History Books of the Year

1. We don't know ourselves

by Fintan O'Toole

€22.99 €25.00

The #1 Irish Times bestseller WINNER of the An Post Irish Book Awards 'A clear-eyed, myth-dispelling masterpiece' Marian Keyes 'Sweeping, authoritative and profoundly intelligent' Colm Tóibìn, Guardian 'With the pace and twists of an enthralling novel and the edge of a fine sword' Diarmaid Ferriter, Irish Times 'Evocative, moving, funny and furious' Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times 'An enthralling, panoramic book' Patrick Radden Keefe 'Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand modern Ireland' Herald 'A book that will remain important for a very long time' An Post Irish Book Award Judging Panel 'A sweeping thesis about Irish identity... May well be the best thing O'Toole's ever written' Business Post We Don't Know Ourselves is a very personal vision of recent Irish history from the year of O'Toole's birth, 1958, down to the present. Ireland has changed almost out of recognition during those decades, and Fintan O'Toole's life coincides with that arc of transformation. The book is a brilliant interweaving of memories (though this is emphatically not a memoir) and engrossing social and historical narrative. This was the era of Eamon de Valera, Jack Lynch, Charles Haughey and John Charles McQuaid, of sectarian civil war in the North and the Pope's triumphant visit in 1979, but also of those who began to speak out against the ruling consensus - feminists, advocates for the rights of children, gay men and women coming out of the shadows. We Don't Know Ourselves is an essential book for anyone who wishes to understand modern Ireland.

2. A State of Emergency

by Richard Chambers

€13.99 €21.00

The electrifying behind-the-scenes account of a year that brought Ireland to the brink and back - the inside story of Ireland’s struggle to contain Covid-19. Based on a wealth of original research and over a hundred interviews with cabinet members, public health officials, frontline workers, and ordinary people on whom the crisis exacted a personal toll, A State of Emergency is the incendiary untold story of Ireland’s response to the biggest public health emergency of the past century. Ranging from the halls of Government Buildings, where conflict between the new Cabinet and its public health advisors threatened to derail the official response, to the frontlines of the containment effort itself, where doctors, nurses, and the communities they served found themselves pushed to breaking point, A State of Emergency is a landmark work of journalism and a riveting insider account of the struggle to bring Ireland back from the brink.

3. Haughey

by Gary Murphy

€22.99 €27.99

With exclusive access to the Haughey archives, Gary Murphy presents a reassessment of Charles Haughey's life and legacy.   Saint or sinner? He was the most talented and influential politician of his generation, and his presence still looms over the Irish body politic, yet the very roots of his success - his charisma, his intelligence, his ruthlessness, his secrecy - have rendered almost impossible any objective evaluation of his life and work. He is, depending on whom you ask, either the great villain of Irish political life or the benevolent and forward-thinking saviour of a benighted nation.   That is, until now. Based on unfettered access to Haughey's personal archives, as well as extensive interviews with over 80 of his peers, rivals, confidantes and relatives, Haughey is a rich and nuanced portrait of a man of prodigious gifts, who, for all his flaws and many contradictions, came to define modern Ireland.   'A superbly balanced exploration of the life and politics of one of the most fascinating figures in 20th century Ireland.' Professor John Horgan   'An indispensable read for anyone with an interest in modern Irish history.' David McCullagh   'Offers much new detail - and not a few surprises - about the personality and career of a political titan who is still, in equal measure, revered and reviled in 21st century Ireland.' Conor Brady

4. The Dublin railway murder

by Thomas Morris

€15.99

A thrilling and perplexing investigation of a true Victorian crime at Dublin railway station. Dublin, November 1856: George Little, the chief cashier of the Broadstone railway terminus, is found dead, lying in a pool of blood beneath his desk. He has been savagely beaten, his head almost severed; there is no sign of a murder weapon, and the office door is locked, apparently from the inside. Thousands of pounds in gold and silver are left untouched at the scene of the crime. Augustus Guy, Ireland's most experienced detective, teams up with Dublin's leading lawyer to investigate the murder. But the mystery defies all explanation, and two celebrated sleuths sent by Scotland Yard soon return to London, baffled. Five suspects are arrested then released, with every step of the salacious case followed by the press, clamouring for answers. But then a local woman comes forward, claiming to know the murderer....

