I reached my goal: I read and finished this book in the month of March. So-ooooooooooooooooo glad. Way too many details for me to remember, recall, andI reached my goal: I read and finished this book in the month of March. So-ooooooooooooooooo glad. Way too many details for me to remember, recall, and reuse. However, I don't blame the author, ha! I did read everything from front to back and then went backwards to front again. Love the pronunciation guide for Irish names. Appreciate the chronology outline in the appendix. Read the unique chapter by chapter explanatory bibliography. The world has some fantastically dedicated scholars who just love to research old, old documents and dig for data. Very grateful for the diligent, energetic, and artistic Irish monks who copied, enhanced, and (while they were at it) colorfully embellished the writings, plus proselytizingly left Ireland to share the love of learning.
I can't even begin to give a critical analysis of Mr. Cahill's writing; I just know that it is breezily erudite and educated. I love the way he shares Latin poetry and prose, and then adds his very OWN translations. My two meager years of high school Latin leave me painfully aware of how little I recall. Cahill constucts sentences the way engineers build bridges--carefully, solidly. He selects just the right foundation of academically arduous words, adding plenty of rich, descriptive linguistic nuance. Many sentences I actually stopped to read aloud, just to hear them rise and fall and roll and --to understand. He makes historical figures pop out because he puts flesh on the dry bones by deducing and describing his own psychological and personality analysis. I give it 4 STARs because he bounces around somewhat in telling his tale and assumes the reader comes in knowing more than most of us do. It's a popularized history, for us layfolks, thank goodness. I'm positive that European history scholars should read it also.
My bottom line: The Irish added much fierceness, energy, spirit, rather harmless superstition, humor, enthusiasm, love of learning and language to the world. Well, I knew that prior to reading this book. What I never fully appreciated until this reading is that the ancient Romans, Greeks, Germans, Vikings/Scandinavians, French, Italians, Britons, et al (i.e. the rest of the world) owe the Irish a huge debt of gratitude.
The title seemed "over the top" at first, but now, I don't think so. Cahill convinced me. ...more
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