The Green Flag: A History of Irish Nationalism | 
 enlarge | Author: Robert Kee
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Category: Book
List Price: £12.99
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Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 17212
Media: Paperback
Edition: New edition
Pages: 896
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5.1 x 1.7
ISBN: 0140291652
Dewey Decimal Number: 941
EAN: 9780140291650
ASIN: 0140291652
Publication Date: July 6, 2000
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Ships from U.S.A., to anywhere in the United Kingdom! Orders only take 7-10 days! We specialise in service to the U.K. and only ship airmail.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 A Brilliant Book September 8, 2008
Steve G (Devon UK)
This is my forth copy of this book as I gave the others away to friends,some of them living in Ireland. Northern Ireland,has always been a subject,I wanted to know more of,and this book does the trick,in more ways than one. If I could give it twenty stars I would.
I served in N I in the 70s,and over the past 30 years,I have asked myself,what the hell was it all about.-What caused it all to start with. Well this book goes a long way,in giving me the answers.
People may think I am wrong when I say -you cant hold a country responsible for the atrocities that happend on it's own door step.Well you cant,what you need to do is find out what caused it to start with. This book will show,that it all began long before we were even born. Does politics ring a bell?. We no longer blame the American Indians,for things that the Americans do wrong,and after all is said and done,its the Indians,that are the true Americans.-Know where I'm coming from?.-.
Now we have a kind of peace between us,lets look at the subject from an historical point of view,and see if we cant move on.This book will help some to do just that.A brilliant book,that should be on the shelf,of all,who are interested,in the history,of Ireland.
 Quite Good March 4, 2008
Mouseman (England)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is a good book which focuses on events rather than providing analysis. I would have much preferred the book to come from a more human, emotional perspective though.
I didn't feel as though the book was written with the passion that a subject like this deserves. Normally a partisan view of things is not warranted, but a subject like this without a measure of passion ultimately falls flat. It just lacked feeling, and the description of events became monotonous and perfunctory. The fact that Kee is English, not Irish , probably had something to do with this. His sense of reserved detachment never falters but alas this provides little piquancy for the reader.
Most of the books 750 pages are confined to the 19th century and consequently you become lost in all the events that took place in that period of time. Little is written before or after this period. Why just this century in a book that claims to be a whole history of Irish Nationalism? Kee would say that this is the century that everything changed, but still it would have been nice to be partial to things that led up to the events that took place. It would give the reader a more panoramic view of things.
I often felt like I was being placed in the deep end without knowing why things were taking place. It is not just on events that there is little background info but also more needed to be said on the participants of the events.
Given that the book centres on people rebelling due to their grievances, it would have helped me to understand, more about what those grievances were. You would then be able to sympathise with their plight, drawing you more into their story and really willing them on to succeed. But Kee's stand-off approach served to dehumanise the characters and you failed to empathize with them to any great extent.
One other minor grievance is that I would have like a few more maps in addition to a solitary map of Ireland at the front of the book. They would have helped to bring the book alive. Also maybe a few photos of the various main players wouldn't have gone amiss too.
Having said all this I will give Kee his due: this is a very well researched book and the information is all there, it's just how Kee put that information across that wasn't to my particular taste, but it may be to others.
Erin-Go-Bragh July 6, 2004
16 out of 24 found this review helpful
Kee has written a book that is clear, lucid and interesting over about 750 pages (discounting the appendices). He only just fails to hide the ridicule he feels for the noble sacrifice of 1916, when brave Irish souls fought for their own people, instead of giving their lives for nothing in a capitalist-imperialist war, dying for a country that had oppressed them for over 400 years.
However, if you can ignore that, this book is still a must-have if you wish to learn about a subject that has never been taught in English schools.
A MUST READ BOOK ON IRISH NATIONALISM December 31, 2001
mg240176@aol.com (Evesham, England)
31 out of 32 found this review helpful
Robert Kee's "The Green Flag" is near 900 page superbly written history of Irish nationalism from its early roots, the Wolf Tone rebellion, the Catholic Emancipation and Repeal of the Union campaign, the early Fenian activity, the rise of the IRA and UVF, the Easter Rising, the Civil War and the Creation of the Irish Free State, the impact of Collins and De Valera, the beginning of the Irish Republic in 1949, and the early beginnings of the troubles in 1969. The detail of the book is awesome and offers insight into the history of Ireland in a totally unbiased way. Its only failing is that it fails to keep up with history. Written in the early 1970s Kee has kept himself to concentrating on an history up to 1922 and the Irish Free State. This misses alot of history since, but surely an updated version of the book with a couple of extra chapters to bring it up to date would make Kee's book the ultimate for any person interested in Irish History. A MUST READ BOOK!!!!
This is the best book on early 20th centry Ireland that I kn March 7, 2001
15 out of 17 found this review helpful
I read this book while doing an A level disertation on the Easter Rising. It was the most helpful book by far, from a collection of more than 20. Ourselves Alone, the thrid part, was especially good in its explanation of the Aglo Irish war. The detail is there for one to finish with a knowledge of that time in Ireland that lacks any gaps.
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