Book Reviews
Discover Dursey
Discover Dursey - by Penelope Durell, (Ballinacarriga Books, Allihies, Co. Cork); paperback, 273 pages; £5.99.
An extremely well researched and nicely produced local history publication. It contains an interesting and informative account of Dursey Island, situated at the toe of the Beara Peninsula. The author has recorded a varied collection of topics for posterity: myths and legends, folklore, customs, social history, agriculture and maritime, lighthouses, fauna and flora, place names. All are communicated in an entertaining style.
An index, cross-reference, appendices, bibliography and photographs (black and white, plus 16 coloured) are included.
Topographical features and antiquarian sites are identified in a second publication, Discover Dursey Map. What ever the reasons were for this separation of text and map, clarity has been slightly sacrificed.
Bull and Calf Rocks were well known to the medieval European cartographers by various names. Bull Rock, An Tarbh, is rich in its cultural associations with Milesian mythology.
The book will appeal to the antiquarian, present resident, or exile, and is suitable for the tourist seeking a general knowledge of the district.
- Frank Pelly
Titanic
Titanic Destination Disaster: The Legends and the Reality - by John P. Eaton and Charles A. Haas, 2nd revised and expanded edition (Patrick Stephens/Haynes Publishing); paperback, 184 pages; £9.99 in UK.
The picture postcard was invented in Germany in the mid nineteenth century. By the 1900s an enormous number of picture postcards was being produced, depicting an extraordinary variety of subjects.
Bown and Simmons have brought together nearly 100 cards from their own private collections, telling the story of Titanic from its building in Harland and Wolff's shipyard, Belfast, to the aftermath of the tragedy. Every stage of the vessel's construction, launching, fitting out, and preparation for sea is illustrated. An interesting postcard shows the size of the cable links for the centre anchor compared to that of the men who forged them; another shows the centre anchor being transported by a team of twenty horses.
The authors tell us that all is not always what it seems: many of the photographs were touched up or painted over prior to printing - for example, several pictures show smoke coming from the fourth funnel which was actually a ventilator. On one card the ship shown is Olympic, though named Titanic; on another postcard commemorating the loss of Lusitania the ship illustrated is really Titanic.
Within days of the disaster publishers were producing in memoriam postcards, some containing factual errors, some in questionable taste. One has the impression that many publishers may have been out to make a fast buck. Several cards include the text of the hymn Nearer, my God, to thee but three different tunes to it are printed. The heroism of the ship's orchestra made a great impression at the time but uncertainty remains as to the last music they played. The book ends, as it begins, in Belfast, with a picture of the Titanic Memorial, now sited on the east side of the City Hall.
Bown's and Simmons's collection not only illustrates the history of Titanic but also provides an insight into public attitudes at the time.
Eaton and Haas tell the story in words as well as pictures. Their book opens on the night of Sunday 14th April 1912 with Titanic in the mid Atlantic, just before the collision with the iceberg. The dramatic events are described in great detail, with many quotations from survivors and others involved in the tragedy. There is much of human interest here. The authors then go back to the planning and building of the great ship, preparations for her maiden voyage, descriptions of passengers and crew, and of the events leading up to the disaster. They continue the story with the official investigations, and end with the discovery of the wreck, and the controversy over the recovery and exhibition of artifacts from the wreck site. This approach makes for a certain amount of repetition.
Despite the wealth of detail the book is not too long. The authors appear to have checked their sources thoroughly and take nothing for granted. As their title implies, they debunk many of the legends about Titanic. Where the evidence conflicts they leave it for the reader to decide. Captain Stanley Lord of the Californian is dealt with sympathetically and it is clear that the authors believe he was treated unjustly by the Board of Trade enquiry. This is a well written book, with numerous photographs. It should be of great interest to the general reader as well as to those with a deeper interest in the history of Titanic.
Mizen
From Watch to Vision? Final Roll Call for Lightkeepers - by Heidrum Joop (published by the author; obtainable from Pfadfinderweg 9, 13465 Berlin and available in local shops in the Goleen and Mizen area); 16 pages ; IR£2.00
Heidrum Joop was looking for a remote place for a holiday, away from stressful working conditions in a noisy German city. A converted lighthouse dwelling at the northern tip of Scotland was booked out, so she visited Goleen, Co. Cork, instead. She became fascinated by the locality and especially by Mizen Head. That was in 1989.
She has returned to the area many times since, and met Lightkeepers and former Lightkeepers living or working there. This booklet is her personal view of lighthouse automation and, in particular, her reaction to the automation of Mizen Head and the opening of the Mizen Vision! visitor centre.
She relies on information supplied by Irish Lights and a number of secondary sources. A few errors have crept in. Her main quest, however, is to discover what lighthouse keeping was about, and the booklet contains quotations from a number of Keepers she talked to. Perhaps she does not quite succeed in her quest but her booklet stands, nevertheless, as a valid personal tribute to Lightkeepers, and to a profession and way of life that will soon be lost for ever.
Heidrum Joop published this booklet at her own expense to support local activities like Mizen Vision! and Goleen rescue boat.
