Rating: 
Summary: Need to have History Class 101 before reading this!
Review: To truly appreciate this book, I suggest becoming familiar with Western Civ, on a first name basis, before reading this. Mr. Cahill doesn't explain who Catullus is to the reader, he just assumes we know. Or Cuculain. Who are both awesome characters by the way. The good about this book: Excellent readability! Just wonderful, modern overview on early church and Irish history. Makes his topic interesting. Honestly, you don't get around to why the Irish saved western civ until the last quarter of the book---but, who cares!? We are having so much fun reading about stuffy old Augustine, or the marvelous character of Saint Patrick himself, to pay much attention. If you have the wee'ist bit of Irish in you, this will make ya proud to have it. It truly glorifies the Celtic race on that little isle of green. I also wanted to mention that his quotations, with Irish poetry thrown in, are delicious. Something unexplored by the modern masses, Irish poetry.... Bad thing about this book: Mr. Cahill LOVES to jump around and go on tangents. I didn't mind it in the least in this book. It makes it easy to pick up and put down if you are doing other things. It is a light read, bring it to the beach or the pool. And you will surely become enlightened and proud! Thank goodness they saved as much as they did! :)
Rating: 
Summary: St. Patrick Saves the World.
Review: Thomas Cahill describes Ireland as a cold, drab Island on the fringes of the Roman Empire. It was so small and pathetic that it wasn't worth conquering. Yet, because of these facts, Ireland would eventually play a key role in preserving most of Latin history. Sometimes it seems, it is good to be ignored.One of the first consequences of Ireland's obscurity was that its past and its history were better preserved then most other places. Outside of Jewish History, Mr. Cahill claims that Ireland has the oldest history in the West. After a detour in Roman culture, Mr. Cahill begins the heart of this book discussing a poem he calls the Irish Iliad, a story of courage, love, romance and ancient Irish virtues, called the "Tain Bo Cuailnge" This poem is interesting, if it reveals the ancient Irish mind. In the Iliad, for example, almost everything that happened, happened because a god was involved. For example, when Paris was asked to judge a beauty contest he chose one Goddess more than two others, he was awarded and cursed for his decision, with Helen of Troy. The Trojan War had begun. In Ireland, the Tain Bo Cuailnge" begins with a domestic dispute between a husband and wife who are also a king and queen. He says she is "much better off" today "then the day I married you. (p.71) She disagrees, and the poem and this war are off. From the parts of "Tain Bo Cuailnge" that Mr. Cahill reveals, we get a glimpse into ancient Irish life. What a life it was! For example, The Irish "stripped before battle and rushed their enemy naked" except for their weapons and shoes. (p.82) In battle their heroes would go into a "warp-spasm," an almost total loss of control of their bodies, which would be jerking and contorting so violently that it would be painful to watch. Even their gods were unstable. They were shape-shifting creatures which could transform from hawk to boar to bird. (p.129) Other Irish customs both strange and strangely modern included "trial marriage" of one year, mating with a horse when one became King or a wide tolerance of homosexuality between warriors. (p.135) Most of all, to the author Tain Bo Cuailnge reveals the Irish respect for women. Earlier then most, Mr. Cahill believes the Irish women were given more rights then most. Since I have read books claiming that the Babylonian and Romans could make this same claim it is hard for me to judge Mr. Cahill's assertions accurately. From these origins, Mr. Cahill goes on to discuss how St. Patrick, a pathetic slave stolen from the shores of England would become a Shepard in Ireland, a refugee, a discontent person returned to his home land, a priest, a missionary to Ireland, and a saint. The Irish, apparently, took to Christianity because of St. Patrick. But, they became different sorts of Christians then their Roman or Byzantium counterparts. They were happy evangelists. While Rome was falling, Irish priests were reading, writing, and preserving, preserved much of the Roman works which were being destroyed. Some priests, hearing of Ireland, took a few books and fled there. By this time, however, the Irish were already spreading their religion to Scotland, England, and eventually Continental Europe. Thus they were able to reintroduce much of the work and some of the religion that had been lost a hundred years prior. Eventually, however, the Irish again became an outpost on the edge of Civilization. The English came in and colonized their land, but were unable to change the Irish people. The spirit of the Tain Bo Cuailnge still lived. Mr. Cahill has a poem written in by a bereaved widow which he compare to the Tain Bo Cuailnge. The comparisons are striking. I will give you the end, only. My rider of the bright eyes, What happened to you yesterday? I thought you in my heart, When I bought you your fine clothes, A man the world could not slay. Isn't that nice? Perhaps, when the world falls again, Mr. Cahill states that this tiny Island may be able to save some of its best parts again. It is hard to rate this book fairly. As a history of Ireland, it was interesting. It is filled with poems and philosophy so, if you like that, you will really enjoy this book. I really enjoyed some of the poems so I was willing to overlook some of this book's blemishes. I also greatly appreciated a dip into Irish history and the stories of St. Patrick. I would imagine that, if you are a more serious history reader, you may be disappointed. If you aren't, this book is a fun read.
