Rating: 
Summary: A good book, beautifully read
Review: Summary but sound history of late antiquity and the early middle ages. The portrait of Augustine of Hippo is surprisingly moving. Liam Neeson was a fine choice as reader--clear and understated, but with just enough of Mr. Neeson's Irish accent. I challenge anyone to listen to the conclusion of this book without getting choked up.
Rating: 
Summary: Highly entertaining and very readable
Review: Cahill strikes an interesting balance. The work could have spent more time on Ireland proper and less on the Roman empire. I disagree with comments about the contributions of the Eastern empire, by the time Europe was getting settled down the great literary works from the East were in the Irish collections or destroyed. There are some unfortunate lapses of bigotry vis a vis certain faiths but over all the book is certainly a very good place to start. I have recommended it to several friends as a good read.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, but biased, perspective on Irish civilization
Review: Cahill writes an entertaining overview of Irish contributions to European culture. His style is often narrative and easy to read, but he only gives perfunctory attention to the facts. Also, he seems to have forgotten that Europe, including Ireland, got the great classic works from the Eastern Mediterranean civilizations. The occasional bigoted statements about different religious faiths are irrelevant and unfortunate. Cahill seems to be overly prejudiced to anything and everything Irish; the Romans are depicted negatively in pre-Christian Ireland, then the English Protestants are evil ones in a Catholicized Ireland.Overall, this book suffices as light reading, but is mediocre in its scholarship.
Rating:
Summary: Insights into Ireland
Review: The title always bothered me, but the content of the book was wonderful. I came to the reading with little knowledge of the history of Ireland. I came away with the story of St. Patrick, a glimpse at the Druids, a telling of early Irish Christianity and Literature. Entertainingly written. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting but tainted cleary by the authors bias
Review: The book had many interesting points to make but was in many ways unscholarly in it's complete lack of a objective viewpoint. Thomas Cahill obviously had a agenda of glorifying one group at the clear expense of many others. And his writing is tainted with bigotry of views of others even as he speaks of the non orthodox and open views of the early Irish Church. An example of this view is in the quote on page 180 - "Gothic illiterates ruiling over Gothic illiterates, pagan or occasionally Arian- that is following a debased, simpleminded form of Christianity in which Jesus was given a status similar to that of Mohammed in Islam.". This statement while not only being insulting to Islam is contradictory to a great deal of scholarship, based on Historical and biblical materials that show that perhaps these "Arian" were decendets of the Jerusalem Church, which could have been a more authentic following of the historical Jesus and his teachings and not the church created by Paul, who the gospels them selves show him to be a questionable Jew and more likely a pagan convert to Jewdiasm. I felt the author could have more objective and it would have been a more powerful book, without having to put down other traditions in favor of his own.(This includes his opinions on ancient Irish Druidic culture.) A worthy reading only if complimented by reading of other historical readings from other perspectives and given the reader's ability to read the book critically.
Rating:
Summary: Readable, informative, erudite, witty!
Review: It is unusual to find a text written with so much technical information presented in such a witty, caring, and readable manner! Great philosophers and their ideas are visited as though dropping in on friends; casually, intimately. The book moved me to tears and to laughter in turns. --Well worth doing! I'm about to buy a copy for each of my children and for a few other relatives! ---and I'm not Irish!
Rating:
Summary: Cahill does for Western Civ what Foote did for "Civil War"
Review: You read this book, and you exult in the power and grace of scholarship elevated to the sublime. If I were younger and had time, I would find out where Cahill is teaching and go there to audit his lectures. I felt the same way about Shelby Foote in Ken Burns' "Civil War." Masterful and compelling, Cahill's narrative re-arranges our understanding of Western Civilization.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent treatise on Western Civilization
Review: Cahill's 'How the Irish saved Civilization is an outstanding glimpse not only into the 'historical irish' as a people and race, but also represents an exceptional primer on all of western civilization. For a work which is so modest in size, a tremendous volume of detail, make that INTERESTING DETAIL, is delivered. Worth a dozon classical history texts...whether you're irish or not. For the first time, I understand the reasons behind the success of Roman administration of conquered lands, and feel I now 'know' who St. Patrick was (definitely NOT an Irishman). This book also raises the question of 'who the irish really are?', and makes the recent/current animosity between irish and scots seem all the more absurd...read it and see why! Cahill has presented us with a very entertaining history at a great value.
Rating: 
Summary: Specious reasoning...
Review: Mr. Cahill has written an entertaining work on an interesting subject, but for his premise to work, he has to take a narrow view. The Irish saving civilization indeed! They certainly helped, but what Cahill ignores are the efforts of the Byzantines and the Arabs, who also copied and preserved classical manuscripts. Cahill would make you think that the Irish are the only ones who went about this business. Let's spread the credit where it's deserved.
Rating:
Summary: too cursory and not the best on this subject
Review: This was not as compelling or thoughtful as this subject deserved. It seems to be written (or transscribed) with the audiotape in mind. Cahill's statement in the preface that this subject (How the Irish Saved...) has not been addressed before is wrong. I recommend James Charles Roy's Islands of Storm. This is an earlier book and does a far better job of explaining this subject. In addition it adds far more Irish geography and meanderings about Irish religious development and influences. At 280 pages a far more worthwhile and enjoyable read. In fact after reading Cahill's, I immediately re-read Roy's.
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