This has to be the most biased, pro-Unionist book on the troubles in Northern Ireland that I have ever read. Geraghty is somehow convinced that the IRA organized every demonstration, riot or altercation in N. Ireland. He actually blames the shooting of 13 unarmed civilians by British paratroopers on the IRA and has a tendency to dismiss acts of brutality, torture and murder by British soldiers and loyalists on catholics while going into great detail on every real or perceived IRA atrocity. This is not to say at all that the IRA has not commmitted extremely brutal acts but Geraghty focuses entirely on IRA brutality while ignoring or explaining away the reasons for the troubles and the horrible acts committed by the British Army and loyalist paramilitaries. There is more of a story to the troubles in N. Ireland from both the Unionist and Republican perspective that Geraghty has failed to produce. He almost makes Ian Paisley seem more sympathetic to the plight of N. Ireland catholics and the republican cause! Despite his experience, Geraghty never seems to grasp the mindset of the N. Irish people, both protestant and catholic; catholics seem to be manipulated entirely by the IRA while he seldom portrays the protestant community at all and when he does they are shown as hardcore, religious zealot paramilitaries. He also jumbles some of his dates and events. For instance, he mentions Kent State in the context of 1968 when the shootings there took place in 1970 (Kent State University is only about an hour away). For a more interesting description of the troubles, try Jack Holland's "Hope Against History", Peter Taylor's work on the IRA and Protestant paramilitaries, Tim Pat Coogan's "The Troubles", Conroy's Belfast Diary (great for getting a feel for Belfast life) or even Bruce's "Edge of the Union" for the loyalist perpsective.

This Book shows in graphic detail how the IRA was able to systematically defeat the British Army and the Loyalist terrorist they employed against the Catholic population.
Geraghty shows how the IRA rose from a few ill equiped troops, to become the world's most formidable guerilla army. The book details that ruthless war they waged against the British Army and thier loyalist counterparts in the UDA and UVF. Through a brutally effecient assassination and bombing campaign,(which even managed to outmaneuver the famed SAS),the IRA outfought and eventually crippled the British military and the loyalist paramilitary groups, untill they were forced to state publicly that the IRA "could not be defeated". At the same time as they waged thier successful campaign against the British and unionist forces, they made thier political party (Sinn Fein) the most successful in Northen Ireland. This is an excellent book about how the oppressed Catholic population of Northen Ireland took on the tyranny of the British and for the second time in a century defeated them soundly.

The most balanced book written on the conflict between the PIRA and it's fellow travellers against the British security apparatus protecting the democratic will of the majority Unionist population of Ulster. The use of the world famous SAS and it's crippling effect on the Republican movement alongside loyalist paramilitary assasination sheds new light on the ongoing counter terrorism actions. The continual arrest and trials of dissident Republicans and the ease of the security forces attempts in tackling them is explained by the detail in which Geraghty explains the extensive security apparatus in Ulster and the mainland. This book has shed new light on PIRA tactics and should probably be read by the US allies of Colombia apres FARC and the 'bungle in the jungle'.
Geraghty also covers the historical aspect of the Irish 'question' from 1600 onward, a question that has now been solved excepting a few lone dissident nutcases. Other good books on the IRA by ex-members who see through their propaganda as concisely as Geraghty include Raymond Gilmour's 'Dead Ground', Eamonn Collins 'Killing Rage', Martin McCartland's 'Fifty Dead men walking' and Sean O'Callaghan's 'Informer'. Peace.

This is quite likely the worst book HRED has written. That said, there is still much of value. To find it though, one must wade through the author's agenda- she was in her One Great Goddess phase- and incomplete as well as unconnected examples of, well, sometimes one can't be quite sure just what she is trying to say or prove.

If your starting point is the premise that there was One Great Goddess, fine, you will love this book. If you want a scholarly evalution of Germanic goddesses, you will need to go elsewhere.

