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Best of Ireland in 14 Days: Recommended Reading & Viewing

Ireland is overwhelmingly rich in history, art and culture. Any preliminary reading, viewing or listening you can do will help you get the most from your trip. For more information on any of these books, check out amazon.com; for video information, go to imdb.com. Rick Steves guidebooks are available at our office in Edmonds and also on our website's Travel Store.

Recommended Reading

Non-Fiction

• A Short History of Ireland — Richard Killeen
• Ireland: A Concise History — Maire MacEntee O'Brien
• How the Irish Saved Civilization — Thomas Cahill
• Traveller's History of Ireland — Peter Neville
• Angela's Ashes — Frank McCourt
• O Come Ye Back to Ireland: Our First Year in Co. Clare — Niall Williams & Christine Breen (first in a series of four)
• Are You Somebody? The Accidental Memoir of a Dublin Woman — Nuala O'Faolain
• To School Through the Fields: An Irish Country Childhood — Alice Taylor
• Round Ireland with a Fridge — Tony Hawks
• The Back of Beyond: A Search for the Soul of Ireland — James Charles Roy

Fiction

• Dubliners — James Joyce
• Dublin Saga — Edward Rutherford
• Trinity — Leon Uris
• Morgan Llewelyn's historical epics
• Ireland — Frank Delaney
• The Bódhran Makers — J.B. Keane
• Roddy Doyle's gritty portraits of working class Dubliners
• Finbar's Hotel — Anthology of short stories by Irish writers Ladies' Night at Finbar's Hotel — Anthology of short stories by Irish women writers
• Maeve Binchy's soapy, family sagas

General Europe

• Europe 101 - Rick Steves & Gene Openshaw. History and art overview for the traveler; humorous and easy to read.
• Civilisation — Kenneth Clark. BBC-TV series and book that teaches European art and civilization like nothing else.
• Connections — James Burke. Fascinating book and TV series that links historical events and scientific discoveries across the centuries.

Rick Steves' Travel DVDs

For a fun, informative preview of your next tour destination, watch a DVD from our "Rick Steves' Europe" TV series! Our online Travel Store has 70 shows available on 12 DVDs (a generous five to eight shows per disc).

Films With an Irish Accent

The Quiet Man (1952) • Far and Away (1992) • The Commitments (1991) • The Snapper (1993) • The Van (1996) • Waking Ned Devine (1998) • Into the West (1993) • The Secret of Roan Inish (1995) • Ryan's Daughter (1970) • The Field (1991) • Angela's Ashes (1999) • Evelyn (2002) • The Magdalene Sisters (2003) • My Left Foot (1989) • Veronica Guerin (2003) • Michael Collins (1996) • The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006) • Odd Man Out (1947) • Cal (1984) • In the Name of the Father (1993) • Some Mother's Son (1996) • Omagh (2004)

Mood Music

• Traditional: Altan, The Chieftains, Solas, De Danann, Christy Moore, Mary Black
• Folk/Pop: Irish Tenors, Clancy Brothers, Irish Rovers, Clannad, Maire Brennan, Enya, Sinéad Lohan, The Corrs, The Dubliners
• Rock: U2, Van Morrison, The Pogues, Sinéad O'Connor, The Cranberries