Rating:
Summary: History for Everyone
Review: Now this is how history should be: clear, stylishly written, and
easy to understand. Cahill throws off sentences that could be entire books; St. Patrick, for example, was the first writer to
speak against slavery, certainly understandable since he was a
former slave himself. And I had no idea just how barbaric, indeed
insane, the Irish had been. Fighting while naked? Yet St, Patrick took these people and made them civilized and literate, to the point that when the Roman Empire collapsed the Irish monks were in large part responsible for saving all of the ancient literary works. And it was they who returned to Europe and civilized the
now-barbaric tribes that had replaced the Romans. This is a fascinating, one that I think all would enjoy, and nothing like
what most history books are like.
Rating:
Summary: A marvelous book.
Review: At the beginning of the dark ages, there was a strong and physically secure monastic movement in Ireland where books were imported and copied. Later, monks reintroduced the books into Europe, founding monasteries, training monks and even advising "barbarian" chieftains. This short, marvelous book provides details, but much more. There is a religious/moral history of Ireland, beginning in pre-literate iron age times, reconstructed from writings based on the oral tradition as well as archaeology. There are discussions of the thought and character of St. Augustine and St. Patrick, relating the former to earlier Greek and Roman thought, and the latter to Irish as well as early Christian thought. No final conclusion is made about the fall of Rome, but there is a discussion of the state of Roman political leadership from a different perspective, focusing on the writings of a successful man of letters and politician. Cahill does a wonderful job of making connections, of utilizing quotes from original sources, of presenting a coherent, moral point of view, while always being interesting, even to the reader who might think he/she has little interest in religious thought or history.
Rating:
Summary: Irish Milestone of Saving Literature & Christian History
Review: Thomas Cahill's 'How the Irish Saved Civilization' vol. I, part of a soon-to-be 5 volume set of the Hinges of History series. So far Cahill has written 'The Gifts of the Jews,' vol. II and 'Desire of the Everlasting Hills,' vol. III. The Irish tale is how Ireland took a heroic place after the Fall of Rome to help save the ancient history and culture of early Christianity. After the rise of Charlemagne and the "dark ages" all learning and culture nearly disappeared. The heritage of about 1600 years of Western civilization of Greek and Roman to Jewish and Christian works would have been lost. If it were not for the holy mean and women of at that time a primitive Ireland. One such holy man, Saint Patrick was to preserve and transmit classic literature and evangelize Europe. His influence at the time of his slavery was the publication of Saint Augustine's 'Confessions.' At the time of Augustine's death, Patrick arrived in Ireland about 432 A.D. and revolutionized the Celtic land with the Gospel. After Patrick's death soon came the decline of the Roman Empire in the west. In c. 500 Brigid founds Kildare, into the next century Aidan founds Lindisfarne an important area where the monks set up their mission. Not only were the Irish conservers of civilization but mind-shapers placing their stamp on Western culture. Cahill does a great job in uncovering sources that point to the contribution of the Irish to save early books and documentation of ancient history.