The tenor of this book is one of attempting to peer through centuries of Christian influence to show what the religion of the goddess may have been like. But in almost every of its presentations often is too loose in character to be truly fulfilling and abounds in conditional statements. It probably fails most in how it presents the subject in categories and then presents examples from the observations and works of others in an attempt to bring things to light. In doing so it tends to lose your appreciateion of variation in perceptions over time and place, which is understandable due to the scarcity of hard and sure information. But then it is this lack of certainty that makes it a book of possitbilites rather than information. However, if it were not for the obvious continuation of goddess worship into the Christian age with the Virgin Mary, I might doubt that there were any widespread goddess cults simply from the arguments this book provides.

It might have been better to have divided the book up by region, rather as History of Pagan Europe does. Instead the dearth of hard evidence is supplemented by comparisons to notions of goddess worship much further south of north. At best it is a collection of what can be said in a scholarly manner, but is rather too dull of a presentation to be an exceptional read.

Davidson has produced a useful book on Northern European Goddess history and tradition. She draws on early literature, legend, folk traditions (and records of now extinct folk traditions), and archaelogy to construct several categories of functioning for the Goddesses. She discovers Goddesses who are both nurturing and demanding, healing and destructive, revered and feared. Davidson includes Celtic, Norse, Finnish, and Latvian Goddesses, and frequently compares them to Mediterranean and Near Eastern Goddess roles.

She first considers the Goddess as Mistress of the animals, examining her roles as Hunting Goddess, Ruler of the Wild, Guardian of the diary [sic] herds, as Dog and Horse Goddess.

Next, she examines the Goddess as Mistress of the Grain, considering the most ancient roots associating Goddesses with fertility of the earth, the connection between Goddess and plough, the possibility of Goddess as Corn Spirit, and how the Grain Goddess of the North differed from Grain Goddesses of more temperate regions.

Davidson then takes up the Goddess as Mistress of the Distaff and Loom, looking both the context of Goddess and weaving in the ancient world as well as the differences in Northern Europe. She considers the Oseberg wall-hagnings, retrieved from a burial site, and illuminates Goddess figures found there. She also examines the interplay between weaving and destiny, the Goddess as Weaver of Fate.

In addition, she considers the domestic role of the Goddess as Mistress of the Household. She discusses Guardians of the home, the association between Goddess and fire and water, and the role of the Goddes in the birth and nurturing of children.

Finally, she examines the Goddess as Mistress of Life and Death, writing of her role as healer and in the realm of death. She also considers Northern European funeral rites and how they help us understand the roles of the Goddess.

Davidson points out that when we sentimentalize the Goddess, as so many white-light-bunny-fluff-goddess-of-the-week books do, we lose a great deal. She draws on Jung in her synthesis that the Goddess is both attractive and nurturing as well as repulsive and frightening. In her conclusion she points out that the Goddess was much more than simply the "Great Mother."

The book has a useful index and an excellent bibliography. It was poorly copy edited, however, with several typos. I also wish that Davidson had done a better job of separating out the layers of history through which she excavates. The meaning of stone-age evidence is poorly differentiated from the meanings of myths recorded in the middle ages or folk practices recorded in the 17th century. This is a significant problem which the book poorly addresses.

Five stars for depth and breadth, but knocked down to four stars for the failure to explicitly consider the impact of various historical contexts on the available evidence and on her interpetation of it.

(If you'd like to discuss this book or review, click on the "about me" link above and drop me an email. Thanks!)

Another of Thorsson's masterpieces! I strongly recommend this book to all pagans who follow the Northern Way. I don't quite understand the bad reviews about Edred Thorsson being a satanist, he is quite far from it!

This is an excellent book for beginners of Asatru, due to the book wide variations of Norse paganism. This book covers many subjects and customs such as: The Troth, Runes, Hex-signs, Seith Magic, and much more. This book, however, is not in depth in these subjects, but a great introduction to them. If you are looking for information on Runes of the Elder Futhark, I wouldn't count on this book, however Thorsson introduces the Younger Futhark and covers them pretty well (one page on each rune, front and back!) I also recommend this book for the advanced, because it introduces new customs as well. Be sure to check out other books by Thorsson.

