269: Making Sense of the Troubles: The Story of the Conflict in Northern Ireland by David McKittrick & David McVea

Making Sense of the Troubles: The Story of the Conflict in Northern Ireland

The time of "the Troubles" in Ireland is complicated and hotly contested. No one book can wholly make sense of something so intensely personal and heart-felt, but this book by McKittrick and McVea comes closest. The authors do their best to present unbiased scholarship to explain this decades-long violence.

There has been Irish resistance to British occupation in Ireland for 400 years. From the late 1960s to the late 1990s (and some place the dates both earlier and later) Northern Ireland was wracked with violence as those wanting Irish Independence fought with those who wanted to remain part of the UK. Making Sense of the Troubles offers a solid, even-handed introduction to this period in Irish history.

Why this is progressie/liberal: The Troubles present both the best and worst of progressive values. Fighting for freedom and independence embody the best of progressive values. Acts of terrorism and violence embody the worst fears of what progressive movements might become. Studying the Troubles in Ireland is both an inspiration and a warning.