5. Four years in the cauldron

by Brian O'Donovan

€16.99 €25.20

From the start of his stint as RTÉ's Washington Correspondent Brian O'Donovan's lively and authoritative reporting of a tumultuous period in American life has been must-watch TV. Four Years in the Cauldron is his account of four busy years working in the US. He draws a compelling picture, full of telling colour and detail, of covering its fractured politics, particularly the extraordinary presidency of Donald Trump and the knife-edge election of Joe Biden. And he gives his unique perspective on big stories such as the Covid emergency, the Capitol riot, the murder of George Floyd and trial and conviction of his police killer. He also provides a visceral sense of what it's like living in a country shaped by guns, God, far-fetched conspiracy theories and the running sore of racism. Yet, drawing on his network of contacts, neighbours, friends and family connections outside the white-hot heat of Washington politics, he writes about the lives of ordinary American people with nuance and understanding. Four Years in the Cauldron is the riveting story of a nation at a crucial crossroads. It is a must-read for getting to grips with the US at a moment of profound reckoning.  

6. Between two hells

by Diarmaid Ferriter

€20.99 €28.00

In December 1921, five months after a truce between the IRA and British Crown Forces, Sinn Féin negotiators signed a compromise treaty with representatives of the British government. It created the Irish Free State, a self-governing dominion within the British empire, for the twenty-six counties of southern Ireland. Its terms generated turmoil within the republican movement and the country and in June 1922 Ireland collapsed into a cruel civil war, ripping Sinn Féin, the IRA and its female wing Cumann na mBan, local communities and families asunder. While the body count suggests it was far less devastating than some other European civil wars, it had a harrowing impact on the small island and cast a long shadow, socially, economically and politically, which included both public rows and recriminations and deep, often private traumas. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, the two parties that grew out of the rival factions, have dominated Irish governance since the civil war era but it was only in 2020 - almost a century after the conflict - that the two could see their way to officially sharing power. Drawing on many previously unpublished sources and newly released archival material, one of Ireland's most renowned historians lays bare the course and impact of the war, the lives it cost, the reputations it forged, the fate of its survivors and how this tragedy shaped modern Ireland.

7. The antisocial network

by Ben Mezrich

€16.99

This is definitive take on the wildest story of the year- the David-vs.-Goliath GameStop short squeeze, a tale of fortunes won and lost overnight that may end up changing Wall Street forever. Bestselling author Ben Mezrich offers a gripping, beat-by-beat account of how a loosely affiliate group of private investors and internet trolls took down one of the biggest hedge funds on Wall Street, firing the first shot in a revolution that threatens to upend the financial establishment. It started on a subreddit forum called WallStreetBets - a meme-filled, freewheeling place where a disparate group of investors shared their shoot-the-moon investment tips, laughed about big losses, and posted diamond hand emojis. Until some members noticed an opportunity in Game Stop - a flailing bricks and mortar video-game retailer - and somehow rode a rocket ship to tens of millions of dollars in earnings overnight, simultaneously triggering unfathomable losses for one of the most respected funds on the street. In thrilling, pulse-pounding prose, THE ANTISOCIAL NETWORK offers a fascinating, never-before-seen glimpse at the outsize personalities, dizzying swings, corporate drama, and underestimated American heroes and heroines who captivated the world during one of the most volatile weeks in financial history. It's the amazing story of what just happened-and where we go from here.

