I purchased this book while on vacation in Ireland. I had never read anything by him but the quick description on the back made me laugh so....thought I'd give it a try. I'm happy to report that the laughter did not stop there. This was a wonderful, entertaining book. I found myself smiling throughout and constantly reading passages aloud to friends. I can't wait to read more by him !

O'Connor is at his best here -- one of those few books that make you laugh out loud. He also hits the nail on the head with the Irish male psyche -- I understand my Belfast-bred husband so much better now.

I picked up a copy of this in Dublin to read on the long ferry/bus back to London. I bought it for the cover and title (he's upside down) and fell in love with the prose. Funny, hip, sarcastic, deep, shallow, and drunk... Joe does it all. Much better than his travels in America book, this one is continualy stolen by my friends... A wonderful wonderful book Reminds me of "Sex Tips for Girls" and "Good Omens" w/o the fiction angle.

Honestly, I picked up Joseph O'Connor's 'Sweet Liberty' from Amazon because I wanted to see what kind of social commentary could possibly be written by someone with the dubious distinction of being Miss Sinead O'Connor's brother. I was ready for anything, but not the side-splitting, absolute laughter and insight with which this man looks at Irish history and the uniquely American version(s) of it. This book is better, in my opinion FAR better, than 'Angela's Ashes.' O'Connor writes with all the wit McCourt can summon and manages to be uplifting instead of depressing. I swear, there's a fabulous insight and a good laugh on every page. O'Connor writes with a style that combines intelligence and ease, as if you were having a nice long chat with your best friend and actually talking about something INTERESTING, for a change! I don't know where to begin in describing the book's best parts; there are so many of them. O'Connors recollections of his first childhood 'French Kiss' by a girl named Judy are hilarious. His stint in a Massachusetts hotel dining room next to a couple of arguing California lesbians had me nearly falling out of my chair. His journeys to the various 'Dublin' towns of the USA are each magical in their own way, and utterly bizarre. O'Connor introduces us to a number of VIPs from Irish/American history, too...and each account makes for riveting reading because O'Connor cloaks their various stories in his own lovably irreverent wit. That's the best part of this great, great read: O'Connor's commentary is laced with sharp humor but tempered with an undercurrent of genuine affection for humanity and the places he has visited. His writing is very moving at times, whether he's describing the madcap adventures when his father flies over to meet him in New York on the Concorde, or when he's recalling his two sisters and their constant car-sickness on childhood family vacations (Sinead...we never knew ye had such a weak tummy!). O'Connor sees America and does it all and laughs "with" us in the most engaging, irresistible way. You'll pee your pants. Buy this book and I guarantee you'll be up til' 2AM reading about this man's splendid adventures.

Joseph O'Connor is a gifted writer whose travelogue brought me to several bouts of uncontrollable laughter. The stories in this book contain a wonderful mix of dry wit and outrageous hyperbole, and O'Connor manages to weave in a bit of Irish-American history as well.

As it happens, laughing out loud _is_ the only exercise I get (aside from running late for work), so I'm glad I took Roddy Doyle's advice and read this book. I'm sure you'll enjoy it, too.

A clue to how Irish I am can be found in the fact that, sitting down to write this, I thought this book topical as St. Patrick's Day was "coming up". The Valentine's Day decorations aren't yet out of the stores, so that may seem a little extreme. The fact that I did not set foot in Ireland until I was 22 does not seem to have significantly weakened this attachment to the country. So I am just the sort of Irish-American yahoo that prompted Joseph O'Connor to write this hilariously scathing look at the American landscape. "Sweet Liberty: Travels in Irish America" is Joe O'Connor's opportunity to satisfy a life-long curiosity. Having seen American's cartoon-view of Ireland from St. Patrick's Day parades in Dublin, he took his cartoon-view of America (from westerns and visiting tourists) and decided to investigate it. Not surprisingly, what he found was even funnier than what he thought he would find.

