Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Ireland, 1912-1985 is the first study on this scale of Irish performance, North and South, in the twentieth century. Although stressing the primacy of politics in Irish public affairs, it argues that Irish politics must be understood in the broad context of economic, social, administrative, cultural and intellectual history. The book also explores fully the relationship between rhetoric and reality in the Irish mind, and sees political behaviour largely as a product of collective psychology. The 'Irish experience' is placed firmly in a comparative context. Therefore the book seeks to assess the relative importance of British influence and of indigenous impulses in shaping an independent Ireland, and to identify the relationship between personality and process in determining Irish history. Particularly close attention is paid to the role of individuals such as Eamon de Valera, Michael Collins, W. T. Cosgrove, Sir James Craig, J. J. McElligott, Sean Lemass, Terence O'Neill, and Ian Paisley, and to the limits within which even the most powerful personalities were forced to operate. This is by any standards a massive analytical study, of the first importance, which will become required reading by all who wish to deepen their understanding of the nature of modern Irish history and the way it has been shaped by the collective and individual personality.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• List of maps
• List of tables
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Abbreviations
• Nomenclature
• 1 Rebellion: 1912-1922
• 2 Consolidation: 1922-1932
• 3 Experiment: 1932-1945: the impact of de Valera
• 4 Malaise: 1945-1958: the conservative resistance
• 5 Expansion: 1958-1969
• 6 North: 1945- : reform and reaction
• 7 Drift: 1969- : the Lynch government
• 8 Perspectives: performance
• Bibliography
• Index

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Lee (University College, Cork) has written a detailed, analytical study of 20th-century Ireland, North and South, that is of major importance. The author stresses the primacy of politics in Irish public life but places politics into a well-developed context of social, economic, intellectual, and cultural history, and writes convincingly about the linkages between these facets of Irish history. This is a skillful work of synthesis with a valuable bibliography, but it also draws heavily on original sources. Lee is interested in the collective psychologies of the Irish people and the relationship between ideology and reality. He places Ireland in a comparative context and assesses the performance of the modern Irish state. His detailed portraits of important figures such as Eamon de Valera, Michael Collins, W.T. Cosgrave, and James Craig are, like the rest of his book, surprisingly free of the romanticism and partisanship that often characterize Irish studies. Finally, Lee has a keen sense of humor and does not hesitate to laugh at the comic or ridiculous. Highly recommended for all academic libraries supporting Irish studies. C. W. Wood, Jr. Western Carolina University