How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland’s Heroic Role From the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe by Thomas Cahill
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Was this the ideal of total accuracy? No. And much of the book didn’t seem to have much bearing on any single thesis. That is why it wasn’t just good, but awesome. It was like pulling up a stool at a bar (an Irish pub) and buying a beer for the talkative fellow next to you because he is highly entertaining and highly knowledgeable. Aside from feeling sick at how familiar the description of the decline of Rome sounded, this was a wonderfully cheerful book that opened up a great deal of history. While I think his title was overstated, as were several other observations (i.e. sex and Christianity in Ireland), it was still an awesome book. Even its overstatements were valuable. (Didn’t Nietschze say the mistakes of great men are better than the successes of the small?)
My only regret is that I listened to this on audio while driving. It would have been more appropriate to read it with book in one hand and beer in the other.
Any chance I could borrow the audio book from you?