An Irish History of Civilization: Volume 2

by Don Akenson

In a sprawling chronicle of civilization through Irish eyes, Akenson takes us from St Patrick to Woodie Guthrie, from Constantine to John F. Kennedy, from India to the Australian outback. In two volumes of masterful storytelling he creates ironic, playful, and acerbic historical miniatures - a quixotic series of reconstructions woven into a helix in which the same historical figures reappear in radically different contexts as their narratives intersect with the larger picture.

Genres: History, European History, Ireland, Nonfiction

704 pages, Hardcover

First published February 11, 2005

Reviews

[Margaret Harris · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was heretofore my impression that authors wrote books on subjects they admired. But this guy seems to have spent untold hours composing a 1,500-page diatribe about people he hates. His cynical contempt for the Irish bleeds across every page. After the first several dozen pages of this second volume I persuaded myself to keep reading just to find out if he ever commends a single Irish man or woman.

Nope. Seven hundred more pages of salacious gossip. No matter where they lived in or outside of Ireland, anyone with Irish heritage (plus those he calls "Anglo-Irish") are here for a sneer. Rich or poor. Handsome or plain. Famous or obscure. American presidents are included for ridicule, even President Reagan. He must have hired a platoon of researchers to help him identify the flaws of anyone ever associated with Ireland, no matter how remotely.

Interesting that on page 303, he accuses Canadian Mrs. Susanna Moodie of writing "screed" about Irish Catholics. And on page 343 he charges John Mitchell with writing "Irish hate literature." Doesn't say if these were his models. But surely he outdoes them. He ridicules, mocks, carps, denigrates, disparages, whines. I cannot help but wonder if he is excusing himself for his own degraded character by projecting it onto others. Actually, I feel a bit degraded myself for plodding all the way through this second volume. It's trash.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a wonderful, witty look at the impact of, and on, the Irish in the last couple of hundred years. Very much enjoyed it. It is history written like no other....