President of Sinn Féin and TD for Louth, Gerry Adams has been a
published writer since 1982. His books have won critical acclaim in
many quarters and have been widely translated. His writings range
from local history and reminiscence to politics and short stories,
and they include the fullest and most authoritative exposition of
modern Irish republicanism.
Born in West Belfast in 1948 into a family with close ties to both
the trade union and republican movements, Gerry Adams is the eldest
of ten children. His mother was an articulate and gentle woman, his
father a republican activist who had been jailed at the age of
sixteen, and he was partly reared by his grandmother, who nurtured
in him a love of reading.
His childhood, despite its material poverty, he has described in
glowing and humorous terms, recollecting golden hours spent playing
on the slopes of the mountain behind his home and celebrating the
intimate sense of community in the tightly packed streets of
working-class West Belfast. But even before leaving school to work
as a barman, he had become aware of the inequities and inequalities
of life in the north of Ireland. Soon he was engaged in direct
action on the issues of housing, unemployment and civil rights.
For many years his voice was banned from radio and television by
both the British and Irish governments, while commentators and
politicians condemned him and all he stood for. But through those
years his books made an important contribution to an understanding
of the true circumstances of life and politics in the north of
Ireland.
James F. Clarity of the New York Times described him in the Irish
Independent as "A good writer of fiction whose stories are not IRA
agitprop but serious art."
timely
*RTE Guide*
‘A definitive history of the Irish struggles of the 1970s, from the
nationalist point of view. Adams, a fine writer, presents a
straightforward, unapologetic memoir.’ Publishers Weekly
‘Gerry Adams is a gifted writer who, if he were not at the centre
of the war-and-peace business, could easily make a living as an
author.’ The New York Times
One of the most controversial but important political memoirs of
recent times.
*Publishing News*
‘One thing about him is certain: Gerry Adams is a gifted writer
who, if he were not at the centre of the war-and-peace business,
could easily make a living as an author, of fiction or fact.’ The
New York Times
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