<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: History for the average person
Review: I always hated history in school, but when a trusted and respected professor at my college gave me this book, I was entranced. Never have I been engrossed by a history book! It reads with the ease of a great novel. Many history books are dry and I often find it difficult to stay awake while reading them, but O'Connor writes with the skill of a novelist. This is the book for anyone who is even vaguely interested in Irish history.
Rating: 
Summary: Irish history as it might be taught in a Pub
Review: I didn't mean to read this book. I had bought it for someone else but it never quite got there. Ulick O'Connor begins by relating a little of his own family's history and then goes into what can only be called a chronological ramble about Irish history.This is by no means a biography of Michael Collins. In fact very little of the book is spent on Michael Collins himself. It is however an engaging conversation on the history of Ireland in the early 1900's. This conversational style is hard to follow. To get something out of this book you must read it as though you are listening to a witness describe to you what happened in those critical days and do it over a pint of Guinness. If you can read the book in that perspective you will find that you have been given a personal introduction to the many men and women that drove the Irish freedom movement to the front of the world stage. The author writes in a style that feels very personal. Not so much history but a story. A tale of people that were and are important to the author. However, because its so personal it is not very balanced. This is a tale of Irish Repulicans told by an Irish Repulican. No love is lost on the British Government or the Ulster Unionists. I cannot recommend this book as a starting point for studying the history of the Irish rebellions and the roots of the IRA and Sinn Fein. I can however recommend this book as an excellent addition to a well rounded education on the topic.
Rating:
Summary: Great Starter Book
Review: If you've wanted to know about Michael Collins but all you've ever seen was the movie (dramatization) this is a great primer book for his background. I think Tim Pat Coogan's book is better for an in depth analysis of Mr. Collins. I've just started that one but would recommend it as well.
Rating: 
Summary: not the best
Review: Michael Collins gives the reader a great account of a troubled and crucial time in Irish history. The book in well written and leaves you with a good understanding of the real issues of the era, as well as Michael Collins himself. A lot of the troubles that Ireland faces today can be explained by events that are examined in this book. Discovering the many sides to Michael Collins is fascinating, as is discovering the honorable beginnings of the Irish Republican Army. This book can be recommended to anybody with a desire to read about Irelands fight for freedom.
Rating:
Summary: Struggle for Freedom
Review: Michael Collins gives the reader a great account of a troubled and crucial time in Irish history. The book in well written and leaves you with a good understanding of the real issues of the era, as well as Michael Collins himself. A lot of the troubles that Ireland faces today can be explained by events that are examined in this book. Discovering the many sides to Michael Collins is fascinating, as is discovering the honorable beginnings of the Irish Republican Army. This book can be recommended to anybody with a desire to read about Irelands fight for freedom.
Rating:
Summary: A Non-Pedantic Picture of Michael Collins , the "Big Fella"
Review: O'Conner's account of the life and times of Michael Collins is one of the best and most fascinating I have read. While it lacks the extensive reporting and annotating of Tim Pat Coogan's biography of Collins (itself a monumental and engrossing account) it brings to life a man unique in Irish history and remarkable by any standards. It succeeds in bringing out both the "hard" and "soft" sides of Collins and painting a picture of a man whose tremendous love of his country and burning desire to free it from English rule brought him to the fore during a harrowing time in Irish history. The descriptions of Collins' interaction with his comrades, his charismatic personality, his unique combination of wit, compassion, intelligence and ruthless audacity combine to bring to life one of history's most intriguing revolutionary leaders. After reading this book you feel that you know Michael Collins and you are grateful that Ireland could produce him when it most needed him.
Rating:
Summary: Good, But Probably Mistitled
Review: O'Connor's title suggests that this book is strictly a biography of Michael Collins focused on the years 1912 through 1922. In actuality, it covers a wide range of people and events and I cannot recommend it strictly as a Collins biography. However, as a history book that happens to have an emphasis on Collins, particularly in the latter part, I can recommend it. O'Connor has relied on materials from the library of General Richard Mulcahy (the IRA's chief of staff in Collins' time) and on interviews with Eamon de Valera, et al. For those reasons alone, I believe it is worth at least a cursory glance. Because of O'Connor's interest in and work for the Abbey Theatre, this book does emphasize literature and the arts in terms of how they fueled the independence movement. For someone interested in humanities as well as history, this would be one of O'Connor's advantages. This selection is divided only into numbered chapters rather than parts and that can be a bit irritating at times, especially because this is not a traditional biography. Chapter One actually begins by discussing Charles Stewart Parnell and the untimely end of his career. From there, the reader is taken quickly through the Irish political climate from the late 1800s to 1912. It is not until the last third of the book that the audience learns of specific ways Collins kept the republican struggle afloat in tough times. Therefore, this book's usefulness can only be determined by what you intend to use it for. If you are trying to accumulate materials for a general study of modern Irish history, this book is worth owning. If you are looking for a typical Collins biography, this wouldn't be the best starting point.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing and sloppy biography
Review: Of the several biographies I have read of the life of Michael Collins, this one does not stand up. Frought with inaccuracies as to dates, as well as circumstances, O'Connor replaces research with recollection and opinion. There are several other great biographies of this most important Irish figure. Avoid this one.
Rating:
Summary: An officer and a gentleman
Review: Ulick O'Connor paints an enchanting and stunningly accurate portrait of the great man himself. Michael Collins wanted the best for the people of Ireland and he worked hard in trying to achieve what he set out to do, despite the overwhelming odds against him and despite being betrayed by those who should have given him their most loyal support. I thouroughly enjoyed this account of one of the Celtic nations greatest leaders.
Rating:
Summary: Nice book
Review: When I got the book I thought it would be more on Michael Collins . Despite this I thought it was a good book that help put into to prespective the events and people around him.
<< 1 >>
| 
