Reviews

With Donald Trump taking legal advice on how to retain a US base on the Chagos Islands, Tom Marshall reviews a new book by Philippe Sands KC which reveals Britain’s duplicity in its dealings with the islanders of its last colony. The Chagos Archipelago, a small group of islands in the Indian O

A monumental new history of Irish republicanism in the Scottish city of Dundee reveals much of the Irish diaspora experience in Scotland and leaves Graham Ogilvy impressed by its thorough research. As a young boy, I walked through the derelict tenements of Tipperary every day to get to school.

In his latest work, James Durney takes readers on a dramatic tour of republican prison escapes, writes Susie Deedigan. Jailbreak opens with Irish Republican Brotherhood president James Stephens’ relatively simple escape from Dublin’s Richmond Prison in 1865 and culminates in the far more

Robert Shiels reviews a new book on the interface between technology and war. The military-industrial complex of the United States was the subject of a chilling warning by President Eisenhower and a new book reveals how Silicon Valley has morphed to make it ever more deadly.

Wendy’s Moore’s biography of Vera Holme and Eveline Haverfield, or simply Jack and Eve, is a deeply entertaining insight into the lives of two extraordinary Edwardian women in love, writes Susie Deedigan. Jack had grown up comfortably, but the sudden loss of her father in childhood meant

Historian Susie Deedigan examines a new collection of colourised photos of Ireland in the 1940s. The Emergency in Colour presents 200 compelling images taken during the Second World War, or Emergency as it was known in neutral Éire. Each image has been carefully colourised by John O’Byr

Graham Ogilvy reviews Paul Tweed's new book about his life as an international libel lawyer to the rich and famous. Paul Tweed is a familiar figure on television and in the newspapers. Representing celebrity clients has made him something of a celebrity himself, and now he tells his story in a new b

Robert Shiels reviews a book that sheds light on personalities who shaped 21st-century Russia. With the end of Soviet Russia, there was little in the way of precedent or planning for the political class to follow in the move to a new society and economy. A socialist state does not plan for its own d

Historian Susie Deedigan reviews a new book on the Irish men and women who fought against Nazi occupation in Europe. Janie McCarthy, a teacher from Killarney and somewhat unlikely résistante, is the first in the cast of fascinating characters whose stories are skillfully woven together in Clo

Graham Ogilvy reviews a new history of the liberation of Paris.

Robert Shiels reviews a new book on one of the UK's best-known spying scandals. There is an aphorism along the lines of history is past politics and present politics is future history, and that might well be a suitable introduction to a new book on the Spycatcher affair.

‘Necrogamy’ might sound deeply unpleasant, but in fact refers to a lawful practice in France — one of the only jurisdictions in the world to allow, in certain circumstances, posthumous marriage between a living person and their deceased partner. And Mrs, a bittersweet dark comedy

Graham Ogilvy reviews an upcoming book which brings to light Irish links to the headquarters of the world revolution. This ground-breaking new book by Irish historian Maurice Casey tells the story of Wexford woman May O’Callaghan and of the friendships and love affairs of her comrades who live

Robert Shiels reviews a new book on the psychology of killing with drones. Remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) were used initially for surveillance but, increasingly and cost-effectively, are of value when armed with guided weapons for precise targeting.

All eyes are on Paris and the publishers are cashing in on the Olympics with a raft of new books focussing on ‘The City of Light’, writes Graham Ogilvy.