Biting at the Grave: The Irish Hunger Strikes and the Politics of Despair

Rating:
Summary: Dated Venom
Review: Biting at the Grave, now justly forgotten, was intended to revile the ten IRA hunger-strikers whose deaths were creating trouble for Thatcher. O'Malley doesn't do a particularly good job of it; the same sort of slander was being done much better by Paul Johnson. O'Malley--whose absurdly Irished-up name is intended to wrap the green vowels 'round his obvious loathing for all things Irish--is only a servile, native auxiliary.

Irish Uncle Toms have never been difficult to find, and for obvious reasons they have no difficulty finding publishers. But even in their grimy company, this would-be author (who's never produced another book, having expended all his venom on this one) stands out as a perfect metonymy for the cruelty, self-serving, and above all the sheer stupidity of the rightwing pseuds of the Reagan/Thatcher era.

Rating:
Summary: Good factually but unfortunate ideologically
Review: I know that we should not all agree on things in this world, but I feel that the thoughtfulness the author put into the facts in this book did not match the level of understanding of the striker's motivations. That the authour would refer to Bobby Sands' death as feeding into and becoming part of the historical myths and lies of Ireland is completely bizarre to me. Has he not read Irish History? Or has he (like so many unfortunate people who were educated in the Republic) simply learned the revisionist history? The brave men who faced death and an unyielding, stone-hearted prime minister (Thatcher) did not do so lightly or misguidedly. While it was horrible that they died, it did not have to happen. Thatcher made a calculated risk and determined that these men's lives were not worth some simple concessions that would accord the prisoners the status they deserved. This book is definitely not for the uninformed reader. You should have a working knowledge of both revisionist tendencies in history and the "Green" historical ideas. It is probably useful as a condensed reporting of the hunger strikes and a brief rundown of Irish History, but keep an open eye for definite revisionist tendencies. A much better book is "Ten Men Dead" by David Beresford.

Rating:
Summary: The best of its kind
Review: I must say I completely disagree with the above reviewers. This book is both comprehensive and detailed. It looks at the hunger strikers in teh context of their culture, their country and their cause. It doesn't have nearly as much of the "oh pity me I went on hunger strike" sentiment that many of the books on the subject, but is far from reviling the strikers. In my own opinion the last thing that Bobby Sands would want is our pity, he would want us to learn something from his efforts and to look at it with a clear eye..something which I think Paidrig does well. It is by far not objective, but objectivity is neither poissible or preferable in my opinion, we all have a lens. I read this in my Irish Studies program at The Evergreen State College and it was one of the best reads ever. It has it's flaws, like all books but I think that for such a sensationalized and under-written subject it is the best available!

Rating:
Summary: The best of its kind
Review: I must say I completely disagree with the above reviewers. This book is both comprehensive and detailed. It looks at the hunger strikers in teh context of their culture, their country and their cause. It doesn't have nearly as much of the "oh pity me I went on hunger strike" sentiment that many of the books on the subject, but is far from reviling the strikers. In my own opinion the last thing that Bobby Sands would want is our pity, he would want us to learn something from his efforts and to look at it with a clear eye..something which I think Paidrig does well. It is by far not objective, but objectivity is neither poissible or preferable in my opinion, we all have a lens. I read this in my Irish Studies program at The Evergreen State College and it was one of the best reads ever. It has it's flaws, like all books but I think that for such a sensationalized and under-written subject it is the best available!