Books like Before the Dawn: An Autobiography

It states in the Irish World review of this book that the “…book is well worth reading” no matter your opinions of Gerry Adams or his politics because he is a “…very good writer…” I absolutely agree. I had great difficulty putting the book away once I started reading. In addition to the very serious stuff of Britain’s constant harassment, the IRA revenge, the unionist, UVF, partitioning, etc., Adams’ story includes the humor that is a necessity to pull through violent and trying times. For example, in the late 60s he and his buddies did a bit of the popular at the time—streaking buck naked around Belfast. Also he and his buddies started a window cleaning business only to go belly up and to realize “…faced with a choice of cleaning windows for a living or changing the world, we took the easy option.”Adams lists many times when the actions of the British only brought more of the Irish to the republican cause as oppressive occupation still does. Yes, IRA actions were brutal and killed many innocents, but the IRA did not have a patent on brutality, as the descriptions of the true torture of republican prisoners are also sickening. Gerry Adams understands that this tit-for-tat will never solve what is essentially a political problem. Although I was highly engaged, I wish that I had been a bit more informed as there are so very many references to the participants and their affiliations are explained only once, as are the long list of involved organizations in which the full title is only referenced once followed by the acronym each mention afterwards. It becomes rather confusing and distracting. Should you plan to read this keep that in mind and try to learn enough to distinguish the different actors. Also, remember that this was penned by Adams in 1996 and note that The Troubles of Northern Ireland have never really gone away and appear to be heating up again, especially after the recent killing of journalist Laura McKee. I cannot help but wonder why in the hell Great Britain can’t just let go of her colonial past and move on?