'Irish Names' back in gorgeous hardcover, by popular demand
This week there’s another mixed bag of fiction and non-fiction, with a little history thrown in.
Scorched Earth, Dara Kavanagh, Dedalus, €14.99
During the Second Boer War, a young Anglo-Irish officer in the British army, Fred Hart, witnesses an atrocity that he cannot come to terms with, ordered by his major Cecil Havelock-Saunders. Hart deserts and makes his way slowly across Africa, arriving back in Dublin under an assumed name, and nursing a bad opium habit. He’s aware that Havelock-Saunders is running for parliament in the 1910 Westminster election and will do what he can to expose him. He lives in squalor in the Dublin backstreets and is befriended by a local schoolboy, Tom Kincaid, who supplies him with books and writing materials. If Fred is found, he knows he faces the firing squad, but he also knows it’s imperative to inform the public of the savagery committed by his former army major. This is a deeply impressive work of historical fiction, authentic and evocative. It takes its title from the ‘scorched earth’ policy adopted by the British forces during the Boer Wars, where they burnt every farm and homestead in their path, and it proffers an immersive experience not only of South Africa at the time, but also of a grimy Dublin impatiently waiting for Home Rule and teeming with dangerous men. Highly recommended.
Irish Names, Donnchadh Ó Corráin and Fidelma Maguire, Lilliput, €15.95
Not just a book for parents-to-be, this is an authoritative work of scholarship and lists almost 1,000 Irish names, giving their origins and history through the centuries. So, it’s also a book for keen historians and amateur genealogists who might be curious about the origins of Irish names. It was first published by Lilliput in 1990 and is back, in a gorgeous hardcover version, by popular demand.
Ireland: Mapping the Island, Joseph Brady and Paul Ferguson, Birlinn, €34.99
This is a truly magnificent tome, a full bells-and-whistles production that’s beautifully put together. It would make a superb gift for the keen geography fan, the history buff, in fact anyone at all who has a curious mind and an interest in our fair land. Joseph Brady is former head of the School of Geography at UCD and Paul Ferguson is the resident map librarian in Trinity College, and between them, they’ve collected and produced a treasure trove of maps from all over the country, from the early surviving maps to the mid-20th century, covering all sorts of topics like the colonisation of Ireland, the emergence of the roads and railway systems, the history of the Ordnance Survey, the development of the coastlines, towns and cities. It’s a breathtaking book, scholarly yet accessible, packed full of full-colour illustration plates. You could get lost in it!
Dr Bot, Charlotte Blease, Yale University Press, €27.55
Subtitled ‘Why Doctors and Fail Us and How AI Could Save Our Lives’, Dr Bot is an interesting book about the use of AI in medicine. We’re probably all scared of AI, and rightly so – it has been used to feed lies and more lies to the gullible for years now. But, obviously, it has more benign uses, and Charlotte Blease outlines how its use in medicine may be a game-changer. ‘Doctors differ and patients die’ goes the cliché but we already rely on computers so much in medicine, it’s inevitable that AI becomes part of that landscape. Dr Blease, Belfast-born, an associate professor in Uppsala University in Sweden and researcher in Harvard Medical School, argues that AI dispenses with issues of class, creed and colour (doctors are human too and possibly prone to discriminate) and can provide more accurate information in the areas of diagnosis and treatment. Thoroughly researched and full of statements from medical experts who agree with Blease’s arguments, it’s an interesting take on the benefits, as opposed to the many scourges, of the use of AI.
A Short History of Ulster, Dr Jonathan Bardon, Gill, €24.99
This is a shortened version of Bardon’s original book, A History of Ulster, which was published in 1992, and it’s the story of Ulster from 9,000 years ago to the present day. This new publication, illustrated in full throughout, also outlines the peace process that ended the turmoil and violence of the Troubles. From the Viking and Norman invasions through to the plantations, the Penal Laws, the rise of Catholic and Protestant factions, the famine, the Home Rule Crisis, this book has the lot. An accessible read adapted from the original work, this book is more for general readership and particularly for those with an interest in history. The author died in 2020 and was a former lecturer in Queen’s University. During his lifetime he was awarded an OBE for his services to community life in Northern Ireland.
End Game, Jeffrey Archer, Harper Collins, €14.99
I must admit to not being a fan of Archer, the writer or the man, but his fans are legion, and they won’t be disappointed with his latest novel, which Archer says will be his final Warwick story. It is set in the 2012 Olympics, held in London. Warwick is head of security at the games, but criminal mastermind Miles Faulkner has been requested by China and Russia to wreak havoc on the games. Starting off with fairly harmless incidents like delays and failing lights at the opening ceremony, things soon become far more treacherous and it’s Warwick’s responsibility to bring the criminals to justice. It’s a fast-moving story and lots of the incidents cited actually did happen during the games, so… there’s that…
Footnotes
Samhain Food Festival takes place in Kells on November 6-9 and promises lots of events, with a great line-up of guests and of course lots of tastes to savour. See foodcultureireland.ie for full details and tickets.
The Dublin Book Festival is on November 5-9 and it’s packed with events, including family fun ones for younger bookworms. There are plenty of adult events too and some events are already booked out so you need to get in there quick. See dublinbookfestival.com for details.