8. Keep calm and trust the science

by Luke A. J. O'Neill

€13.99 €16.99

Take a front row seat with Professor Luke O'Neill on a high-octane year. Luke has become one of the most well-known and trusted voices of Ireland's COVID-19 pandemic. A world-renowned immunologist, he was thrust into the spotlight as we struggled to make sense of a crisis that saw the country grind to a halt. In these compelling diaries, Luke reveals what life was like behind the scenes as he endeavoured to keep calm and trust that the science would save us. Set against a national backdrop of banana-bread baking, TikTok dancing and outdoor bingo, as well as the devastation to life and livelihood suffered by many, Luke's lockdown diaries reveal the highs and lows of work at the cutting edge of science in his Trinity College lab along with how he coped personally with the pressures of public life. Shot through with the natural positivity and humour that have made Luke a home-grown hero, Keep Calm and Trust the Science is an unputdownable account of one of the most dramatic years in Irish history from one of its key players.

9. The Bostonian

by Larry Donnelly

€17.99 €22.99

AMERICAN OR IRISH, Republican or Democrat: many people are one or the other, but Larry Donnelly has been all of them. Born into an Irish-American political dynasty, Larry was destined for a successful career in politics from the start. Having completed law school, he entered the ‘family business’ and involved himself in political life, experiencing everything from town hall meetings to the highest offices. Years later, his career brought him to Galway, his ancestral home county, and love kept him in Ireland. Now a highly respected commentator, Larry’s unique insight into the influence of Ireland on American politics, his reflections on growing up in Boston, hisviews from both sides of the house, as well as his take on the current state of his homeland, make for a fascinating read. At a time when American politics has never been more divided, Donnelly offers a unique Irish-American perspective in his memoir of life in a political family.

10. Shackleton

by Ranulph Fiennes

€16.99

Pre-order the enthralling new biography of Ernest Shackleton by the world's greatest living explorer, Sir Ranulph Fiennes. To write about Hell, it helps if you have been there. In 1915, Sir Ernest Shackleton's attempt to traverse the Antarctic was cut short when his ship, Endurance, became trapped in ice. The disaster left Shackleton and his men alone at the frozen South Pole, fighting for their lives. Their survival and escape is the most famous adventure in history. Shackleton is an engaging new account of the adventurer, his life and his incredible leadership under the most extreme of circumstances. Written by polar adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes who followed in Shackleton's footsteps, he brings his own unique insights to bear on these infamous expeditions. Shackleton is both re-appraisal and a valediction, separating the man from the myth he has become. Praise for Sir Ranulph Fiennes: 'Full of awe-inspiring details of hardship, resolve and weather that defies belief, told by someone of unique authority. No one is more tailor-made to tell [this] story than Sir Ranulph Fiennes' - Newsday 'Fiennes' own experiences certainly allow him to write vividly and with empathy of the hell that the men went through' - The Sunday Times

11. Albert Reynolds

by Conor Lenihan

€19.99 €22.95

In Albert Reynolds: Risktaker for Peace, Conor Lenihan takes the reader on a journey through the former Taoiseach's fascinating life. From his early days in Roscommon, Reynolds' determination and hard work saw him rise from a humble clerical job with Irish Rail to become one of Ireland's best-known showbiz promoters. But it is as creator of the template for peace on the island of Ireland that he, deservedly, will be best remembered. Reynolds' extraordinary progress from the cut-throat world of business to local politics, and, ultimately, government ministries, was driven by the entrepreneurial spirit and impatience that became the hallmark of his success and his failure. Appointed as Taoiseach in 1992, by 1994 he had been drummed out of office, yet in that brief period he confounded his critics by fast-tracking an end to the violence of the Troubles, with the IRA and Loyalist ceasefires. In the first complete biography of Reynolds, former Minister of State Conor Lenihan delivers an insider's account that reveals the courageous personal risks Reynolds took to create the template for peace in Ireland, and the highs and lows of a tempestuous, risk-taking life.

