IRELAND-BOOK-DISCUSSION-L Archives

From: ConnorsGenealogy <>
Subject: Read Ireland Book List, part 1
Date: Sat, 07 May 2005 08:07:55 -0700

While this book list is from Read Ireland, you can find these books in
many book stores, please check the Ireland Books webpage on my website
for a list on Ireland book store links.

Read Ireland Book News - Issue 304
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Blanketmen: An Untold Story of the H-Block Hunger Strike by
Richard O’Rawe
(Trade Paperback; 14.00 Euro / 18.00 USD / 10.00 UK; 260 pages)

'This inside account of the 1981 hunger strikes by one of the
IRA prisoners' leaders is without doubt the most significant; it
will force a complete reassessment of this pivotal episode in
modern Irish history.' Ed Moloney, author of A Secret History of
the IRA

'I was told in 1991, when I privately criticised the role of the
IRA Army Council in the hunger strike, that I could be shot if I
opened my mouth. The threat had the desired effect.'

Richard O'Rawe was a senior IRA prisoner in the H-Blocks of Long
Kesh prison. One of the 'Blanketmen', he took part in the dirty
protests that led to the hunger strikes of the early 1980s.

Now Richard O'Rawe gives his personal and outspoken account of
the turbulent times that saw British and Irish governments
entering unprecedented negotiations with the IRA army council
and the prisoners themselves.
Passionate, disturbing and controversial, Blanketmen is a
landmark text in the cruel history of Northern Ireland.

'A compelling and subversive book; essential reading for anybody
interested in the IRA' Richard English, author of Armed
Struggle: A History of the IRA

-----------------------------------

The Black Angel by John Connolly
(Trade Paperback; 20.00 Euro / 25.00 USD / 15.00 UK; 532 pages)

Bones are being collected, and crafted into strange sculptures,
which means that someone is also collecting bodies which in turn
means there is a likelihood that someone is out there killing.
When Charlie Parker’s friend Louis is told his cousin has gone
missing, and her skull turns up in the possession of one such
craftsman, a whole new world of horror erupts. In this darkest
of gothic thrillers, Parker reluctantly leaves his partner,
Rachel, and their new baby behind, knowing that whatever he has
experienced in the past , this new trail is far more sinister
with far more chance of personal destruction. But in some
strange way it seems to be his destiny.

As he investigates the murder, alongside Louis and his partner
Angel, Parker realizes that the crafting of bones is just a tiny
part of the history currently haunting them. Hundreds of years
ago fragments of a vellum map were ripped up and distributed
amongst Europe’s Cistercian monasteries. This was designed to
confuse seekers for the ominous Black Angel who had been sealed
in a silver statue. These fragments are being secretly
collected and once the map is assembled and the tomb found, the
dreadful power of the Angel will be loosed on the world. The
potential for misery is huge. Parker discovers that the search
for the Angel is one that dates back centuries, running from the
Holy Land to the battlefields of the Second World War, from
Mexico to the Ossuary at Sedlec in the Czech Republic. Parker
is not only going to help avenge a dead girl, but he must also
fight for his life, his family’s future and to destroy his
nemesis. The preacher Faulkner, Caleb Kyle, Pudd and the
Travelling Man – all bad men from Parker’s past who continue to
haunt him – are woven into the dark strands of this new novel by
Ireland’s own gothic-horror master!

-----------------------------------

Second Son by Christy Kenneally
(Trade Paperback; 15.00 Euro / 18.00 USD / 10.00 UK; 315 pages)

When Gabriel Flaherty plunges to his death from a cliff in
suspicious circumstances, it is left to his brother Michael, a
priest from New York, to return home to The Island and uncover
what has happened. Michael finds his childhood home much
changed. With the opening of a factory, the sea that had given
the islanders their livelihoods, as well as claiming so many of
their lives, is no longer paramount. But along with steadier
incomes and easier lives, the factory has brought suspicion and
jealousy. Whilst confronting his past – his estranged father,
the old priest who shaped his life and his first love – Michael
uncovers an intricate, far-reaching web of evil that touches
everyone he knows. But when the close-knit islanders realize the
full extent of what is going on, they unite to avenge their own,
seeking justice of a different kind. As the net tightens, they
hold their breath, waiting to see who will survive…

---------------------------------

The Portable Creative Writing Workshop by Pat Boran
(Trade Paperback; 15.00 Euro / 18.00 USD / 10.00 UK; 212 pages)

How do writers practice? What do they do to warm up? When they
have no ideas, do they write at all?

Whether you belong to a writing workshop running low on steam,
or you're struggling to continue working on your own, this book
offers a wide range of games and exercises to help stimulate you
in your writing.

In three main sections covering The Raw Material, Poetry and
Fiction, prize-winning poet and fiction writer Pat Boran takes a
hands-on approach to the creative writing process. Through some
200 pages of games, exercises and challenges, he not only
explains many of the techniques and central concepts of creative
writing, but he also shows how these can be put to work in your
writing.

Written by former Rattlebag presenter and acclaimed poet Pat
Boran, this is the first creative writing guide of its kind.
Offering all the advice and tips of the classroom, the book is
aimed for use both in the creative writing forum and at home.

Accessible, with exercises and style guides, this unique book is
the best starting place for anyone setting out on the writing
road.

Irish poet and writer Pat Boran is the author of four
collections of poetry, short fiction for adults and children,
and four non-fiction works. His most recent publication is the
collection of poems, As the Hand, the Glove. Programme Director
of the annual Dublin Writers Festival, Boran also regularly
reads from his own work and conducts writing workshops
throughout Ireland and abroad.

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--
Pat Connors, Sacramento CA
http://www.connorsgenealogy.com
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• Read Ireland Book List, part 1 by ConnorsGenealogy <>