"Sweet Liberty" follows O'Connor as he sets off to see the 9 towns named Dublin in the US, along with some classically American (and Irish-American) landmarks - New York, Graceland, the Grand Canyon and others. The Dublins tend to be non-extraordinary rural outposts with little or no knowledge of their own history. But O'Connor turns his encounters in these towns into rolicking tales - poking fun at himself, at those he meets, at the towns, his hotels, the roads, whatever. O'Connor is funny in a way stand-ups can't be, because his humor is not at all mean-spirited. Even while he is "slagging" someone or something, you can hear the affection for it underneath.

Roddy Doyle, author of "The Commitments" and "Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha" (and object of O'Connor's professional jealousy), said of O'Connor that he is the man to read, "if laughing out loud is the only exercise you get." I thought he was kidding. Or at least exaggerating. But halfway through the preface, my slides were splitting. By the end of the first chapter, I was doubled over in laughter. Joe O'Connor has a brilliant dry wit and mercilessly accurate descriptions of characters - of both people and places. Having lived in Boston, I was almost brought tears, I laughed so hard at his antics there.

Clearly the more familiar you are with any given area he is describing, the funnier "Sweet Liberty" may seem. But if you are inclined to a sense of humor about any of America's geographic icons, you will find this Irishman's perspective entertaining and engrossing. If you are rather more inclined to an academic look at Irish-America, you are better off with Thomas O'Connor's "The Boston Irish" or Noel Ignatiev's "How the Irish Became White". After all, some of the Dublins weren't even named for the town in Ireland.

"Canonized in 1999, Champagnat was an early member and priest of the Society of Mary and founder of its Little Brothers (the Institute of the Marist Brothers). Author Sammon is the Vicar General of the Marist Brothers and he presents in an easy-to-read manner the difficult times and life of St. Marcellin Champagnat. Born during the Revolution in France, he lived only fifty-one years. In the seminary, he was part of a group "made up of seminarians who were a familiar sight in the taverns of the town." Sammon writes for the modern temperment that needs to know the warts along with the shining myth. The heresy of Jansenism, a moral theology for the elect, influenced Marcellin's study for awhile. He began teaching and "by February 1822 the Institute was made up of ten brothers." There is the miracle in the snow, a serious illness from which he recovers, persistent financial problems for the schools, and an environment of increasing bitter anti-religious sentiment during the revolution in France. Simplicity and humility were Champagnat's outstanding virtues. This is the tale of a man growing past his problems to sainthood. Sammon writes with that same simplicity and humility, and with a fine erudition that moves comfortably from prayer to revolution, from submissiveness to the cry for social justice. Illuminating."

Sean Sammon's short biography of St. Marcellin Champagnat is definitely worth reading for anyone who is interested in the life of the Catholic Church and the people they call "Saints".

Sammon is able to describe, in a very uncomplicated way, the historical, sociological and theological background of this man who was born the same year as the French Revolution. Marcellin Champagnat started his life with little education, and through hard work, eventually studied and became a priest and founder of an international Congregation of Roman Catholic teaching Brothers, the Marist Brothers of the Schools.

The book details the life of this very down to earth man. Champagnat was a priest who sometimes defied the stereotypes of priesthood of his day, even to the point of actually building the houses his Brothers would live in. He had an undying love for young people and strove to do all that he could for them, and to lead them to know and love God. The book describes the difficulties St. Marcellin had along the way, and how he overcame them all with determination, prayer, and hard work.

Sammon's treatment of him goes beyond what many biographies present. He not only describes his life and mission, but delves into the psychological motivations that moved him. What emerges is a clear and informative life of a saint who is a very real person, not just a plaster image of what a saint should be! I highly recommend this book.

In contrast to Pope John Paul II's "theology of body", Cardinal O'connor presents a much simpler, yet as elegant collection of pastoral essays on the true meaning and practices of love and marriage. The books aims at the restoration of Divine Mystery in the avenue of life called "Covenant", which most of our contemporary society has ceased to believe in. A perfect blend of inspired Wisdom and everyday experiences- this is a must read for Christian of all vocations.

