ClanDonnell Earns 5 Stars
Reader Views reviewed ClanDonnell and gave it 5 Stars on a 5 Star scale!
ClanDonnell is called “an historical piece of art”. I’m not sure what that means, but I love it!
The review is at this link and is also reproduced at idreambooks.com, as well as on the pdf link below.
Here’s the review:
“ClanDonnell: A Storied History of Ireland by David K. McDonnell is a historical piece of art and would be an asset to any library. The book is 926 pages long and thus not your choice for an on-the-go book. However, all 926 pages are worth savoring, not just reading through but rather taking your time with each chapter. As a history fan I loved the detailed information presented in this book. McDonnell does not present the reader with a fact book limited to what historians consider important dates and events. Instead, he takes the reader through time by telling the Irish story from how the names of each clan originated, specifying the details on how the use of last names and even middle names within each family came to be. The tone of the narration felt almost like watching a History Channel miniseries where each chapter is an episode of the Clan Donnell’s adventure.
“McDonnell did a great job of taking the reader from the beginning with Celts, the invasions, Clan System and Culture, explaining also the geography, politics and language all to give a holistic experience of how Ireland came to be. He does this in an easy to follow storytelling tone and, by using pictures, graphics such as maps, as well as a timeline of events and family tree at the end of each chapter. The reader will move through the clans region by region. McDonnell continues the story of Ireland through time by concentrating on the Clan Donnell, taking the reader through their rise in Ireland, through the war against the English and their submission to Queen Elizabeth. Starting on the second part of the book, the reader will see the end of the Clan system and will see how Ireland, through the descendants of the Clan Donnell, relates to England through the Protestant/Catholic clash as well as all other European Nations and later on in America. By no means is this a quick read as McDonnell presents to us Ireland from its Celtics times to the twentieth Century.
I really enjoyed ClanDonnell: A Storied History of Ireland and am happy to keep this historical piece of art and perfect literary work in my library to share interesting stories from Ireland with friends and family as a conversation piece treasure. I definitely rate ClanDonnell five stars!”
Susan Violante, Reader Views.
The review was also reprinted in Irish Times, the newsletter of the Irish American Society of New Mexico.