The Story of Ireland

If 'the story of Ireland', in all its historical, social and linguistic complications, has to be presented in comic-strip format in forty pages, then this is as successful and entertaining a version as one could fairly expect. Colourful, playful and informative, it chronologically covers some 2,000 years, from Ptolemy's ancient map - 'it looks a bit odd to us now but he got quite a lot right' - to the roaring Celtic tiger, with particularly effective use of various information panels focusing on 'Irish Icons' of architectural, literary and geographical interest. The engagingly colloquial tone of the text is well matched in the good-natured humour of the illustrations: all in all, a very considerable achievement.