Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland

This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the tumultuous period of the last century in the north of Ireland. I grew up in the Republic in the 80s and 90s, and this book revived in me long forgotten memories of the terror ever present in the background during my childhood and adolescence, albeit across the border. Bomb scares were regular occurrences, even in the South. We just learned to live with and adapt to this pandemonium.Reading this book brought back to me in vivid detail the bloody-minded vindictive ruthlessness of the IRA. Under the ruse of fighting for freedom, they terrorized so many people, destroyed infrastructure, intimidated, murdered, blew up, and stole, and defended their destructive actions (to themselves as well as others) with their dreams of a totally elusive ideal that I doubt will ever come to fruition.Thank God for the peace process, even though I am not surprised to read what the book revealed about Gerry Adams.It was also interesting to read how the people who survived the hunger strikes and the prison sentences developed psychological issues and ptsd later in life. I believe many of the leaders were criminals, but many of the younger recruits were idealistic and impressionable, coming from poor backgrounds at a time when unemployment was high, prospects were grim, and their legitimate desires for a fairer society were easily manipulated.I’m sure if Dolours Price had grown up in a different place with other influences in her childhood she might never have carried out such atrocious acts. And then she would never have had to live with such horrendous guilt. Not that it’s an excuse, of course, but Radden’s account of her showed her and the others too (ie, Brendan Hughes) as deeply flawed people that I could relate to, not psychopaths.I feel deep compassion for the McConville family. I did not know about Jean before I read this book; she was “disappeared” before my time. The Price sisters apparently put the bullet in her head, I just cannot fathom that two women could do that to another woman, and a mother of ten. Even the men, the most hardened and violent paramilitaries, were not able to pull the trigger (with the exception allegedly of Ivor Bell). It breaks my heart to think of what happened to that poor woman, and subsequently her family.Thanks to Radden Keefe for all the time he took to research and write this book. Even living further away from the heart of the troubles, many were traumatized on the island by what was happening. The ramifications were so far-reaching. Radden Keefe has chronicled the events in a really engaging and humane way. It is a great work, very thought-provoking. I recommend this book.

I've always been interested in the Troubles but I could never find a book about the topic that could keep me reading past the first few pages. This book is exactly what I've been needing; it's an immersive, deeply emotional and harrowing read about a subject far more complex and steeped in tragedy than I could ever have imagined. I couldn't recommend this book enough to anyone who's not only looking for a comprehensive understanding of the Troubles, but who enjoys non-fiction of any topic at all; the quality of the writing here is astonishing and demands to be read by as many people as possible.

excellent binding,good cover,large font size very worth for this price

This was the first book I read on the terrible war in Northern Ireland .The book is a non fiction book, but it is readable and exciting as a novel .It is one of the best book you will find that shows the human and moral side of war and IRA fighters .The book chronicles the history of some Ulster Catholics who, after having been mistreated by the English soldiers and the Protestant English citizens of user, decide to fight back . They become part of Ira, the Catholic guerrilla group which fight with terror attacks thé English occupiers . They accept the idea to die and kill for the freedom of Ulster and the Catholic freedom, but all the Irish protagonists become disillusioned .Some of the Irish protagonists become politicians and start negotiations with the British occupiers, in order to have a democracratic process and build peace between protestants and Catholics.Other protagonists become hardened fighters of the Ira, who fight against British soldiers and execute spies of the British intelligence. The problem is that these spies of the British are actually innocent people or people of the IRA who have broken certain rules of the terror group.The protagonists rationalize the guilt of having executed innocent people believing that they have killed informers of the British army, but probably the victims were only poor people who were caught in the war and were killed only for some stupid suspicion.This fact is a terrible burden for the IRA fighters and the book also expose how they dealt with the guilt of having killed innocent people during the war: some will remain silent about the crimes made by ira, other will speak about them.The end of the book is very sad and I felt very sad for all the terrible events this poor people lived only some decades ago .The author has written this book in a very engaging way and explains clearly the origins, political and psychological aspects of the Irish troubles and how people can find peace after a terrible war .I found disappointing only the fact that no British soldiers or officers, involved in the counter insurgency operations against Ira, were interviewed for the book.A British prospective about the events would have given more depth to the book .

A thrilling, suspenseful read! Wonderfully written.