12. The Year of Chaos

by Malachi O'Doherty

€16.99 €23.80

'Frank and incisive - an insightful look at the most tumultuous period of the Troubles.' Ian Cobain 'This is the Belfast I grew up in. Malachi writes from first-hand experience and brings back memories that will always resonate with those who lived in those times.' Eamonn Holmes In the eleven months between August 1971 and July 1972, Northern Ireland experienced its worst year of violence. No future year of the Troubles experienced such death and destruction. The 'year of chaos' began with the introduction of internment of IRA suspects without trial, which created huge disaffection in the Catholic communities and provoked an escalation of violence. This led to the British government taking full control of Northern Ireland and negotiating directly with the IRA leadership. Operation Motorman, the invasion of barricaded no-go areas in Belfast and Derry, then dampened down the violence a year later. During this whole period, Malachi O'Doherty was a young reporter in Belfast, working in the city and returning home at night to a no-go area behind the barricades where the streets were patrolled by armed IRA men. Drawing on interviews, personal recollections and archival research, O'Doherty takes readers on a journey through the events of that terrible year - from the devastation of Bloody Sunday and Bloody Friday to the talks between leaders that failed to break the deadlock - which, he argues, should serve as a stark reminder of how political and military miscalculation can lead a country to the brink of civil war.

13. Changing world order

by Ray Dalio

€21.99 €28.00

From legendary investor Ray Dalio, author of the international bestseller Principles , who has spent half a century studying global economies and markets, Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order examines history's most turbulent economic and political periods to reveal why the times ahead will likely be radically different from those we've experienced in our lifetimes - but similar to those that have happened many times before. A few years ago, Ray Dalio noticed a confluence of political and economic conditions he hadn't encountered before. They included huge debts and zero or near-zero interest rates that led to massive printing of money in the world's three major reserve currencies; big political and social conflicts within countries, especially the US, due to the largest wealth, political and values disparities in more than 100 years; and the rising of a world power (China) to challenge the existing world power (US) and the existing world order. The last time that this confluence occurred was between 1930 and 1945. This realisation sent Dalio on a search for the repeating patterns and cause/effect relationships underlying all major changes in wealth and power over the last 500 years. In this remarkable and timely addition to his Principles series, Dalio brings readers along for his study of the major empires - including the Dutch, the British and the American - putting into perspective the 'Big Cycle' that has driven the successes and failures of all the world's major countries throughout history. Dalio reveals the timeless and universal forces behind these shifts and uses them to look into the future, offering practical principles for positioning oneself for what's ahead.

14. The last Irish question

by Glenn Patterson

€23.80

A view of the south of Ireland - political, social, geographical - through the eyes of a liberal northern protestant being asked to rejoin it. 'A pleasure to read, forensically and wittily observed, incisively mixing memoir, reportage and analysis'Daily Mail 'He has a light touch, a way of glancing off things and leaving our perception of them changed. He can dazzle. He tells a good story'Irish Times The reunification of Ireland, which seemed in 1998 to have been pushed over the far horizon as an aspiration, has returned with a vengeance. Brexit calls into question the British commitment to Northern Ireland and threatens its economy. There has been a surge in support for Sinn Fein south of the border. This is a dangerous and divisive issue, and will become more so if Sinn Fein enters the government of the Republic, as seems inevitable in the next couple of years. They are pushing relentlessly, as only that cult-like party knows how, for a poll on the future of the border. In The Last Irish Question Glenn Patterson views the south through the eyes of a liberal northern protestant, travelling the entire country and looking at this place he is being asked to join and which his people have spent a very long time shunning. Most of the south is terra incognita to them (as it is to many people who live in Dublin). There have been countless books describing and travelling through Ulster, but never a book like this that turns its gaze the other way: a journey of discovery through the south by a sceptical northerner. The attitudes Patterson exposes in those rural and small town areas outside Dublin will probably come as a shock to many Irish readers. Patterson is a witty, brilliant observer and this will be a highly enjoyable as well as alarmingly topical book.

