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Rating: 
Summary: go beyond the title
Review: After you get beyond the title of Toolis' book, and beyond the sappy first chapter of family history, he offers a highly interesting account of the people behind the militant Republican movement. Toolis has sought out people who don't usually make the front page--family members and informers--as well as prominent Republicans and Martin McGuinness, who "is the IRA," according to Toolis' sources. By documenting the every day workings of the people involved in the conflict, he establishes the complexity of their motivations and actions. The reader is not left with a black and white view of the struggle. I give the book four stars because his sources are very good and original, enabling him to give a very thorough view of his subject. The book deserves to be read. The silly involvement of his personal stories adds nothing to the book and almost caused me to put it down. Also he gets caught up in the argument he is making with his sources so that the prologue and afterward seem out of place.
Rating: 
Summary: Review of Rebel Hearts
Review: I have read many books on the struggles in Northern Ireland but this book stands apart from them all. Toolis has the unique ability to remain both objective and passionate about this topic. As the subtitle suggests he truly gets into the soul of the IRA. His book is based on research, interviews and perosnal experiences that could have placed Toolis himself in harms way. Some may see this as a weakness, but Toolis's conclusions are clear. Prior to reading this book I knew a lot of facts about the struggles of the IRA. After reading Toolis's book I suddenly understood some of what created and continues to fuel these struggles. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Irish History, the history of the IRA or interested in the violent struggles that mark the 20th century.
Rating:
Summary: Review of Rebel Hearts
Review: I have read many books on the struggles in Northern Ireland but this book stands apart from them all. Toolis has the unique ability to remain both objective and passionate about this topic. As the subtitle suggests he truly gets into the soul of the IRA. His book is based on research, interviews and perosnal experiences that could have placed Toolis himself in harms way. Some may see this as a weakness, but Toolis's conclusions are clear. Prior to reading this book I knew a lot of facts about the struggles of the IRA. After reading Toolis's book I suddenly understood some of what created and continues to fuel these struggles. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Irish History, the history of the IRA or interested in the violent struggles that mark the 20th century.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating insight
Review: I have to disagree with the reviewer above who calls Toolis "infantile." Toolis has an honesty that I think makes Americans uncomfortable, especially when it comes from a nonfiction writer. Early on, for example, Toolis talks about masturbating as a teenager, & admits he hit on one of the women he was writing about. This honesty carries on through to the end, with Toolis admitting that listening to the taped confession of an IRA turncoat made him feel sick & filthy and finally confessing that he's a "constitutional republican" - sympathetic to the IRA's ends, but repulsed by its means. The format of this book gets a little tiresome - increasingly long stretches of verbatim interview transcripts, punctuated by Toolis's own voice, which tends to sound overly dramatic. And it's hard to tell how representative any of Toolis's subjects are of the "bigger picture" in northern Ireland. But those are small criticisms when weighted against the insight imparted throughout the book. One interesting note: I attended the first U.S. forum on the recently-approved "Good Friday" agreement. David Trimble & Sinn Fein & SDLP representatives were there, as were some Irish students, and they got into a debate over the still-unresolved murder of an Irish lawyer named Patrick Finucane - an apparently still hot issue, the history of which Toolis covers in detail.
Rating:
Summary: Both Profound & Better than Expected
Review: I read _Rebel Hearts_ as part of my research for my senior thesis on the Northern Question and found it better than I ever imagined. While it does indeed profile the lives of particular IRA members (as already mentioned by other reviewers), it does so much more: it delves into the psychology of how and why the IRA exists and operates. To me, this is a much bigger issue than individual biographies, as good as they are. From the book's preface, Toolis is clear about his position: he foresees peace in Ireland only through "a transfer of power away from the British Crown." He explores Irish martyrdom, politics, history, and methodology, though I would caution that this book is no crash-course on Irish history. If you are looking to know more about that subject, _Rebel Hearts_ already presumes a fair amount of knowledge. (But Toolis does include a list of abbreviations at the beginning.) Toolis delves into the link between politics and religion without browbeating the reader and he thoroughly explains the deep-seated spiritual issues that accompany the political conflicts in Northern Ireland. His compelling conclusion at the book's close gave me goosebumps as I read it: "There will be peace in Ireland and it will be a republican peace." Here, here.
Rating: 
Summary: A truly subjective account.
Review: Kevin Toolis, a British journalist of Irish heritage, provides an emotional personal account of the IRA as he visits the homeland of his ancestors and tries to find a rational interpretation. His own confusion about his opinions, however, never seems to be wholly resolved, so the reader must put that aside and merely enjoy the story he tells as if reading anecdotes about a highly interesting subject. The subtitle of the book, A Journey Into the IRA's Soul, should have been revised by the editor to read A Journalist Wrestles With His Soul. Fewer copies would have been sold, but the honesty would be there. Not that Toolis himself is dishonest, he is sometimes disturbingly candid about himself, going the extra mile to let his readers know in an entertaining way that he isn't to be confused with a fearless reporter. He talks about fears that prevent him from escorting the brave sister of a slain IRA Volunteer to her brother's death site, his fears that he may be killed at an IRA grave site and his concerns about his own safety while interviewing the IRA leader, Martin McGuinness, and admits his relief that the British recognize him as a journalist and don't confuse him with one of the Rebels he uses for his sources. Having said that, one must value the personal accounts and direct quotations Toolis extracts from the Rebels and their relatives. The contempt of the occupying forces as they trample on the rights of the Irish, the personal taunts of the soliders against family members of slain IRA freedom fighters and the accounts of the families suffering under the Ulster regime rise above the minor diversions into Toolis's personal feelings, to allow a perceptive reader to get an understanding of the atmosphere. Another true value of the Toolis report lies in its attempt to sort the whole thing out for those who know little about the Irish troubles. A reader will be able to discern the difference between the various factions after reading Toolis, and will have a greater understanding of the complexities which so confuse the American public into thinking simplistically that the strife is sectarian. For those students of the issue, Toolis offers a valuable addition to the personal consequences of the broader picture.
Rating:
Summary: informative
Review: Leaving this review short, I will say that "Rebel Hearts" is an amazing book. I believe that Kevin Toolis does an excellent job in telling the stories of individuals, families, and groups involved in the Troubles of Northern Ireland. I found his personal commentary made his stories more interesting. Not only is it a documentation of people's lives and experiences, but a first person account as well. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in this topic, and even those who may not be.
Rating:
Summary: Heart of Darkness
Review: Toolis takes the reader into the everyday world of the destruction and casualties suffered on both sides by this never-ending foreign occupation. History books abound, but here is the real everyday matter-of-fact reality. Well done and worth a read! 26+6=1
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