For anyone who wants to truly understand Irish history,this book is a must read. The late Robert Kee's brilliant book is an absolute masterpiece of historical narrative. I doubt if there is a better one volume history on this subject (although it has previously been published as three volumes, it was originally one volume and this edition restores it to one volume). ( )

1202. The Green Flag The Turbulent History of the Irish National Movement, by Robert Kee (14 Dec 1972) This I found to be one of the best historical accounts ever read. It tells of the Irish struggle against England from the late 1700s till 1925. I was amazed at how much I did not know: the Easter rebellion of 1916, for instance, was a military failure even tho its after-effects led to freedom for the 26 counties, I found it all fascinating, particularly the parliamentary struggles of O'Connell, Parnell, and Redmond. The awful struggles of 1919 to 1923 were all dim to me, but this book made them live. This was an excellent book, introducing me to much that was new and I enthused in the reading. When at the end of the year I reviewed the 59 books (30 fiction, 29 non-fiction) I read in 1972 this book was chosen as "Best Book Read in 1972"! ( )