O'Connor's account of the life and times of Michael Collins is one of the best and most interesting I have read. While it lacks the extensive reporting and annotating of Tim Pat Coogan's biography of Collins (itself a monumental and engrossing account), it brings to life a man unique in Irish history and remarkable by any standards. It succeeds in bringing out both the "hard" and "soft" sides of Collins and painting a picture of a man whose tremendous love of his country and burning desire to free it from English rule brought him to the fore during a harrowing time in Irish history. The descriptions of Collins' interaction with his comrades, his charismatic personality, his unique qualities of wit, compassion, intelligence and ruthless audacity combine to bring to life one of history's most intriguing revolutionary leaders. After reading this book you feel you know Michael Collins and you're grateful Ireland could produce him when it most needed him.

I've been frustrated for a while in trying to find a book recounting Irish tales that lives up to the weird magic of its source material. Here it is at last. The book effortlessly captures the deep Christianity and deeper magic of the best Irish stories. And the language is perfect--it's hard to believe this book is less than ten years old. It might be pushing a thousand. And yet it's as readable as a bedtime story. If you liked the Tain, you'll like this. If you liked Froud's Fairies, you'll like this. If--like me--you liked both, you'll be in heaven.

Of the several biographies I have read of the life of Michael Collins, this one does not stand up. Frought with inaccuracies as to dates, as well as circumstances, O'Connor replaces research with recollection and opinion. There are several other great biographies of this most important Irish figure. Avoid this one.

When I got the book I thought it would be more on Michael Collins . Despite this I thought it was a good book that help put into to prespective the events and people around him.

O'Connor's title suggests that this book is strictly a biography of Michael Collins focused on the years 1912 through 1922. In actuality, it covers a wide range of people and events and I cannot recommend it strictly as a Collins biography. However, as a history book that happens to have an emphasis on Collins, particularly in the latter part, I can recommend it. O'Connor has relied on materials from the library of General Richard Mulcahy (the IRA's chief of staff in Collins' time) and on interviews with Eamon de Valera, et al. For those reasons alone, I believe it is worth at least a cursory glance. Because of O'Connor's interest in and work for the Abbey Theatre, this book does emphasize literature and the arts in terms of how they fueled the independence movement. For someone interested in humanities as well as history, this would be one of O'Connor's advantages. This selection is divided only into numbered chapters rather than parts and that can be a bit irritating at times, especially because this is not a traditional biography. Chapter One actually begins by discussing Charles Stewart Parnell and the untimely end of his career. From there, the reader is taken quickly through the Irish political climate from the late 1800s to 1912. It is not until the last third of the book that the audience learns of specific ways Collins kept the republican struggle afloat in tough times. Therefore, this book's usefulness can only be determined by what you intend to use it for. If you are trying to accumulate materials for a general study of modern Irish history, this book is worth owning. If you are looking for a typical Collins biography, this wouldn't be the best starting point.