Brendan O'Brien – författare

An accessible, clearly-written account of the IRA from 1916 to today. It covers the origins and history of the organisation, its aims, the political and military thinking which has driven its activities, and the major personalities who have shaped the direction of the movement down through the years.The relationship with the Irish and British governments is examined, as well as the effects of the major bombing campaigns and the 1981 hunger strikes. It also explains the radical shift in thinking which led to the IRA seeking a political way towards the goal of Irish unity rather than pursuing the entrenched 'Brits Out' policy at the point of a gun.The background to the IRA ceasefire, and the many factors which contributed to its ending are looked at, as well as the prospects for a lasting peace in one of the world's most troubled arenas.With a new chapter that brings us as far as 2018 this book has everything you need to know about the IRA.

The Long War tells the story of the IRA and Sinn Fein from their beginnings right up to the Good Friday Agreement in Easter 1998 and beyond. It tracks the IRA's military strategy, their bombing and killing campaign, coupled with massive arms supplies from Libya and the long, torturous, at times secret, journey led by Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness through two ceasefires to a negotiated compromise. The Long War contains major source material and details the roles of key peacemakers in Ireland, Britain and America and also of the dissident militarists who intend continuing the war against Britain.

In 1804 an Ojibwa named Ogetonicut was facing trial in Upper Canada for the murder of a white settler. The prisoner was being transported from Toronto to Newcastle, the site of the trial, aboard the Speedy. Also on board to participate in the trial were some of the most important figures in the justice system of Upper Canada. The trial never took place: the Speedy vanished in a storm on Lake Ontario, taking with her the accused, his jailer, the judge, the lawyers, and all other passengers. Brendan O'Brien recreates the wreck of the Speedy in this exciting account. In the process he examines several related issues, including the administration of justice for native people in Upper Canada, the reasons for the disappearance of the vessel, and the role of the governor in the tragedy.

Nobody who sits in traffic on Sedona, Arizona''s main stretch or stands shoulder-to-shoulder in its many souvenir shops would call it a ghost town. Neither would anyone renting a room for $2,000 a month or buying a house for a half-million dollars. And yet the people who built this small town and made it a community are being pushed further and further out. Their home is being sold out from under their feet. In studying the impact of short-term rentals, Brendan O''Brien saw something similar happening in places ranging from Bend, Oregon, to Bar Harbor, Maine. But it isn''t just short-term rentals, and it''s not just tourism towns. Neighborhoods in Austin and Atlanta have become rows of investment properties. Longtime residents in Spokane and Boston have been replaced by new, high-salaried remote workers. Across the country, a level of unaffordable housing that once seemed unique to global cities like New York and San Francisco has become the norm, with nearly a third of all US households considered housing cost burdened. This situation has been abetted by the direct actions of developers, politicians, and existing homeowners who have sought to drive up the cost of housing. But it''s mostly happened due to a society-wide refusal to see housing as anything more than real estate, another product available to the highest bidder. This trend of putting local housing on a global market has worsened in recent years but is nothing new. Housing in the United States has always been marred by racial and income inequality that mocks the country''s highest ideals.Deeply researched and deeply felt, Homesick argues that we can be so much better. And we can start where we live.

Nobody who sits in traffic on Sedona, Arizona''s main stretch or stands shoulder-to-shoulder in its many souvenir shops would call it a ghost town. Neither would anyone renting a room for $2,000 a month or buying a house for a half-million dollars. And yet the people who built this small town and made it a community are being pushed further and further out. Their home is being sold out from under their feet. In studying the impact of short-term rentals, Brendan O''Brien saw something similar happening in places ranging from Bend, Oregon, to Bar Harbor, Maine. But it isn''t just short-term rentals, and it''s not just tourism towns. Neighborhoods in Austin and Atlanta have become rows of investment properties. Longtime residents in Spokane and Boston have been replaced by new, high-salaried remote workers. Across the country, a level of unaffordable housing that once seemed unique to global cities like New York and San Francisco has become the norm, with nearly a third of all US households considered housing cost burdened. This situation has been abetted by the direct actions of developers, politicians, and existing homeowners who have sought to drive up the cost of housing. But it''s mostly happened due to a society-wide refusal to see housing as anything more than real estate, another product available to the highest bidder. This trend of putting local housing on a global market has worsened in recent years but is nothing new. Housing in the United States has always been marred by racial and income inequality that mocks the country''s highest ideals.Deeply researched and deeply felt, Homesick argues that we can be so much better. And we can start where we live.