T. Ryle Dwyer's joint biography on Michael Collins and Eamon De Valera is a striking comparison and contrast of the two most important figures in twentieth-century Irish history. Dwyer's examination of the influence of Collins and De Valera on the events leading to the recognition of the Irish Free State, and subsequently the Irish Republic, highlights the dramatically different leadership styles, personalities, and crisis strategies of the Big Fellow and Long Fellow.
This book is well researched, well written, and well organized. Many joint biographies fail in their efforts to flawlessly intertwine the lives of two radically different individuals. Dwyer moves back and forth from Collins to De Valera with skill and grace, and in a manner that demarcates their differences clearly to the reader. Dwyer's work also gives ample background of Irish and global events that led to the treaty with Britain, providing a context for readers unfamiliar with Irish history.
The chapters on the early childhood of both De Valera and Collins are particularly well researched and effectively presented. Dwyer draws lines between several influential childhood events and the leadership style and personality that both leaders assumed later in life. Additionally, Dwyer's examination of Collins' role in the partitioning of Northern Ireland is exceptional. Overall, this book serves as a definitive study of the two most prominent figures in modern Irish history.

An informative and interesting account of the lives and times of the two most famous leaders of the Irish fight for independence from Britain. While not as detailed or as exhaustively researched as other books on the two men, it is of particular interest because it presents them together and explores the contrasts between them which ultimately led to their split and the devastating civil war in Ireland, which was more tragic by far than the war against Britain. The theory of the book is that the difference in the background and upbringing of the two accounts for the eventual animosity between them--DeValera, the cold, reserved, patriotic and manipulative product of a dislocated and not very secure childhood, and Collins, the much-loved youngest child in a large, cohesive family, whose volatile, intelligent, charismatic personality created both enemies and almost fanatically loyal adherents. The contrasts are engrossing and illuminating, and the book is well worth reading to understand the dynamics behind the Irish War of Independence.

Picking this up by cahnce I was surprised by the details T. Ryle Dwyer went into. Such intimate looks into the personality's and the main hops, skips and jumps that went along with these two great men's lives. Highly enjoyable and hard to leave at home! Easy to read and sometimes fairly amusing.

Dwyer tackles his Collins biography by focusing on Michael's roles as a military man and a politico. As a matter of fact, Dwyer's opening chapter addresses the speech from which his subtitle was taken: Arthur Griffith's proclamation in the Irish Dáil that Collins was "the man who won the war." From there, Dwyer explores Collins' part in the Easter Rising, his productive time in jail, and his reintroduction to the republican movement in Dublin. The core of the book is dedicated to how Collins dismantled the system of British counter-intelligence in Ireland and the subsequent retalliation, Bloody Sunday. The last thirty pages examine Collins' duty in negotiating and then defending the Anglo-Irish Treaty. Collins' assassination and the aftermath of his death are not discussed. In the epilogue, Dwyer takes a moment to reassess Collins' awe-inspiring contributions to Irish independence and the sad conflict that developed between he and de Valera. Throughout the work, it is easy to see that Dwyer is obviously an admirer of Collins and pulls no punches as he evaluates de Valera, his followers, and the anti-Treatyites. He is not afraid to inject his own opinion into the text and such commentary is part of what causes Dwyer's biography to stand out from the rest of the pack. All things considered, this book is well worth your time, especially if you already have a basic knowledge about Collins' life and would like to know more. Because this book really contains no information on Collins' younger years, his early work in London, or the months prior to his death, I would not recommend it as a good Collins biography to read first. Make Dwyer's work second or third on your list.

T. Ryle Dwyer (who also wrote "Big Fellow, Long Fellow")has written a study of Michael Collins that revolves primarily around his leadership of the war of independence against England and his interaction with his compatriots and competitors in that war. Dwyer takes praticular interest in the rivalries and tensions among the leading characters in the conflict, especially those between Collins and De Valera and Cathal Brugh. Collins is presented as a complex and charismatic man whose objective was independence for his country, not personal power, and who could charm and cajole, or terrorize and assassinate with equal effectiveness in pursuit of that goal. It is a fascinating, intimate portrait of a man whose peersonality was central to the success of the independence fight, after 800 years of unsuccessful rebellions, and who, while he may not have single-handedly "won the war", was the one single factor without which the war would most likely NOT have been won. A fascinating read about a fascinating leader.