Ireland in its own words: a dazzling compendium
Over the past hundred years, Ireland has undergone profound political, social and cultural changes. But one thing that has not changed is the Irish genius for observation and storytelling, invective and self-scrutiny. Ireland: The Autobiography draws upon this genius to create a portrait of a century of Irish life through the words of the people who lived it.
Broadcaster and historian John Bowman has mined archives, diaries and memoirs to create a remarkably varied and delightfully readable mosaic of voices and perspectives. Ireland: The Autobiography is a brilliantly selected, wide-ranging and engrossing take on the last century of Irish life. It gives us a portrait of Ireland unlike anything we've read before.
'Absorbing and illuminating . . . John Bowman has selected a range of accounts of Irish life that do justice to what happened, what it felt like, and the personal and societal experiences alongside the "official" version' Diarmaid Ferriter, Irish Times
'A treasure' Irish Examiner
'A whistle-stop tour of the seismic, seminal and explosive events which shaped the nation as we know it' Irish Independent
'Entertaining and informative' Sunday Business Post

'A remarkably varied and delightfully readable mosaic of voices and perspectives' Women's Way
'A thoughtful and eclectic collection' Irish Mail on Sunday

John Bowman is a broadcaster and historian. Since the 1960s he has presented programmes on current affairs and history on RTE television and radio. He is the author of De Valera and the Ulster Question, which was awarded the Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize, and of Window and Mirror: RTE Television 1961-2011. He lives in Dublin.