How the Irish Saved Civilization : The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe

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Summary: I could not put it down.
Review: This wonderful little book is a tour de force of men and women with lives of romance and adventure, tragedy and faith. My knowledge of the dark ages is abysmal. My interest in Saints Augustine and Patrick is minimal at best. Yet this little book was a wonderful read, very difficult to put down

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Summary: there are other views on how and what "saved" western civili
Review: Try reading Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel : Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages for another view on what may have been more important to western civilization

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Summary: Irish monks play crucial role in history
Review: Don't let the overly long title frighten you. This is a mustread! For anyone who cares about the wellspring of our culture, namelythe Greco-Roman tradition, from Homer's "Iliad" and "Odyssey" to Virgil's "Aeneid", from classical mythology to the early versions of the Bible, you need to know the story of how the Irish monks carefully and lovingly preserved these masterpieces after the sack and fall of Rome.<P> Author Thomas Cahill blends his genuine enthusiasm for the Irish with many interesting nuggets of historical scholarship to unravel this obscure period of history. He somehow manages to tie together Ireland's epic "The Tain," the "Confessions" of St. Augustine and the life of St.Patrick himself into a cohesive narrative about how Irish scribes preserved and protected many of our most cherished literary heirlooms. No small feat this, as the monks had to labor by candlelight in such inauspicious places as a stone church on a rocky crag (Skellag Michael) , all the while avoiding piratic raids and marauding Visigoth hordes. fter I read this book, the "Dark Ages" lightened up quite a bit! Now you go read the book and we can join in celebrating the Irish, who saved the seeds of Western thought. Erin go Bragh!

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Summary: Informative in an entertaining way, a new look at the time.
Review: Informative and entertaining at the same time. Worth the read, although a little too much reference to poetry for this technician, it did not distract from the overall work. Mr. Cahill did an excellent job of presenting this history of in a context easy to track and understand. Opened up a few doors for me and answered some questions.

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Summary: A conversational masterpiece of neglected history
Review: Cahill has taken not just an episode or chapter of our history, but an entire epic and brought it out of the gloom that is what we have been taught regarding the Dark Ages. The story of the Christianization and civilization of Ireland and the effect it had on the whole of the western world is as phenomenal as the treatment it receives by the author in this book. To call the presentation even-handed is nearly condesension: the not-so-beautiful aspects of the people who are the history itself are not buried but convey a closer approximation of elusive truth that allows celebration beside respect of the accomplishments and an understanding of the humanity of the towering personas. Cahill's tone and just-right amount of detail should be copied shamelessly by other authors and continued endlessly by Cahill himself

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Summary: How Christianity Saved the Irish
Review: This thoroughly entertaining book is sometimes weak, sometimes strong in its arguments. The evidence to back them up can't always have been easy to find. Overall, though, a vivid picture comes through: of how life-giving Christian faith is; how it changes individuals, peoples...and civilisations

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Summary: Ireland, with her love of language, saves the classics.
Review: the score of "9" was because this would not greatly entertain a young, modern audience -- but it's a great read! With their love of language and thought the monks of Ireland copy from many of the great libraries of Europe's "Holy Roman Empire", soon after discovering literacy. When the Germanic, pagan Goths and Visigoths destroy the Empire and all its libraries all that's left of classical civilization is in the monasteries of Ireland. In their missionary work to return Christianity to Europe these Irish monks also brought civilization back. This wonderful book describes how Ireland has influenced all of modern European civilization and Christianity. We are fortunate those Celts, on their isolated island, loved language and thought so very much.

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Summary: A muddled, meandering disappointment.
Review: Cahill obviously loves to write stylishly and with charm, but lacks the organization to write a coherent history. He constantly seems to be guessing at the motivation of historical figures, rather than producing evidence of their actions. Add interminable quotations from sources that predate the actions he's describing by several centuries and the result is a shambles

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Summary: The author takes the reader on a lively, fascinating ride.
Review: HOW THE IRISH SAVED CIVILIZATION by Thomas Cahill. I've never cared much about Greek and Roman ancient history, but the author (being Irish, an excellent storyteller!) manages to make it more than palatable by painting it in the light of what the 'barbarians' were up to in Ireland and Britain at the time of these empires and after. Cahill resurrects such larger-than-life characters as St Patrick, Queen Medb, and Cuchulainn, placing them into an historical context in a lively and fascinating way. Cahill's enthusiasm for his subject might overwhelm his scholarship at times, but the ride he takes us on more than makes up for any shakiness in his theories of how the Irish at the time of St Patrick and after 'saved' the greatest works of the civilization that had come and crumbled before

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Summary: Book is merely a good intro to the subject.
Review: Being half Irish (my grandfather came to the states after WWI) I am always interested in reading current views on Irish history. As far as the book goes, it is excellent. But that distance is a mere chapter. After every section there were many questions that should have been answered. This book is barely the "Cliff Notes" version of how the Irish monks saved the Western literary civilization. Submitted by: don (Kavanaugh) shafe