SCOTT ALSWORTH foresees the coming of the smaller, leaner, and class conscious indie studio, with art as its guiding star
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A view unhindered by sectarian blinkers
MICHEAL MAC AONGHUSA recommends a retelling of Irish history from the Middle Ages to the beginning of the 19th century in the broader context of Europe
CROMWELLIAN SAVAGERY: Massacre at Drogheda in 1649 by Henry Doyle
MARJORIE MAYO recommends an accessible and unsettling novel that uses a true incident of death in the Channel to raise questions of wider moral responsibility
MIK SABIERS wallows in a night of political punk and funk that fires both barrels at Trump
Reasonable radicalism, death in Abu Dhabi, locked-room romance, and sleuthing in the Blitz
SIMON DUFF recommends a new album from renowned composer and oud player Anour Brahem.
JAMES WALSH has a great night in the company of basketball players, quantum physicists and the exquisite timing of Rosie Jones
A New Awakening: Adventures In British Jazz 1966 - 1971, G3, and Buck Owens
Ireland: A Social History. From the Celts to the Foundation of Unionism and Republicanism
by Jerry Shanahan
(Self-published) £8.99
MUCH left-wing literature in the 21st century seems to suggest that history began in 1848 or, at the earliest, in 1789.
This unmarxist view tends towards a blinkered understanding of the roots of modern society and the development of capitalism and imperialism. Therefore, this work by Jerry Shanahan is to be welcomed.
He challenges the dominant approach of Irish professional historians in the 20th century who followed the pre-eminent English history institutes in pursuing a “value-free” interpretation of history.
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From colonialism to the Troubles, the story of England’s first colony is one of exploitation, resistance, and solidarity — and one we should fight to ensure is told, writes teacher ROBERT POOLE
ROGER McKENZIE welcomes an important contribution to the history of Africa, telling the story in its own right rather than in relation to Europeans