...If you want more earlier sources try, Abe Hood's 'St. Patirck: His Writings and Muirchu's "Life",' E.A. Thompson's 'Who was Saint Patrick?,' Robert Van de Weyer's 'Celtic Fire' (Brigid of Kildare), Alwyn Rees and Brinley Rees' 'Celtic Heritage: Ancient Tradition in Ireland and Wales,' Walter Horn's 'The Forgotten Hermitage of Skellig Michael,' and Kathleen Hughes' 'The Church in Early Irish Society.' Cahill has been helpful for me especially if you're staring out with ancient history, Irish culture and Christianity and how they tie into with each other. This maybe a good place to start. There's some pretty good diagrams of maps of ancient lands (Roman Empire in early 5th century and western Europe in early 6th century) and the important centers of Irish-Christian influence from the British Isles (Britian, Picts & Irish) to what is now present day France (Gaul), Germany (Frisians, Franks & Alemens) and Italy. This offers some good starting points in early history. My thumbs up!
Rating:
Summary: St Patrick is Cool!
Review: How the Irish Save Civilization. Thomas Cahill The basic premise of the book is that the Irish saved Western Civilization because St. Patrick went to Ireland becoming the first missionary since Paul, 400 years earlier. The Roman empire fell as the Romans, like us, could not control the migration of foreigners into their country. At the end, Alaric, king of the Visigoths was at the gates of Rome. The Romans wanted to know how much the ransom for the city would be. Everything, he replied. But what does that leave us, responded the Romans. "Your lives", said Alaric. Patrick set about creating missions that copied the remains of what was left after the barbarians had sacked the Roman empire and destroyed most of the libraries.
His students went to Europe to spread the word and to show the illiterate how to read.
They were the curators of the knowledge of the Greeks, the Romans, and the Bible. Virgil, Cicero, Homer, Plato, Aristotle thus survive due to Patrick. People had to know a lot of languages. Latin, Greek, Celtic,. Missionary Patrick also freed the slaves in Ireland and stopped human sacrifice. Women were allowed to become priests. Marriages in Ireland were renewed each year on Feb 1. May day and Halloween are ancient Irish festival days. The confession under Patrick became a private conversation between sinner and priest. Before, the confession was a public one. Following Patrick was Columcille. Someone copied his stuff and he complained and the local king was in Columcille's favor, thus the first copyright case. Augustine invented original sin, the trinity. The inquisition idea of punishing those without correct beliefs. The Irish missionaries continued for hundreds of years until the Viking raids in the 800's and 900's destroyed many of the churches in Ireland from where the missionaries had come. Many cities in Europe were begun due to the planting of monasteries by the Irish missionaries. Charlemagne was illiterate and had Irish missionaries help him to understand the workings of the universe, Freud was so exasperated with the Irish that he said that they were the only people that could not be helped with psychoanalysis. The book concludes with note of the Irish famine killing millions and forcing millions to leave Ireland.
Rating: 
Summary: History Lite
Review: The author pads three-fourths of this little book with stultifying exposition on ancient history and a quickie intro to pre-Christian Ireland before getting to his thesis, which doesn't live up to the preposterous title. "The Irish read a lot. They copied some manuscripts. Hooray for the Irish." For perspective, the Arabs and Jews did far more to preserve Greek thought than the Irish ever did, but they don't even get a mention. It's too bad for Ireland that cruel, cruel fate chose the under-talented Thomas Cahill to introduce their cultural accomplishments to the world. His treatment reduces this area of Irish history to the level of a mildly interesting footnote. Maybe a historian will come along and give the topic the time and effort it deserves.