15. Soldiers

by Max Hastings

€23.80

'A fascinating collection of military stories ... The sort of book that can be picked up at intervals ... [but] once tasted, is hard to put down' Washington PostA stunning anthology of great stories of war and peace collected and edited by Max Hastings. Soldiers is a very personal gathering of sparkling, gripping tales by many writers, about men and women who have borne arms, reflecting bestselling historian Max Hastings's lifetime of studying war. It rings the changes through the centuries, between the heroic, tragic and comic; the famous and the humble. The nearly 350 stories illustrate vividly what it is like to fight in wars, to live and die as a warrior, from Greek and Roman times through to recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.Here you will meet Jewish heroes of the Bible, Rome's captain of the gate, Queen Boudicca, Joan of Arc, Cromwell, Wellington, Napoleon's marshals, Ulysses S. Grant, George S. Patton and the modern SAS. There are tales of great writers who served in uniform including Cobbett and Tolstoy, Edward Gibbon and Siegfried Sassoon, Marcel Proust and Evelyn Waugh, George Orwell and George MacDonald Fraser. Here are also stories of the female 'abosi' fighters of Dahomey and heroic ambulance drivers of World War I, together with the new-age women soldiers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. The stories reflect a change of mood towards warfare through the ages: though nations and movements continue to inflict terrible violence upon each other, most of humankind has retreated from the old notion of war as a sport or pastime, to acknowledge it as the supreme tragedy.This is a book to inspire in turn fascination, excitement, horror, amazement, occasionally laughter. Max Hastings mingles respect for the courage of those who fight with compassion for those who become their victims, above all civilians, and especially in the twenty-first century, which some are already calling 'the Post-Heroic Age'.

16. The Green & White House

by Lynne Kelleher

€16.99 €25.20

THE GREEN & WHITE HOUSE takes an affectionate and wry look at the special relationship Ireland, a small nation of less than six million people, has with the greatest superpower in the world.

17. Old Ireland In Colour 2

by John G. Breslin

€17.99 €24.95

In Old Ireland in Colour 2, the much-anticipated sequel to their beloved bestseller, John Breslin and Sarah-Anne Buckley have dug even deeper into Ireland’s historical archives to uncover captivating photographic gems to bring to life using a unique blend of cutting-edge technology, historical research and expert colourisation. Old Ireland in Colour 2 celebrates more of the rich history of Ireland and the Irish from all walks of life and from all four provinces, as well as the Irish abroad, throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. From the chaos of the Civil War to the simple beauty of the islands, from the iconic to the domestic, there is something new and inspiring to be gleaned from every single page.

18. The Colour of Ireland

by Rob Cross

€18.99 €28.00

With introductions by Diarmaid Ferriter and Donal Fallon ’THE COLOUR OF IRELAND: County by County 1860-1960 spans more than a hundred years throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and brings history to life using contemporary photographs as the basis for full-colour digital renditions. Rob Cross breathes new life, immediacy and human connection back into these breath taking black and white photographs, bringing out the minute detail in each image and using careful historical research to determine the colours of every object in every photo. These images show incredible detail and a richness and depth that has not been seen before, bringing the people and places of an Ireland long gone back to life. With its beautifully restored images, THE COLOUR OF IRELAND presents over 150 magnificent photographs of Irish life covering all 32 counties, the beauties of the Green Isle and capturing Ireland's people and its most picturesque villages, townlands, and the fast-emerging cities of Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Limerick, and Waterford City. The book also captures photos of Ireland's most turbulent times from the War of Independence and the Irish Civil War featuring some of the titans of Irish political life such as Michael Collins, Éamon de Valera, Arthur Griffith, and James Connolly. This magnificent collection of images of Ireland is both a fascinating social history and an astonishing technical achievement. And it’s an essential book for anyone who loves Ireland and Irish history.

19. In Hinde sight

by Paul Kelly

€19.99

Despite the famously uncooperative Irish weather, John Hinde's postcards of Ireland featured bright sunshine and blue skies, a country seemingly peopled entirely with redheads, happy donkeys carrying turf, and charming cottages that appeared to grow upward from the earth itself. Cars and sweaters were in primary colours, and scarlet rhododendrons sprang up in the unlikeliest of places.   John Hinde had a clear vision: 'We need to be uplifted rather than depressed. To me pictures should always convey a positive, good feeling, something which makes people happy, which makes them smile, which makes them appreciate some tenderness.'   In these postcards, the world is a sunnier, less complicated and more colourful place. Join Paul Kelly as he returns to John Hinde's Ireland on a photographic pilgrimage, capturing some places that have changed forever, and some that are just the same.