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Incineration of electronic waste on the biggest electronic scrap yard of Africa in Accra
Book review: The toxic truth behind the West’s deluded recycling myth
'Waste Wars' is a book that will make you angry because you believe that once you empty your bins and return your plastic bottle, that you have played your part in saving the world

Fri, 14 Mar, 2025

Ali Smith
Book review: Reflections on the silver screen
There are 14 essays in this slight collection, edited by Adrian Duncan, Niamh Dunphy, and Nathan O’Donnell, a welcome annual literary addition a la 'Winter Papers'

Sat, 08 Mar, 2025

Book review: The business of pop music — as much who you know as what you know
Book review: The business of pop music — as much who you know as what you know
Drawing from secondary sources only, the author does well to remind us of the importance of solid, coherent management in an industry known for its flakiness and impatience

Sat, 08 Mar, 2025

Exhibition to celebrate legacy and values of JFK
Book review: The Kennedy plot that you may not know
The JFK Conspiracy is about a little publicised assassination attempt in the weeks between the voting day, November 8, 1960, and the inauguration on January 20, 1961.

Sat, 08 Mar, 2025

"Whitey:United States Of America V. James J. Bulger" New York Premiere - Arrivals And Q & A
Book review: A literary artifact to be celebrated
Gay Talese was an inveterate chronicler of the New York city and all who sailed in her for more than half a century

Sat, 22 Feb, 2025

Book review: Remembering the GAA members killed during the Troubles
Book review: Remembering the GAA members killed during the Troubles
The 1970s were statistically the worst times of the Troubles. There were 2,096 killings between 1970 and 1979, and 68 of these were members of the GAA

Sat, 08 Feb, 2025

Book review: ‘I looked on it as an adventure, I’d never been anywhere’
Book review: ‘I looked on it as an adventure, I’d never been anywhere’
The British National Health Service carried out a targeted recruitment process throughout Ireland for nurses which began in the 1940s

Fri, 07 Feb, 2025

Book review: Killing of a black boy whitewashed
Book review: Killing of a black boy whitewashed
'The Barn' is a glimpse of a nation’s troubled past that offers insight in to the tortured present, and makes you worry about the bleak future

Sat, 25 Jan, 2025

Book review: A portrait of a man of great lusts and many contradictions
Book review: A portrait of a man of great lusts and many contradictions
Adrian Frazier’s biography is overly earnest and not always well written but it’s a reservoir of information about the John Montague’s long and eventful life

Fri, 24 Jan, 2025

Book review: Neutral account of Spanish Armada delivered with flow of good storyteller
Book review: Neutral account of Spanish Armada delivered with flow of good storyteller
Michael B Barry reminds us that there was more than a hint of good fortune about how the events of the Spanish Armada unfolded in favour of the English

Sat, 18 Jan, 2025

Book review: Tayto’s history is more than a matter of taste
Book review: Tayto’s history is more than a matter of taste
Bobby Aherne’s affectionate, eye-opening 'The Story of Tayto' charts the vibrant history of one of Ireland's hallowed institutions

Sat, 18 Jan, 2025

Book review: Giving recognition to IRA leader and politician Moylan
Book review: Giving recognition to IRA leader and politician Moylan
Eamonn Duggan has delivered an excellent synopsis of Sean Moylan’s life, especially of the active years of 1918 to 1923

Fri, 17 Jan, 2025

Book review: Keeping tabs on propaganda
Book review: Keeping tabs on propaganda
Claud Cockburn built his reputation by encouraging readers to be far less trusting of the official version of their reality

Sat, 11 Jan, 2025

Ronald Blythe
Book review: Centenarian Blythe lived a colourful life with rural values at its heart
Author Ian Collins takes a leisurely approach in this beautifully produced book; chapters are short — often only five or six pages, and tightly focused

Sat, 11 Jan, 2025

Temple of Dendur, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, New York, USA
Book review: A taste will leave you wanting more
Nate DiMeo has pieced together a fine collection of historical exotica on air and between the covers of 'The Memory Palace'

Sat, 04 Jan, 2025

Book review: Ambitious but uncertain volume lacks insight into a significant talent
Book review: Ambitious but uncertain volume lacks insight into a significant talent
While 'A Life in Music' is a fine reference book, Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin’s work deserves more than mere hagiography

Sat, 04 Jan, 2025

Bust Of Mangan
Famine, music, language: 2024 choices show plenty of variety
Diarmuid O’Donovan shares his top reads of the year