I must admit this isn't Thorsson at his best, but it's still a very good book for introduction into the northern magical systems. It's simpler and broader than some of his other work, making it more suitable for the general public. Perhaps the most interesting feature is that he doesn't stick to the popular rune system here. He goes into explanation of Troth (religious tradition), touches on Rune magic and the lesser-known system of the younger Futhark, and proceeds to Seith (shamanism) and Dutch hex symbols. If you're curious about all forms of northern magic then I recommend this book. I've never been led wrong by Thorsson's research, and I trust his accuracy over any other writer on the subject. This book gives good background on the religion, gods, and beliefs of the northern traditions. If you want a well-researched and intelligent book on these subjects you can start here. If not, buy a book by Ralph Plume and live in ignorance.

This is a really good reference for the very busy professional person who needs a clear presentation of ideas in a very short space. It would function as an excellent primer to Runelore and/or Futhark.

This book gives a really good quick overview of the Northern Way as it exists in its present remanifestation. In Chapter III, Dr. Thorsson explains the similarities and differences between the Troth, Rune-Galdor (operative rune magick), and Seith (norse shamanism) in a clear and concise manner.

Chapters IV and V explain Teutonic Cosmology and Theology in a quick, clear, and concise manner.

Dr. Thorsson does make a run at describing the Teutonic "soul" concept, but this is not as satisfying as the foregoing-described concise summaries.

Dr. Thorsson focuses on the younger runes and some home-grown Pennsylvania Dutch magick in this book, which might be interesting to some.

In my opinion, this book is most valuable for the quick summaries, and illustrations accompanying same, discussed above.

A book about growing up in Dublin in the 1950s.

Despite mentions of real-life people, and a deliberate effort by the author to fudge the line between fact and fiction, it is apparent that most - if not all - of it is fiction. But my main beef with it is the drawn out tedious writing.

Bottom line - there are a couple of funny stories in it, but having to wade through the rest of the book to get to them is too much like hard work.

Knut - you reviewed a different book - NOT "The Consequence"

The 2 reviews from "A Reader in the UK" and the review by a Mr Ernest Borgnine (obviously not the Hollywood actor), I suspect were written by the books author, or a close friend.

The review written by "A Reader in San Francisco" is right on the mark.

I like the book a lot, particularley the bit about the little cat. He has a bomb the furry devil. He has caused much damage becuase he likes milk too much. He is extremely dangerous in his outlook.

This is a very deceptive book prefaced as though objective it is clearly a parade down main street for the contributing writers, proclaiming their theories to be right and all opposing theories to be wrong. I would have preferred more facts.

The arguments made against archaeologists such as Gimbutas by others in this field with opposing views, work equally well when turned back upon the contributing authors of this book. A theory is a theory and speculation is speculation. Not being able to prove something makes the argument weaker and less impressive, yes, but it does not equate to error or fabrication. There is nothing in this book that disproves the theories of Gimbutas and others like her. The book merely presents opposing theories as fact and dismisses any contrary theory as fiction.

First of all - I don't agree with the view of the authors. I think that there is strong evidence for the existence for a Goddess cult in the Palaeolitic and Neolithic Europe. But I must admit that this book is effectively written and argue much better than many other authors who have attacked Gimbutas and the so called Goddess theory (cf the attacks by authors like Brian Hayden and Brian Fagan!).

