'Bookworm [History Ireland] is always on the lookout for publications that appeal to a particular type of reader: Leaving Cert and A-level student, languid undergrad, or general readers whose enthusiasm for history is not matched by the necessary leisure time to plough through academic monographs - A case in point was the 'Life and Times' series published by the Historical ... Read moreAssociation of Ireland in the 1990s, which aimed 'to place the lives of leading figures in Irish history against the background of new research'. The good news is that the series is back, with the same mission statement, this time published by UCD Press.' History Ireland March/April 2009 'Also welcome is the new series of the Historical Association of Ireland's Life and Times concise biographies, which started out some years ago under the Dundalgan Press imprint. It has now been taken over by the excellent UCD Press and given a makeover and smart new livery, keeping the bright blue colour scheme of the originals. The aim of the series is to provide scholarly and accessibly brief biographies of major figures in Irish history by experts in the field, suitable for Leaving Certificate, A level and undergraduate students but also for the general reader.' Irish Democrat November 2009 'Is it that Ireland only produces flawed heroes or that we cannot refrain from looking for flaws in great men? Only has only to think of Daniel O'Connell, Charles Stewart Parnell and Patrick Pearse to think of heroes who have had their flaws picked over by historians and others. Ryan is a particularly ambiguous case and questions over his integrity have marred his reputation. A left-leaning Republican, he fought in the Spanish civil war but it is his involvement with the Nazis that mars his standing. That bald statement is misleading since his involvement was as their prisoner, but he was suspected of collaboration. The outstanding Irish historian of this period, McGarry, delivers a brief but complex account of Ryan's life from his early days as a Republican to his alleged collaboration with the Germans during the second world war. He deals in some detail with the accusations about Ryan's time in Germany but generally comes down in favour of recognising his integrity.' Books Ireland November 2010 'Frank Ryan is one republican figure who hasn't been enshrined in the Gaelic pantheon. Ryan joined the Civil War anti-Treatyites as a boy in 1922 and was a leading IRA dissident through the heated 1930s. Between bouts of prison and his journalistic career - he was editor of An Phoblacht - he exasperated de Valera, as he and his men repeatedly refused to 'bahave themselves'. Cultivated, swarthy and attractively reckless, Ryan counted among his paramours Rosamond Jacob, whose diary extracts add allure to this monograph. McGarry's writing is fresh, critical and impartial. The shadowy twilight of Ryan's life is, however, evasively handled. Ryan's fight against fascism in the Spanish Civil War ended sadly in Germany, where he became an adviser to the Nazis, and this remains a subject of intrigue. Anyone interested in the anomalies of Irish history should read McGarry's book.' Irish Times December 2010 'Fearghal McGarry's painstakingly accurate and brutally honest biography is a welcome antidote to the romantic nonesense and humbug which still surrounds the public perception of Frank Ryan.' J. Anthony Gaughan Irish Catholic 24 February 2011 Show Less