Sun, 15 Dec, 2024

Book review: Cyclical tragedies foisted on stressed communities by gangs of men
Book review: Cyclical tragedies foisted on stressed communities by gangs of men
'Web of Betrayal's power comes from bringing myriad strands of Ireland’s underworld together

Sat, 07 Dec, 2024

Book review: Breaking the news: The sordid and legendary days of the ‘New York Post’
Book review: Breaking the news: The sordid and legendary days of the ‘New York Post’
'Paper of Wreckage' is an entertaining, fast-paced, and hilarious read — like the 'New York Post' in its heyday

Sat, 30 Nov, 2024

Book extract: A freezing cold splash to clear the mind and forge new bonds
Book extract: A freezing cold splash to clear the mind and forge new bonds
What started off as a meet up for a swim in the sea went on to help men cope with their mental health and their life struggles

Fri, 29 Nov, 2024

Donald Trump Angela Merkel
Regrets, feminism, and Trump’s ‘fascination’ with Putin: key takeaways from Merkel’s memoir 
The former German chancellor’s book Freedom gives insights on Brexit and her East German upbringing

Tue, 26 Nov, 2024

Book review: Rainbow coalition did much to shape modern Ireland
Book review: Rainbow coalition did much to shape modern Ireland
That government’s press secretary, Shane Kenny, has produced an enthralling account of the intensity of being inside the rainbow

Sat, 23 Nov, 2024

Book review: Creedon’s childhood set him up well to become Ireland’s most charming man
Book review: Creedon’s childhood set him up well to become Ireland’s most charming man
'This Boy's Heart' is so filled with joy, happiness, and almost relentless wonder that a reader will inevitably wonder if John Creedon wore rose-tinted glasses as he wrote

Sat, 16 Nov, 2024

Book review: Optimism ultimately crushed by the weight of trying to get things done
Book review: Optimism ultimately crushed by the weight of trying to get things done
There are light-hearted moments in 'Running From Office' but the overwhelming emotion deriving from this book is one of dejection

Fri, 15 Nov, 2024

Book review: Exuding a warmth for natural world
Book review: Exuding a warmth for natural world
This book manages to balance an individual’s relentless curiosity while highlighting our increasingly destructive and suicidal relationship with nature

Sat, 09 Nov, 2024

"Amazing Grace" Press Conference - 69th Berlinale International Film Festival
Book review: Finding the right tune to chronicle music history in modern society
Weighing in at over 800 pages and forensically researched, 'And the Roots of Rhythm Remain' is an imposing history of music in modern global society

Sat, 09 Nov, 2024

Book review: The grass really is greener — one man’s tribute to a native Irish rainforest
Book review: The grass really is greener — one man’s tribute to a native Irish rainforest
An easy read, divided into six sections: water, light, space, time, connection, and rebirth

Sun, 03 Nov, 2024

Pitchfork Music Festival - Day 2
Book review: Exploring the mythology of MF Doom
With Doom, the mythology seems as important as the music

Sun, 03 Nov, 2024

Poetry review: Paul Durcan at his poetic crescendo
Poetry review: Paul Durcan at his poetic crescendo
Durcan has helped to change our perception of what a poem ought to be. He’s a poet who makes it his business to chip away at the edifice of his own craft

Sat, 26 Oct, 2024

Rachel Maddow Visits "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon"
Book review: Maddow reminds US that those who don’t learn from the past, repeat it
The American public were largely kept in the dark about the domestic threat to democracy during the 1930s and ’40s

Sat, 26 Oct, 2024

Book review: Despair and confusion in confinement
Book review: Despair and confusion in confinement
'You Will Die In Prison' is Bernard Phelan’s gripping, unvarnished account of his 222 days as a state hostage in Iran

Sat, 26 Oct, 2024

Book review: Ireland’s many changes to the modern age
Book review: Ireland’s many changes to the modern age
Diarmaid Ferriter's latest book spans a 25-year period when Ireland was transformed, not just economically, but socially and politically as well

Sat, 12 Oct, 2024

Poetry review: Worthy journey despite crashes
Poetry review: Worthy journey despite crashes
Right across this collection McLoghlin reveals himself to be a master conductor of our emotions, keeping us by turns heartbroken, enraged, entranced

Sat, 12 Oct, 2024

Book review: True tales of the great escapes
Book review: True tales of the great escapes
'Jailbreak' is a book of great stories of defiance of authority and dedication to escaping

Sat, 05 Oct, 2024

Book review: All of the news that’s fit to print and a lot more that definitely isn’t
Book review: All of the news that’s fit to print and a lot more that definitely isn’t
'The Newsmongers' is a thoroughly researched and well-crafted history of tabloid journalism from the 16th century right through to the click-bait journalism of our own era

Fri, 04 Oct, 2024

Ian Bailey death
Book review: When murder doesn’t out
Senan Molony makes a very strong case as to why he believes that Ian Bailey committed the murder in 'Sophie' â€”  an enjoyable and punchy read.