The best chapters is those on historical known goddess cults (Egyptian, Mesopotamian). Here it is quite impossible to deny the evidence and this chapters make interesting reading. The chapter on Minoan Crete is also one of the best, although it is strange why it never refer to Nanno Marinatos ground-breaking work. The other prehistoric chapters are less convincing. Lynn Meskells chapter on Catalhoyok is particularly thin, and the author never seriously discuss the real evidence for a goddess cult in Catalhoyuk. Maybe she has a political agenda of her own - she cites with approval Bambergers view that the myth of matriarchy is a tool for oppressing women and that it is necessary to destroy this myth to free women from patriarchal oppression. I can't help wondering why! When se for example dismiss the must famous statue claimed to represent a goddess claiming the interpetation is "doubtful" without explaining why the interpretation is doubtful I don't think she is taking her opponents seriously. She never in detail discuss the woman figurines, instead she is using sweeping formulations, saying that nothing is proved. Of coups it isn't but there is a lot of evidence she don't want to discuss.

In Tringhams and Conkeys chapter on figurines they also state that the goddess theory is not proved. But that is besides the point. None of the theories they use as alternatives - for example the quite bizarre theory at p. 42 that the figurines functioned as sexual assaults by the oppressed women (she cites no evidence that women was oppressed) against dominating males is certainly not proved either!
Tringhams and Conkey use the method put forward by Peter J Ucko in 1964 when they argue that the majority of figurines was not even female. The essence of Uckos method is to use quite formalistic criteria to decide the gender of the figurines, that is the the presence or absence of female and male genitalia, breasts or beards. Ucko certainly missed that there indeed are other morphological differences between the sexes! In fact, I have tested about 20 people and showed them pictures of some of the figurines Peter J Ucko defined as sexless. Everyone said (without hesitation) that they considered them as female!

In Caroline Malones chapter on Malta she use Uckos methods for gendering the figurines, and she even supports Renfrews theory that Neolithic Malta was a chiefdom society comparable to the Polynesian chiefdoms. That there is no evidence for warfare at Neolithic Malta, that the Maltese culture presents no material evidence of social stratification, don't make her think about the plausibility of this theory. She argues that since chiefdoms in the ethnographic presence are patrilineal so Neolithic Malta probably was patrilienal. But the only real similarity between Malta and Polynesian chiefdoms was the erection of big stone monuments. That a population must be socially stratified and patriarchal in order to build huge monuments is a political statement in itself.... As Eleanor Leacock always pointed out, the so called ethnographic present has been formed by the existence of colonialism and other types of patriarchal influence during hundreds, if not thousand of years. It is dangerous to use ethnogrpahic analogies in such mechanical way.

Shee Twohigs chapter is quite better. She even end by implying hat even the rejection of the Goddess theory could be the result of some hidden agenda. This is undoubtedly true. What i miss in her chapter is a discussion of Gimbutas theory that the megalithic tomb plan in itself represent the Goddess body.

At page 8 Goodison and Morris notes that the archaeologists turned their backs at the Goddess theory at the same tine the feminists began taking it up. But they never reflect on why this happened. Personally I believe there could be a quite non-scientific reason for this. Before the feminists politicized the goddess theory it was more or less uncontroversial. But when it suddenly became the focus of a polarized debate the archeologists, who usually are not the most radical persons - almost immediately began to distance themselves from the theory. It is the same whith the matriarchy theory. Is it really a coincidence that the academic denial of this theory came about the same time the women got their write to vote!? When women was safely oppressed the theory of matriarchy was not dangerous at all. When they revolted it suddenly became dangerous... The Goddess theory lasted longer - at least it was "only" about religion. But when groups within the second wave of the feminist movement began to politicize women's spirituality the backlash was soon to come...

If one were to judge 19th century American and European society by images alone one might conclude that it was a more gender egalitarian society than what exists today (eg. the statue of liberty, Queen Victoria, liberty on the barracades, the statue on the top of the US capitol, etc.). Lucy Goodison and other contributors start from the premise that we don't know what we don't know. True believers, of course, will have no use for this kind of skepticism. While not comprehensive this book does a good job separating archeology from modern myth.

