Michael Collins and the Troubles

by Ulick O'Connor

Book Overview

Michael Collins played a crucial role in rekindling Ireland's aspirations for freedom. A leading figure in the nation's bitter and bloody resistance to British Rule, he played a key part in reshaping Ireland's history as we know it today. Ulick O'Connor includes valuable new information about the secret war against England and provides a fresh and highly dramatic account of Ireland's fight for freedom. Using important material from the archives...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393316459
• ISBN13: 9780393316452
• Release Date: November 1996
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 250 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

Michael Collins and Troubles

Outstanding. Tim Pat Coogan has a firm grip on the subject. His writing style and passion induced me to read several of his books. I consider Tim Pat a rare writer, one who writes with both passion and fairness. A must read for any student of the 20th century.

Irish history as it might be taught in a Pub

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.

History for the average person

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.

An officer and a gentleman

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.

A Non-Pedantic Picture of Michael Collins , the "Big Fella"

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.