Sat, 28 Sep, 2024

Leaving the Church
Book review: How socialite Harriman married well: Again, and again, and yet again
Sonia Purnell has given us a page turner that matches her subject in verve and ambition in 'Kingmaker'

Sat, 28 Sep, 2024

Book review: The twisting path to life of a writer
Book review: The twisting path to life of a writer
Cónal Creedon's 'Spaghetti Bowl' gives the reader a view of how Cork culture is changing, and yet remains the same

Sat, 21 Sep, 2024

Anne Applebaum
Book review: Stark, shuddering story of polarised world should be a wake-up call
The sense of deepening threat and myriad charges of complicity and naivety levelled at liberal democracies likes ours are profoundly disturbing

Fri, 13 Sep, 2024

Book review: Unlocking the door to repressed sexuality to find a true happy ending
Book review: Unlocking the door to repressed sexuality to find a true happy ending
In 'Love Me!' Marianne Power is more interesting when she is searching rather than after finding her happy ending

Sat, 07 Sep, 2024

Beginner’s pluck: 'Gaeilge i mo Chroí' YouTuber Molly Nic Céile
Beginner’s pluck: 'Gaeilge i mo Chroí' YouTuber Molly Nic Céile
This instructive, easy to follow, and fun book helps people to connect with Irish, and find a new pride in the language.

Sat, 07 Sep, 2024

Book review: Engaging tales of Irish in Russia
Book review: Engaging tales of Irish in Russia
'Anarchy and Authority' is a very fine publication, one of those welcome jewels that stirs curiosity and admiration on nearly every page

Sat, 31 Aug, 2024

Book review: Resisting nazi occupation: How over 50 Irish fought back Paris oppression
Book review: Resisting nazi occupation: How over 50 Irish fought back Paris oppression
'The Irish in the Resistance' is an important book that reclaims the vital yet forgotten history of the Irish who defied the Nazi occupation of Europe

Sat, 31 Aug, 2024

Book review: Clifford is unflinching in his takedown of Garda procedure
Book review: Clifford is unflinching in his takedown of Garda procedure
This is a marvellous account of narrative political and social history, which tells us much about the murder of Una Lynskey and its investigation, the Ireland in which it took place, and those who policed it

Fri, 30 Aug, 2024

Alexei Navalny
Book review: Warnings on Putin ignored at our peril
This book is also a get-real warning to those who think support for Ukraine is optional and a warning about the dire consequences of a second Trump presidency

Sat, 24 Aug, 2024

Bust Of Mangan
Book review: The life of poet James Clarence Mangan
In 'Finding Mangan' Bridget Hourican has addressed the decline of interest in Mangan and the leading role he played in germinating the seeds of our future nationalism in the darkest days of the 19th century

Sat, 24 Aug, 2024

A U.S. SOLDIER WATCHES A STATUE OF PRESIDENT SADDAM HUSSEIN FALL IN CENTRAL BAGHDAD
Book review: Fisk’s sobering view of the Middle East bites with truth
'Night of Power' lays bare, with a cynical tone, the events that have transpired in the Middle East and how the West’s lengthy oppression of the Muslim world influenced the instability and atrocities there

Fri, 23 Aug, 2024

Stardust nightclub fire inquest
Book review: A four-decade fight for justice for 48 victims
The Last Disco cannot be read without feeling tremendous admiration for the families who fought for the reputation of their loved ones

Sat, 17 Aug, 2024

MEXICO-ITALY-LITERATURE-MAGRIS
Book review: Dreams and the stories we tell 
There are plenty who will tell you how to write a book but nobody can dream it on your behalf, writes Karl Whitney

Fri, 16 Aug, 2024

Book review: Raising a glass to a vanishing tradition
Book review: Raising a glass to a vanishing tradition
Maurice Gorham's brief, impressionistic, sketches of London pub life overflow with vivid depictions of a largely vanished city

Sat, 10 Aug, 2024

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