This book is biased, one-sided nonsense. If the British soldiers fired "indiscriminately" into the crowd then why were no women, children or old people killed? If you look at pictures of the crowd that day there were plenty of these present. The Paras were shot at by IRA snipers, attacked with acid bombs and incendiaries, and retaliated. Regretfully, some innocent men were killed in the crossfire. The allegation that the soldiers were a bunch of psychos who randomly shot at an unarmed peaceful demonstration is a lie.

I have never read such a one sided account of a regretable incident in Northern Ireland's history. All the fact's from both sides have not come out and until that happens we will not the truth. I laugh at people from other countries who think that they know everything about the troubles in (NI)unless you have lived here you don't know what it's like.

Although I found most of this book exciting and insightful to read towards the end it started getting repiticious. Most of the people had the around the same thing to say, so after the 250th page I had known all I needed to know basically. There was new information in some letters, but for the most part they had the same thing to say. It was very helpful in fully understanding Bloody Sunday and so that is why I have to give it 4 stars.

Save this book for a very long plane ride going nowhere. Its---Ok. Yeah, Mr. Hitt is very detailed about his pilgrim's progress, yeah, he doesn't tell us why exactly he is a pilgrim---thats good---but.....I just was not impressed with this book. It wasn't a life changer. Was this journey a life changer for the author? If you are looking for a read that gives you----something----an insight, a little education, a little relief from boredom....look elsewhere. Its not entirely too clear to me why this book was written in the first place. Its as rambling as the many pilgrim roads his feet trod upon. Read it if you're a relative or a friend, but my advice would be to skip and reexamine Canterbury Tales.....again......

Having just completed the Road to Santiago myself, reading Jack's book again was refreshing and helped me recollect a lot of what I saw. He does a great job describing the life and mind of a pilgrim and the history of the road. I would reccommend this book for people interested in walking the ancient road and for those who have completed it. It captures Spanish culture and history and combines it with the humor and challenges that the Camino brings.

I'm about as "religious" as Jack Hitt, but this book piqued my interest in the North of Spain, Romanesque churches and pilgrimages. Why would I do it? Well, the same reason as the author did; historical, architectural, for the connection with the past. In the Middle Ages, it seemed that pilgrimages were a great excuse to travel and there still is a culture of the pilgrim that exists on the pigrim road. When I travel to Spain I will most assuredly travel a part of the Pilgrims Road. I won't get to see as much as Jack Hitt did but I hope I will see enough to recall his ironic humor. When my daughters are old enough I hope to travel the road with them, as pilgrims.

We are knee-deep in genealogical research including location of real properties bought and sold by our ancestors in Northern California as well as other States. The Washington State Atlas and Gazateer has been an invaluable resource for us in Washington since it provides a range and township system so one can zero in on an actual piece of real estate given the land description. We were very disappointed when our Northern Cal. Atlas and Gazateer arrived to find it had no such system. If one is looking only for detailed maps, this atlas and gazateer would be o.k.

Great resource for the camper and hiker. A little heavy to carry as topo maps; however, just as effective. Elevation in metric is a negative.

The Northern California DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteer is very useful if you're planning to travel on paved back roads or major dirt fire roads. But the scale of the maps, at 1:150,000, is too large to show the detail needed for certain outdoor activities. If you're mountain biking or hiking in remote terrain or on minor trails, you should get additional, smaller-scale maps for navigation and orientation.

There's an idiosyncracy that I hope DeLorme will correct in future printings: the atlas shows contours and elevations in meters. Why it does this I don't know, given that the Nevada and Colorado DeLorme atlases use feet. Because the U.S. remains committed to standard English measures rather than the metric system, presumably most users will want to work in feet and will have altimeters and global positioning devices set to the English system. It's irritating to have to convert to meters when using the atlas.

These comments pertain to the fifth edition, second printing (2000), of the atlas. It's been updated regularly in the past, so my observations may become obsolete.

