There's no denying the fighting spirit of the Scots-Irish, particularly as James Webb describes the defence of the frontier in the Appalachian Mountains. However, Webb goes too far in defining this attribute as somehow ethnically unique. Webb also overplays the Scots-Irish role in the American War of Independence. One giveaway passage is, "Although the trained minds of New England's Puritan culture … Continue reading Book review – Born Fighting (James WEBB)
Did a radio piece for BBC Radio Ulster’s books programme, to review two recent biographies: Bill Clinton’s autobiography, My Life, and Dean Godson’s, Himself Alone: David Trimble and the Ordeal of Unionism. My Life has been dismissed by some as an exercise in some sort of cathartic releasing of guilt, or of exorcising the demons … Continue reading Book review – My Life (Bill CLINTON) vs Himself Alone (Dean GODSON)
Good for accuracy, not so good for background Making Sense stays true to its objective, to tell 'a straightforward and gripping story ... in an accessible way'. It is a straightforward read. But is it a good read? Yes, if you don't want to be bogged down with pre-Troubles history (too simplistically outlined in the … Continue reading Book review – Making Sense of the Troubles (David McKITTRICK)
A good text to start with on Jesus the man I wanted to read Son of God because of the tie-in with the BBC televised programme of the same name. Surprisingly, the book was not to be found in my local BBC shops or bookshops at the time the programme aired. (Who to blame: BBC or … Continue reading Book review – Son of God (Angela TILBY)
A tour des forces study of consociational democracy This is quite a comprehensive comparative study of those countries acclaimed to be practising consociational democracies. The prose is highly academic (in tradition of Routledge), and is not recommended for those without a sound understanding of the consociational model. For this, Lijphart's Democracy in Plural Societies (1977) is … Continue reading Book review – Party Elites in Divided Societies (Kris DESCHOWER)
