Read Ireland Book News - Gift Books from Ireland
Gregory Carr
Read Ireland Book News - Issue 15 - Gift Books
1. Atlas of the Irish Rural Landscape edited by F.H.A. Aalen, Kevin
Whelan and Matthew Stout
(hardback; 35 Irish pounds / 52.50 US Dollars approximately)
This handsome atlas explores the Irish rural landscape as an
important element of national heritage. As with many parts of Europe,
that heritage is threatened and Ireland is faced with the daunting
task of balancing the needs of competing rural activities.
This book combines many different approaches to understanding the
immense ecological, educational, aesthetic and economic significance
of the landscape. Using state of the art computer cartography, the
atlas analyses the assemblage of features, both physical and human,
which gives the Irish landscape its distinctive character. It provides
detailed analysis of field and settlement patterns, buildings,
archaeological/historical monuments, demesnes, villages and small
towns, woodlands and bogs, canals, roads, railways and industrial
archaeology. Drawing on appropriate disciplines including
geography, archaeology and history, the atlas shows how the
intricacy, interest and beauty of the Irish landscape were generated
by human activities over long periods of time, and how the landscape
is presently managed.
The editors and contributors have incorporated a wide range of
illustrative material including maps, paintings, photographs and
remote sensing data, all reproduced in full colour throughout the
book. A substantial explanatory text vividly summarises our growing
knowledge of Irish landscape history while demonstrating its
relevance in education and public policy. By analysing forces of
current change, the atlas suggests ways in which desirable
developments can be implemented in sympathy with inherited
landscape character.
2. Ireland - Our Island Home by Kevin Dwyer
(hc; 19.99 IRP / 30 USD)
An aerial tour around Ireland's coastline, this book takes the reader
on a fascinating pictorial journey around the island of Ireland
through aerial photographs taken between 1992 and 1996. Starting
at Carlingford Lough in County Louth, the journey shows many of the
coastal villages, harbours, anchorage's, beaches and rivers all linked
by water. There are also aerial photographs of Dublin, Cork,
Waterford, Limerick and Galway. Contains over 160 large full colour
photographs.
3. Ireland: A Photographic Portrait with an introduction by J.P.
Donleavy
(hc; 19.99 IRP / 30 USD)
Ireland's unique beauty is captured in this sumptuous photographic
portrait. The green hills and lush river valleys contrast with the wild,
rugged coastline and the ancient grey stone walls that criss-cross the
landscape. It is a tranquil country where sheep roam along deserted
country roads and where ancient castles stand guard on a history rich
in colour and incident.
The accompanying text is a perfect foil to the stunning photographs.
In addition to providing a brief introduction to Ireland and its history,
it also serves as an extensive travel guide to the island. It includes
the best routes in the country for scenic journeys and ideal locations
for city breaks or country retreats as well as places to stay.
4. Ireland from the Air by Peter Sommerville-Large and photography
by Jason Hawkes
(hc; 25.00 IRP / 37.50 USD)
A fascinating and revealing commentary by Peter Sommerville-Large
combined with Jason Hawkes' expert aerial photography takes the
reader on a striking bird's eye journey to the farthest reaches of
Ireland, whose castles, cities, mountains, cliffs and fields are seldom
seen except from ground level.
Captured in arresting aerial detail is the overwhelming variety of
Ireland's landscape, from the lush valley and prosperous plains of
Kildare, Tipperary and Wicklow, through the spectacular islands off
the west and south-west coast to the complexities of the River
Shannon and Lough Erne. As well as the traditional and romantic
view of Ireland, Hawkes provides us with exhilarating new aerial
images, be it a rock climber's view of Ben Bulben, the urban vitality of
Dublin where the bridges for a ladder over the Liffey, or a herd of
cows grazing peacefully near Lough Carra.
Appealing both to residents and visitors alike, together in words and
pictures, this book captures both the expected and unexpected about
a land which remains shrouded in mystery and alive with legend.
5. Dorothea Lange's Ireland by Gerry Mullins
(hc; 19.95 IRP / 30.00 USD)
In September 1954 Dorothea Lange travelled to Ireland to document a
society where tradition and ties to the land remained strongly intact.
She stayed for several weeks, mostly in County Clare on the western
seaboard, and took 2,400 photographs, the best of which are featured
in this book.
Only a handful of her Irish images have been previously seen; yet
those who know her work best believe the Irish photographs are some
of her finest achievements. Her simple yet dramatic photographs
depict men and women on their way to church, family members
performing daily chores, village streets crowded with cattle on market
day, and many other images of rural Ireland. Seemingly ordinary
moments in life are presented by Lange in an unusually powerful and
dignified manner.
This extraordinary body of work was uncovered at the Oakland
Museum of California by author Gerry Mullins, whose text describes
Lange's motivation to go to Ireland, her travels there, and the subjects
of her photography. Her son, Daniel Dixon, accompanied her on the
trip and contributes and essay to the book that gives insight in
Lange's strong connection to the people of Ireland.
Special Offer
Out of Ireland: The Story of Irish Emigration to America by Kerby
Miller and Paul Wagner
(hc; original Irish price: 18.95 - special offer Irish price; 7.99 / 12.00
USD)
This book is a moving portrayal of Irish emigration to the United
States. This sweeping historical epic involving millions of Irish men,
women and children over a period of two centuries is personalised by
the stories of several individual immigrants, using the actual letters
they wrote home to Ireland describing their experiences in the New
World. It is further brought to life by 110 riveting and rarely seen
photographs and illustrations, the fruits of more than two years
research in Irish and American archives.
Oppression by British landlords, vanishing economic opportunities,
and a famine that killed more that 1 million people drove the Irish to
America, often in the steerage of vessels so racked by typhus and
dysentery that they were called "coffin-ships." In America, "the land
of liberty so-called," as one immigrant described it, they faced urban
poverty, industrial exploitation, and virulent anti-Catholicism.
Eventually, despite much collective suffering and many individual
failures, the Irish were successful, achieving great prosperity and
prominence in all walks of American life. The Irish brought labour,
skills, capital and sheer energy to build the farms, cities, industries,
and transportation network that laid the foundations of much of
America's prosperity.
More than 7 million men, women and children came out of Ireland to
create for themselves a new life in America. Their powerful story
speaks to the hearts of their 40 million descendants - and to anyone
who has ever dared to pursue a dream.