Rating: 
Summary: Less Than Expected - Weak Effort
Review: I am creating a "listmania" list on Irish politics and history. I read this book and put in on the list. The author knows a lot out Greek and Roman literature and I will grant that. Having said that it seems that this book was written quickly without much research and preparation. One gets the impression the author sat down and from memory using his knowledge of Greek literature and wrote it quickly in days or a week to ten days at the most. The book is about 225 pages long and can be read quickly in about an evening. But it is not exactly what it is advertised to be. The first 70 pages or so, almost half the book, is background material on Greek and Roman writings with long passages - for example 4 pages from Plato lifted and inserted to fill pages 51 to 55, i.e.: the author knows a lot of Plato and he uses that along with photos as fillers for the first half. Also, there are many comments on the fall of the Roman Empire. This is accompanied by many quotes and comments on the early writings and their historical significance. Starting around page 71 we finally get to Ireland but it is a long analysis of early Irish literature again with many comments and quotes. So it not until the second half of the book that we "meet" Patrick of Ireland (active 423-461) and he disappears quickly replaced by stories and more quotes on Brigid of Kildare (500) then on to Columbanus who eventually goes to Gaul (590). That takes us more or less to the end of the book. So the heart of the book is less than 100 pages, and after you take out all the quotes and inserted passages the story is 50 plus pages long at best covering the period 400 to 600 AD (Rome disappeared over the period 407 to 476).
So I found it heavy on literary analysis of the Greeks and light on Ireland, and very very short. It has a reasonable index but just a one page long list of source references and just strikes me as a quick weak effort. Also I am not certain it is 100% accurate. I have read in other books that many documents on the continent were preserved and translated. The book has two positive points that "save" the book. It acts as gateway to more studies by generating interest in the subject, and at the end of the book it has a long discussion of related writings with the author's comments on these books, i.e.: read pages XXX to XXX plus 20, or Section Y in "Fall of The Roman Empire" etc. So this book is an introduction to the subject with follow up reading material. Jack in Toronto
Rating:
Summary: Irish Impact on the West Cannot Be Overlooked
Review: When thinking of the Irish, people unfamiliar with their history are prone to pointing out their negative stereotypes. Thomas Cahill's "How the Irish Saved Civilization" challenges the negative images characteristic of the Irish. Cahill's book begins with a retelling of the Roman Empire and how its fall precipitated the perfect situation for the Irish to contribute to society. The Middle Ages ensued upon the fall of the Roman Empire; this age is also referred to as the Dark Ages because of its relative lack of artistic and literary accomplishments. Almost everybody during this time was illiterate...that is, on the European continent. During the height of the Roman Empire up to its fall, Ireland was mainly a nomadic land with few, if any, cities. Paganism was prevalent because of limited Roman influence (England received more attention from the Romans than Ireland). As Cahill explains, the spark behind the burgeoning of Irish influence was, ironically, a man from England who was kidnapped and brought to Ireland-Patricius, later known as St. Patrick. The Irish monks should be known not only for preserving the great texts of the past but also for converting thousands upon thousands of pagans and animists to Christianity. Aside from their contributions to literature, if they had not held such aspirations to spread their religion, one can only wonder how much of Europe would have been converted to Islam in the seventh and eighth centuries. Civilizations studied in high school and college usually have at least one defining characteristic, yet the Irish civilization of the first few centuries A.D. does not seem to possess any identifiable traits without extensive knowledge of it. Ironically, if it were not for the Irish monks, we today would not know of most of the great civilizations of the past. This book can be read by anyone because Cahill does not presuppose the reader possesses a great deal of background information about the Irish. He writes for an audience that might never have even known Irish monks existed. Cahill makes the reader look past all the negative stereotypes of the Irish to appreciate them and even to relate to them. It is hard to find a culture that has not gone through both periods of richness (whether economically or artistically) and of hardships, and certainly the Irish are not to be excluded from this category.
Rating:
Summary: Fun storytelling, bad research
Review: I enjoyed reading the book for it's stories and look at a stretch of history that I was completely unfamiliar with. But from the outset the author blatently showed that supporting his personal theories is more important than providing a balanced look at history. It does make one want to learn what really was going on though. Also, it may just be me, but the author's excitement about latin and greek seem kind of freakish modern literature.
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