The writing is fairly pedestrian and the author fails to really capture the reader. The book deals more with the number of times the two characters got together than with the politics of N. Ireland.

Even thought the writer is a former SAS soldier, he reports one atrocity of the British in Northern Ireland but fails to truely acknowledge the discrimination or convey the deep divisions found here.

I have to honestly admit, I've gone back and forth trying to decide whether or not this book is on the level. The premise is incredible-an SAS trooper and an IRA member falling in love. As I've thought over all the information in this book, it does seem plausible to me that it's the real deal. As an SAS trooper, Graham is incredibly sympathetic to the Irish. But, at the same time, he pulls no punches when describing the methodology of the IRA. At the same time, the information I've found on Mairead Farrell isn't contradicted by his novel, and given the amount of information the IRA puts on the web, there would definitely be some rebuttle if Graham was full of it. Graham gives a pained account of the Gibraltar incident-which gives the book more credence. An SAS trooper simply toeing the line (i.e. writing propagnda) wouldn't have cast doubt on the integrity of that operation.

So. What do we have? Probably the most intense pair of star crossed lovers since Romeo and Juliet. Also, we have a small slice of the war between the Brits and the IRA.

Personally, I haven't read anything this powerful in God knows how long. (If you suspend disbelief). I recommend this to everyone.

This is one of the most sad and unusual love storys I have ever read. For an SAS soldier to fall madly in love with an IRA killer is so unlikely but here is the true story of such an event. It not only divulges the love story but also gives great detail of bombings and shootings that took place in Northern Ireland in the 70's and 80's. I just wish there could have been a follow up to the story but that was not to be...... to find out why you'll have to read the book and I guarantee you, you wont be disappointed.

I used to like Catherine's books a long time ago. That was before I met Woodiwiss, Lindsey(of old), Garwood, and McNaught. I recently read this book and wondered what I ever saw in her writing. The female has a very fluent air in her speech while her men talk as if they just learned a new language. It is stunted reading in the dialogue. This particular story had great potential, but it went sour after the third or fourth chapter. I don't know of any reader who enjoys the heroine being forced time after time to have intimacies, and be expected to forgive the hero, if he can be called that. The writing is a 1, but the story line that had potential is a 2. It wasn't until recently that I realized that Coulter uses a lot of violence to get her heroines under control of the male or rather to show the males dominance. Unsatisfying and bitter.

This book is yet another enjoyable read. It's not as bad as others may think. Just like many novels, the hero (Lord Rolik) despises the heroine (Mirana) at the beginning but he unknowingly changes as the story goes. I was surprised by twists and turns til the very last pages. The secondary characters especially Entti add a lot of colors to the story. There are so many laughters. I like when Hormuze decides to dye Sira's silver-blonde hair with black color. A novel is a novel so don't think too much about reasonability and reality just enjoy it. Catherine Coulter will never disappoint you.

It begins with Rorik, a Viking warrior bent on revenge who comes to Clontarf in search of his enemy Einar. He intends to kill Einar but since he is not there, kidnaps Einar's half-sister, Mirana, instead.
From the moment she comes to Hawkfell Island nothing will be the same again.
Mirana is a strong and intelligent woman, who fights with as much strength and cunning as a man. She is also courageous and proud-to a fault. She does not hesitate to defy Rorik and vows to escape but at the same time finds herself befriending the women of Hawkfell Island and learning why Rorik is filled with such hostility.
Rorik can be stubborn and cruel but he IS a man after all. A man who has lived with pain and hatred and takes it out on Mirana. He is not evil but a strong and naturally good man. When he meets Mirana he discovers that life is not lived if lived in hatred.
Lord Of Hawkfell Island is a wonderfully written novel. Written with enough character description and feeling! To me she conveys enough emotion and life into this novel as to make it captivating. The plot is full of surprises and even a little suspense. She is one of my favorite authors and this is one of her books that I would highly recommend.
Catherine Coulter knows how to write romance, she is one of the best, Period.