History
Truth & Dare Short Stories about Women Who Shaped Ireland Martina Devlin Poolbeg Books €14.99
A gallery of pioneering Irishwomen from the iconic Countess Markievicz to the lesser celebrated but compelling figures of Anna Parnell and the crusading Belfast woman Mary Ann McCracken are magnificently brought alive by the award-winning Devlin. An ideal primer for today’s young acolytes of hashtag MeToo.
The Colour Of Time Dan Jones and Marina Amaral Apollo €35
Illustrator Marina Amaral has digitally colourised 200 historic black-andwhite photographs, making them look as though they were taken yesterday. Dan Jones explains the historical context of each startling image.
D-Day: The Soldiers’ Story Giles Milton John Murray €35
The story of the epic invasion told by the combatants and other participants from all sides. A vivid, graphic and moving account of ‘the longest day’.
Lords Of The Desert James Barr S&S €21
There is intrigue, espionage and chicanery in this compelling account of the battle between the UK and America for dominance in the Middle East after World War II.
Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy, 1945-1975 Max Hastings William Collins €42
Hastings covered the Vietnam war as a reporter and this exhaustive and chilling, but brilliantly readable, history shows a journalist’s eye for the telling detail but never gets bogged down in the minutiae.
Renaissance Nation David McWilliams Gill Books €22.99
McWilliams charts the progress of the generation he coined The Pope’s Children, and shows how, thanks to them, the nation is now almost recognisable from 40 years ago. From boom to bust to boom again, this is the story of our rapidly changing country.
De Valera Rule (1932-1975) David McCullagh Gill Books €24.99
Part two of this insightful biography of the most significant figure in the political history of Ireland starts in March 1932 as, De Valera, aged 50, and Fianna Fáil leader, faces into his life’s work of securing Irish sovereignty.
Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy Anne Boyd Rioux WW Norton €28
Rioux considers the cultural impact and enduring popularity of Louisa May Alcott’s American Civil War-set novel Little Women, a runaway success since it was first published 150 years ago.
Chernobyl: History Of A Tragedy Serhii Plokhy Allen Lane €28
Prize-winning account of the world’s worst nuclear disaster. The 1986 explosion at the Ukraine power plant may have resulted in the deaths of thousands of people from illnesses linked to radiation damage.