An Irish History of Civilization ― Comprising Books 1 and 2

Employing a novelistic and impressionistic style that bears some similarity to Eduardo Galeano's multi-volume history of the Americas, Memory of Fire (which is alluded to in the dedication), Akenson (history, Queen's U., UK) presents a history of Ireland and the Irish Diaspora from the beginning of the Christian era to the late 20th century, although this volume, containing the first two "books" of four, only reaches to 1845. In this reconstruction of Irish history, naturally enough, much of the material is concerned with the Irish religious experience and with Irish involvement in the British Empire. Annotation c2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)