Of the four Horrible Histories I've read so far, this one was the least ... enjoyable isn't the right word, cohesive? clear? well-written?

I learned a lot, but I was pretty much starting at zero, and I'm left with the feeling that I didn't learn as much as I should. A lot of start of the book was spent listing all the saints considered "Irish" - and making the common mistake of mentioning Catholics 'worshiping' them. Any Catholic that paid even a little bit of attention in their catechism classes knows that's idolatry; real Catholics might ask Saints to pray for them; to intercede on their behalf. It's a small thing, but it bugs me in the same way people say evolution means humans came from monkeys. Small words can make big differences.

Regardless, I finished the book with the overall impression that the British were awful to the Irish, but so were the Irish awful to the Irish. Unfortunately, that's about the only thing I knew going into the book, so I'm not sure I'm any better educated now than I was yesterday. I do have a slightly better idea of the complexity of the 20th century Troubles, but not enough that I'd ever attempt to hold my own in a discussion.

Definitely not their best work. ( )