Black and Tans"
He goes on to say that...
"when I see an actual flesh & blood worker in conflict with his natural enemy, the policeman , I do not have to ask myself which side I am on (the workers).

^ Shades there of the conflicts in Ireland, in the 1920's the RIC & the Auxies, in following decades the RUC & B-Specials and later UDR. And their enemy was mostly poor, working class Irish people.

Like Noam Chomsky I think this is Orwells best book, along with "Burmese Days".

BloodyBill · 13-04-2020 9:44am

BalcombeSt4 wrote: »

Homage To Catalonia.

It's still so relevant to our world today.

It's a little more to do with the revolution rather than the civil war & a lot on the in-fighting between the the CNT, the POUM, The Stalinists & other left groups. It paints a grim picture of war, Orwell points out that the poorer people in Barcelona looked upon the Francoist Assault Guards "as something rather resembling the Black and Tans"
He goes on to say that...
"when I see an actual flesh & blood worker in conflict with his natural enemy, the policeman , I do not have to ask myself which side I am on (the workers).

^ Shades there of the conflicts in Ireland, in the 1920's the RIC & the Auxies, in following decades the RUC & B-Specials and later UDR. And their enemy was mostly poor, working class Irish people.

Like Noam Chomsky I think this is Orwells best book, along with "Burmese Days".

Ah the 'working class' get way too much homage. The working class are always in the heart of conflict with the law..its followed on to the Guards from the RIC .I d agree with that assertion..Luckily most people are middle class now . If I see a policeman keeping the peace against a bunch of trots or vandals I want to lend a hand.

Manach · 13-04-2020 11:42am

Mod Note: @BloodyBill - Please keep posts on topic, i.e. recommended historical resources.

Recommended Reading

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