February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
THE FAR SIDE OF REVENGE
Making Peace in
Northern Ireland
Deaglán De Bréadún
Timing is everything as they say and given the events in Northern Ireland in the last few days, it would appear appropriate indeed to lay hands on a book that describes in vivid detail just how Northern Ireland has reached this pivotal point in its turbulent history. De Bréadún is a veteran Irish Times correspondent with an eye for history and he was well placed over the last decade to assess and chronicle the path to the Good Friday agreement and beyond. In some respects, this book is a companion to Conor O’Clery’s "Daring Diplomacy." O’Clery, the former Irish Times Washington correspondent, described the twists and turns of the pace process from a U.S. perspective. Here, his colleague De Bréadún tells it from the standpoint of a Belfast-based correspondent. From Dufour Editions, (610) 458-5005. 400 pp. $24.95.
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Britain, Ireland and the
Northern Ireland Problem
Paul Arthur
The author is a professor of politics at the University of Ulster and he brings a degree of academic rigor to this book, which looks back at the never less than interesting relationship between two islands that have never been less than close and never been comfortable about being to close. Arthur sets to the task of explaining the recent seismic shifts in the Anglo-Irish story and weaves the role of Irish America into the tale. From Dufour Editions, (610) 458-5005. 334 pp. $27.95.
ANTARCTICA
Claire Keegan
"These are some of the best stories I’ve read in years." Author Roddy Doyle cuts to the chase with his assessment of Wicklow-born Claire Keegan’s skill with short stories, an art form that Irish writers have embraced with particular aplomb over the years. Keegan sets some of her stories in Ireland but also uses Louisiana as a backdrop. She is a graduate of Loyola University in New Orleans and is presently the writer-in-residence at Dublin City University. Atlantic Monthly Press. 207 pp. $23.
DONAL MCCANN REMEMBERED
A Tribute
Edited by Fat Laffan and Faith O’Grady
The premature death of actor Donal McCann left behind a huge void on the Irish and international stages. But gone is by no means forgotten and in this book some of the leading contemporary figures in Irish theatre and film, including Gabriel Byrne, Sinéad Cusack, John Kavanagh and Neil Jordan, pay tribute to a man who, at his peak, was one of the greatest Irish actors of his generation. All royalties from the sale of this book are being donated to cancer. From Dufour Editions, (610) 458-5005. 208 pp. $16.95.