Highly recommended to any twentysomething out there who's in that post-college state of confusion and wondering. Imagaine Holden Caulfield graduates college and gets a girl. Our narrator finds himself surrounded by a circle of college friends that do nothing less than contribute to his fears and doubts. An excellent read, although I'm convinced the author's brainstorm was born in the 60's and not the 80's (when the story's set); a few less drug references wouldn't have hurt. Nonetheless, a well-told tale highly recommended to the college grad who hasn't quite found his or her place in the world just yet and looks back with fond memories to the college years.

"The Cromwellian Settlement of Ireland" reminds us again of how the happenings in Ireland are inter-related to those in the rest of Europe and the rest of the world. A study of history teaches us the importance of Ireland, and those of us with Irish ancestry remember it with pride. Think of Thomas Cahill's book "How the Irish Saved Civilization" and how knowledge was preserved during the Dark Ages. It is a fascinating book, and it demonstrates how Ireland became a repository of knowledge from the ancient Christian world. If we "fast forward" some years, we see that for hundreds of years Ireland's greatest export was its people. At one time, I thought that the problems began with William of Orange and the fight against Stuart forces, and continued through the Potato Famine into modern times. "The Cromwellian Settlement of Ireland" has taught me that the issue was much more complex.

One of the biggest causes of the troubles in Ireland resulted from the success of the forces of Parliament under Cromwell in the English Civil War against King Charles I. This introduces the element of Protestant versus Catholic, a theme that has continued to this day. It also introduced the problem of how to pay the victorious Parliamentary troops. How were they paid? The same way William the Conqueror paid his supporters who invaded England in 1066. To the victor go the spoils. Those who supported King Charles I were typically Catholic, whether they were English or Irish. Those who lost lands even included those who held ancient titles of nobility. The easy step was to take the property of those who supported the losing cause. However, the Protestant forces went further, taking properties of people who were politically neutral, including the property of those who were often incapable of such political support, including widows, orphans, minor children, and the like. The leaders and intellectuals of Ireland went to Connaught and to the four corners of the civilized world. The working classes stayed because then new landowners needed them. I feel that the Cromwellian settlement of Ireland was the foundation of the atmosphere of violence and hatred felt today in Ulster.

I valued this book for the information it contained. Many readers may find that it is a boring book. For those Irish of English ancestry, this book may have some genealogical value. For those Irish who want a better understanding of our history, this can provide real insight into the problems of the twentieth and twenty first centuries in Ulster.