Ireland and Britain, 1798-1922

The clash between Britain and Ireland--and between Catholics and Protestants within Ireland--is among the oldest and most enduring nationalist, ethnic, and religious conflicts in the modern world, rooted in the colonization of Ireland by English and Scottish Protestants in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Through fifty-six original sources, many of which have never been reprinted, this volume traces the origins and development of the conflict during the years of the legislative union between Britain and Ireland--years shaped by the rise of, and British and Irish Unionist responses to, Irish nationalism. Dworkin's Introduction provides both a history of the conflict and a discussion of its causes; headnotes and footnotes set each selection in historical, political, and cultural context, and identify those terms and names that may be unfamiliar to modern readers. A map, a glossary, a chronology of events, and a select bibliography are included, as are an index and several contemporary illustrations.

Impressive . . . Dworkin offers a survey of Anglo-Irish history that conveys the complexity of the topic while at the same time remaining clear, highly readable, and accessible to beginning students. He recognizes that 'Irish' cannot be equated with 'Catholic' and 'nationalist,' and rightly emphasizes the importance of region and class as well as religion in shaping the modern history of the Irish nations. The introductions that accompany each primary source excerpt keep to the high standard of the opening essay: the right amount of detail for contextualization and comprehensibility, without overwhelming the reader. The selection of excerpts is solid. --Meredith Veldman, Louisiana State University, This is a very useful collection for teaching undergraduates. Much more inclusive than other collections--but reasonably priced. . . . I will definitely adopt this book. --William H. Mulligan, Jr., Murray State University

Dennis Dworkin is Professor of History, University of Nevada Reno.