eh! ( )

I generally do not like to read nonfiction. I find that most nonfiction authors merely state facts. Cahill is different. Although some may argue that his enthusiasm and sarcasm detract from the academic quality of the book, I found that it made me pay more attention and learn more than I expected. At times Cahill is a little too gungho and seems more of a cheerleader than a historian, but at the same time it is fun to read a book on a subject that the author seems to thoroughly enjoy. The sections on Saint Patrick are perhaps the most memorable and enjoyable parts of the book. All in all this is a good read and I recommend it to western history enthusiasts. ( )

Contains a fine biography of Saint Patrick. ( )

Cute. A fun read if you're Irish, but be careful of over-interpreting the Irish role in all this

This book was really RAH RAH RAH Irish. While I hadn't realized the role of the Irish in helping preserve the ancient texts of the Romans, this was definitely a revision of history rather than a straightforward narrative. Don't get me wrong, I am glad someone wrote a book about the contributions of the Irish to Western civilization by helping restore Catholicism and Western learning after the Dark Ages, but at times it really felt like "BOO YEAH THE IRISH ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!" Which maybe they do, of course. I bet if I was of Irish ancestry and I went crazy every St. Paddy's I'd be all over this book. I am not at all surprised it sold so well!

Cahill wrote a great deal about the Roman empire in the first third of his book, and its slow decline, and I thought I was drawing a lot of parallels between our modern society and the old Roman ways. The increasing divide between rich and poor, immigration/border control issues, swelling bureaucratic government, etc...it's not a great sign for us in America, is it?

The book was read by Donal Donnelly and sadly, I didn't much like him. Some quality in his voice and storytelling, plus some of the HUGE pauses he would take drove me batty. Several times I wanted to take the CDs out and return them early, but I am not sure if it's because of the narration or the text itself, which just seemed lacking in supporting information. Cahill didn't use a strong variety of primary source documents, which was disappointing. ( )

A quick, insightful read. This book was one of the texts used in a class I took focused on Irish history, and I have loved it ever since. The thing that has always struck me is that even though the Irish were so separated from the rest of the world, they still managed to save so much of it. ( )

I read this while traveling on the Emerald Isle recently. All the Irish Catholicism and character traits of the Irish blossomed even brighter for me thanks to this look at the wonderful personalities and missions of the Irish monks. ( )

This weekend I finally got around to reading How the Irish Saved Civilization, by Thomas Cahill. This book, originally published in 1995, is the first in a series by Cahill called Hinges of History, books that examine "turning point" events in history.

This book tells the story of how Irish monks and scribes "saved civilization" by preserving Western literature during the Dark Ages after the fall of the Roman empire (5th century) and before the rise of Charlemagne in France (8th century). Cahill depicts a lively and detailed picture of the fall of Rome in the hands of the Barbarians and then proceeds to paint with loving, vivid colours the person who made it all possible: Patrick, the man who almost single-handedly "created" Ireland.

This is not an academic book. Cahill writes for the general public, keeping his books short, his verse flowing and interspersed with humour ("How these people would have loved the batmobile!") and avoiding footnotes and lengthy appendixes. This approach is a mixed blessing; Cahill's brevity makes for a fast-paced read and a good grasp of the main facts, but the cost is oversimplification of historical processes and proneness to exaggeration. ( )

Cahill's book presents fascinating information about how the world descended into the "dark ages" after invasion of the Roman Empire by the "barbarians". The decline of literacy was precipitous and yet in one far-flung outpost, Ireland, a flowering of learning was engendered by the work of St. Patrick, and his successors. The society was a remarkable one and the contributions of Irish Catholicism are invaluable. Very readable. ( )

This is an entertaining and informative book, and the audiobook is winsome and sparkling, courtesy of 'performer' (not credited merely as 'narrator') Donal Donnelly. The personality of the subjects is amply shown by the texts quoted, and the story is interesting and definitely underknown, if not unknown. What really gives me pause is the suffusion of Cahill's own biases in the text. This isn't a scholarly work, but even for a popular history, the degree to which Cahill's opinions and judgments color the narrative gives me pause and makes me trust his version of history slightly less. Oozing affection for things and people Irish is appropriate to the work, and I'm with him on his nostalgia for the Celtic Church, if only from descriptions in Brother Cadfael books. But in general, the Occidocentric (saved Civilization did we, or just one?) and Christianocentric biases seemed a little strong. Plus, he totally buys into monkish anti-Viking propaganda.

My favorite part was the biography and discussion of Patrick and his assumption of and effects on Irishness. ( )

I love Cahill's books, and I bought this one hook line and sinker. I wonder now how much of an historian or scholar he really is though. His stuff is really imaginative and positive. And, I certainly think the Irish saved civilization, and continue to this day to bridge difficult brooks. They invented it and mastered it, and modeled it for the rest of the world through difficult exploitative and oppressive times, and now they are thriving. Good for them and good for us. I have read his others and will continue to do so. ( )

The richness of such a downtrodden culture, the role of women, the honesty of the people, the openness of thought, and the permanence of the heritage are all impressively conveyed. The Irish have their own epic stories (Tain Bo Cuailge about Medb -- she's no Dido -- and Ailil) and poems. Being at the outer edge of the Roman empire, they were able to learn without being noticed. St. Patrick and others became educated and Christian, and brought that back to their homeland. Monasteries were established and became a refuge for the constant stream of similar religious scholars from all over Europe (and these brought their books with them). When the dark ages receded, the tradition had been maintained and flowed back out to new monasteries across the continent. ( )

Not an entirely untold story. It all seemed very familiar when I read it, and of course it retreads ground covered thoroughly by Kenneth Clark in Civilisation (which was the text for my Grade XII art history class in high school). ( )

This is an excellent historical accounting of the early Irish history as it relates to Christianity. Cahill does a very good job of researching this topic and rendering it useful to the reader. Not an easy read but a very worthwhile book to pick up. ( )

The intriguing book that got me hooked on Cahill's hinges of history series. ( )

The concept behind the Hinges of History series, of which How the Irish Saved Civilization is the first volume, is commendable: to bring attention to important moments and players in often overlooked in Western history.

That being said, I was sorely disappointed in the first book. To begin with, the first quarter of the text doesn't even mention the Irish except for brief allusions. Instead, he focuses on Roman history and culture. When he finally does begin to address the issues of Ireland and its people, and in particular St. Patrick (who technically wasn't even Irish), very little is devoted to the supposed subject of the book.

I was astonished to discover, by reading the chapter notes, that large portions of the book are virtually invented and are not based on scholarly research. He diverges from commonly held theories, offers very little evidence to support his own, and shows very poor scholarship. For a book that is portrayed as historical fact, these are very serious issues that the reader might not be aware of since they are buried in the notes, which aren't even referenced to in the main text.

Certainly, he brings up interesting subjects that deserve more attention. Unfortunately, they had to be culled from what can be seen as a seriously flawed book.

Experiments in Reading ( )

A lofty title for the premise that it was Ireland's scribes who saved civilisation by providing the means of transmitting information (the written word) for Medieval Europe. ( )

An amazing telling of the spiriting away of religious and philisophical texts to the monestaries of Ireland. ( )

Not friendly to Augustus of Hippo, although he gives credit to A for expressing (on paper) his consciousness. The first intellectual to record his feelings.

A great book about the fall of Rome and the rise of Medieval Europe. ( )

Very revealing on a personal level. I discovered a good deal of my "irishness" in the descriptions of the people. Made me rather proud of the tenacity of the monastaries in preserving early writings. That may be why I love books! ( )