The editors colloborated so well on ways to teach a very important lesson -- the Holocaust. I would reccommend this book to any educator and even any parent!

Well worth the wait. This edition is the best of the Oggi in Italia texts. In the later editions, Merlonghi changes the format to some extent, making the book less attractive and the exercises less enjoyable. In Oggi in Italia, the author puts together everything you ever need to know about reading and speaking italian. It contains dialogues at very realistic and helpful places, such as il mercato, l'aeroporto, e l'universita, and takes you through all tenses and voices of grammar -- even passato romoto, the historical past used in writing. A must for anyone going to the best country in the world or anyone else interested in learning the language.

I know understand myself, and others more than before. If you think this is some book that will help you control people's minds, this isn't what you are looking for. This will help you understand the sub-concious subtleties that everyone has. It also helps you to excersise your brain power to acheive excellence.

Of the many books published on Neuro-Linguistic Programming, this version tops the list. I say that because it does such an effective job of simplifying a complex set of processes and helps the reader understand its applications. Bandler and Grinder's earlier publications brought the concept to life; O'Connor and Seymour make it far more usable.

I do very highly recommend this book. It is enjoyable to read - considerably moreso than other books of it's kind. From this book you will get a very good background in the field. I believe this book serves much better for background information than to give you a set of techniques... if you want to learn techniques --- DO IT AT A SEMINAR --- nevertheless it is very useful to learn them ahead of time.
This book is a good precursor to The Structure of Magic and Patterns of the Hypnotic Techniques of Milton H. Erickson, M.D. both by Richard Bandler and John Grinder -- which go much more indepth into the linguistic portions of the NLP model.

Like Ardal O'Hanlon's The Talk of the Town, this Irish coming of ager features a flawed protagonist who has uncomfortably settled in the big city (here London), and is struggling to make his way (here as a musician), and is involved in a serious relationship beyond his ability to handle. Unlike in O'Hanlon's book, the reader here can find enough good in Eddie Virago to root for him at least part of the time as he makes his way toward adulthood. Perhaps the best aspect of the novel is the bevy of believable and interesting characters involved in the story, from his Asian landlord Mr. Patel, to American best friend Dean Bean, to various bandmates and scheming pseudo-manager. It's a good read, and as in real life, self-centered Eddie's realizations often arrive too late to do any good.

I was given this book in 1993 and continue to read it on a regular basis 6 years later. Joseph O'Connor continues to be not just my favorite Irish author, but my FAVORITE, period.

A very visual book, especially if you grew up with the London punk scene. The characters are vibrantly real and though not very likeable, you find yourself sympathising with them all the way! A very enjoyable book.

This is an excellent introduction to the basics of telecommunications but is somewhat out of date in covering the newer technologies such as DSL. It is more suited towards the introductory or towards someone who is involved with aquiring telecom products and services instead of someone who is in the telecom industry.

This is probably the easiest Telecom book I have gotten my hands on. It is coincise and easy to follow. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about what Telecom is and the infrastructure involved.

This is a great book for getting up to speed on Telecommunications. I also understand that a new version will be coming out later this year.

After capturing relationships in a truly beautiful way, O'Connor had to go and spoil everything by going all Tarantino. What could have been a truly great book sacrificied to fashion.

Tautly written, with the kind of wry, dark humor that brings you just to edge of acceptance and never lets you go. This is a smashing work, and one of the best "Irish novels" I've read in awhile. Highly recommended. (By the way, does everyone know that the author, Joseph O'Connor, is none other than the brother of the famous Sinead O'Connor Herself! )

This author is new for me. I found it to be a marvelous tale, keeping the people interesting, the places fascinating and the intrigue excellent.

One of the few Irish tellings not wallowing in self-pity, the "salesman" regales us with his life, his loves, and his hates (which turn out to not be so far from his loves). I enjoyed the meter of past memories and current events as they unfold, twisting in and around the central desire on the part of the "salesman" for retribution against one of the perpetrators who hospitalize his yougest daughter. Even that turns out differently than he plans.

Truly a great story!