- David Bedlow
Discover Dursey - by Penelope Durell, (Ballinacarriga Books, Allihies, Co. Cork); paperback, 273 pages; £5.99.
An extremely well researched and nicely produced local history publication. It contains an interesting and informative account of Dursey Island, situated at the toe of the Beara Peninsula. The author has recorded a varied collection of topics for posterity: myths and legends, folklore, customs, social history, agriculture and maritime, lighthouses, fauna and flora, place names. All are communicated in an entertaining style.
An index, cross-reference, appendices, bibliography and photographs (black and white, plus 16 coloured) are included.
Topographical features and antiquarian sites are identified in a second publication, Discover Dursey Map. What ever the reasons were for this separation of text and map, clarity has been slightly sacrificed.
Bull and Calf Rocks were well known to the medieval European cartographers by various names. Bull Rock, An Tarbh, is rich in its cultural associations with Milesian mythology.
The book will appeal to the antiquarian, present resident, or exile, and is suitable for the tourist seeking a general knowledge of the district.
- Frank Pelly
Titanic
Titanic Destination Disaster: The Legends and the Reality - by John P. Eaton and Charles A. Haas, 2nd revised and expanded edition (Patrick Stephens/Haynes Publishing); paperback, 184 pages; £9.99 in UK.
The picture postcard was invented in Germany in the mid nineteenth century. By the 1900s an enormous number of picture postcards was being produced, depicting an extraordinary variety of subjects.
Bown and Simmons have brought together nearly 100 cards from their own private collections, telling the story of Titanic from its building in Harland and Wolff's shipyard, Belfast, to the aftermath of the tragedy. Every stage of the vessel's construction, launching, fitting out, and preparation for sea is illustrated. An interesting postcard shows the size of the cable links for the centre anchor compared to that of the men who forged them; another shows the centre anchor being transported by a team of twenty horses.
The authors tell us that all is not always what it seems: many of the photographs were touched up or painted over prior to printing - for example, several pictures show smoke coming from the fourth funnel which was actually a ventilator. On one card the ship shown is Olympic, though named Titanic; on another postcard commemorating the loss of Lusitania the ship illustrated is really Titanic.
Within days of the disaster publishers were producing in memoriam postcards, some containing factual errors, some in questionable taste. One has the impression that many publishers may have been out to make a fast buck. Several cards include the text of the hymn Nearer, my God, to thee but three different tunes to it are printed. The heroism of the ship's orchestra made a great impression at the time but uncertainty remains as to the last music they played. The book ends, as it begins, in Belfast, with a picture of the Titanic Memorial, now sited on the east side of the City Hall.
Bown's and Simmons's collection not only illustrates the history of Titanic but also provides an insight into public attitudes at the time.
Eaton and Haas tell the story in words as well as pictures. Their book opens on the night of Sunday 14th April 1912 with Titanic in the mid Atlantic, just before the collision with the iceberg. The dramatic events are described in great detail, with many quotations from survivors and others involved in the tragedy. There is much of human interest here. The authors then go back to the planning and building of the great ship, preparations for her maiden voyage, descriptions of passengers and crew, and of the events leading up to the disaster. They continue the story with the official investigations, and end with the discovery of the wreck, and the controversy over the recovery and exhibition of artifacts from the wreck site. This approach makes for a certain amount of repetition.
Despite the wealth of detail the book is not too long. The authors appear to have checked their sources thoroughly and take nothing for granted. As their title implies, they debunk many of the legends about Titanic. Where the evidence conflicts they leave it for the reader to decide. Captain Stanley Lord of the Californian is dealt with sympathetically and it is clear that the authors believe he was treated unjustly by the Board of Trade enquiry. This is a well written book, with numerous photographs. It should be of great interest to the general reader as well as to those with a deeper interest in the history of Titanic.
Mizen
From Watch to Vision? Final Roll Call for Lightkeepers - by Heidrum Joop (published by the author; obtainable from Pfadfinderweg 9, 13465 Berlin and available in local shops in the Goleen and Mizen area); 16 pages ; IR£2.00
Heidrum Joop was looking for a remote place for a holiday, away from stressful working conditions in a noisy German city. A converted lighthouse dwelling at the northern tip of Scotland was booked out, so she visited Goleen, Co. Cork, instead. She became fascinated by the locality and especially by Mizen Head. That was in 1989.
She has returned to the area many times since, and met Lightkeepers and former Lightkeepers living or working there. This booklet is her personal view of lighthouse automation and, in particular, her reaction to the automation of Mizen Head and the opening of the Mizen Vision! visitor centre.
She relies on information supplied by Irish Lights and a number of secondary sources. A few errors have crept in. Her main quest, however, is to discover what lighthouse keeping was about, and the booklet contains quotations from a number of Keepers she talked to. Perhaps she does not quite succeed in her quest but her booklet stands, nevertheless, as a valid personal tribute to Lightkeepers, and to a profession and way of life that will soon be lost for ever.
Heidrum Joop published this booklet at her own expense to support local activities like Mizen Vision! and Goleen rescue boat.
- David Bedlow