The Tain

Book: Paperback | 5.07 x 7.79in | 256 pages | ISBN 9780140455304 | 24 Feb 2009 | Penguin Classic | 18 - AND UP

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"[A] brilliant and altogether engaging new translation" (Los Angeles Times) of the greatest epic in Irish literature

Dating from the eighth century, The Táin is the oldest Irish epic, a mythic tale on par with Beowulf and The Aeneid. Following legendary warrior Cù Chulainn into his battle against the invading army of Connacht, The Táin is the story of the emergence of a hero, a paean to the Irish landscape, and a bawdy and contentious marital farce. In its first translation in forty years, Ciaran Carson brings this seminal work of Irish literature fully to life, capturing all of its visceral power in what acclaimed poets Seamus Heaney and Paul Muldoon individually called one of the best books of the year.
"Carson's landmark translation, the first in forty years, brings this literary gem to life in a fresh, modern retelling that rivals Thomas Kinsella's classic translation of 1969."
- Booklist "In vivid prose Carson has harnessed . . . the tale's tremendous artistic power."-Irish Voice

A Course Called Ireland

Book: Hardcover | 9.25 x 6.25in | 320 pages | ISBN 9781592404247 | 19 Feb 2009 | Gotham Books | 18 - AND UP

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Read an excerpt

An epic Celtic sojourn in search of ancestors, nostalgia, and the world's greatest round of golf

In his thirties, married, and staring down impending fatherhood, Tom Coyne was well familiar with the last refuge of the adult male: the golfing trip. Intent on designing a golf trip to end all others, Coyne looked to Ireland, the place where his father had taught him to love the game years before. As he studied a map of the island and plotted his itinerary, it dawned on Coyne that Ireland was ringed with golf holes. The country began to look like one giant round of golf, so Coyne packed up his clubs and set off to play all of it. And since Irish golfers didn't take golf carts, neither would he. He would walk the entire way.

A Course Called Ireland is the story of a walking- averse golfer who treks his way around an entire country, spending sixteen weeks playing every seaside hole in Ireland and often battling through all four seasons in one Irish afternoon. Coyne plays everything from the top-ranked links in the world to nine-hole courses crowded with livestock. Along the way, he searches out his family's roots, discovers that a once-poor country has been transformed by an economic boom, and finds that the only thing tougher to escape than Irish sand traps are Irish pubs. By turns hilarious and poetic, A Course Called Ireland is a magnificent tour of a vibrant land and a paean to the world's greatest game.

Why We Suck

Book: Hardcover | 6.02 x 9.05in | 320 pages | ISBN 9780670031603 | 18 Nov 2008 | Viking Adult | 18 - AND UP

$26.96 - add to cart

View our feature on Denis Leary’s Why We Suck.

A hilarious blast of scathing irreverence from the award-winning actor and comedian.

"A pissed off Leary is the best Leary," says one critic of the writer and comic. In Why We Suck, Dr. Denis Leary uses his common sense, and his biting and hilarious take on the world, to attack the politically correct, the hypocritical, the obese, the thin--basically everyone who takes themselves too seriously. He does so with the extra oomph of a doctorate bestowed upon him by his alma mater Emerson College. "Sure it's just a celebrity type of thing--they only gave it to me because I'm famous." Leary explains. "But it's legal and it means I get to say I'm a doctor--just like Dr. Phil."

In Why We Suck, Leary's famously smart style and sardonic wit have found their fullest and fiercest expression yet. Zeroing in on the ridiculous wherever he finds it, Leary unravels his Irish Catholic upbringing, the folly of celebrity, the pressures of family life, and the great hypocrisy of politics with the same bright, savage, and profane insight he brought to his critically acclaimed one-man shows No Cure for Cancer and Lock 'n Load, and his platinum-selling song, "Asshole."

Proudly Irish American, defiantly working class, with a reserve of compassion for the underdog and the overlooked, Leary delivers blistering diatribes that are penetrating social commentary with no holds barred. Leary's book will find wide appeal among people who want to laugh out loud or find a guide who matches their view of what's wrong in America and the world-at-large; and fans of his one-man shows, his many movies, and Rescue Me, Leary's Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated television show. Why We Suck is the latest salvo from one of America's most original and biting comic satirists.

The Rough Guide to Ireland

Book: Paperback | 5.15 x 7.83in | 752 pages | ISBN 9781858280561 | 19 May 2008 | Rough Guides | 18 - AND UP

$22.95 - add to cart

View inside the book

Explore every corner of this beautiful island (North and South) with the revised eighth edition. The full-colour introduction will inspire you on where to go and what to see, from the spectacular scenery of the west coast and the strange geometry of the Giant''s Causeway to the wild Aran Islands and lively bars of Dublin. In addition, you'll find full-colour sections throughout on: ''Irish Music'', ''Under-rated Cuisine'' and ''Lively Festivals'' and now an additional insert on ''Gaelic Games''. The guide features listings for all the very best hotels and restaurants, plus information on all the top bars, shops and the best places to hear traditional Irish Music. Take a detailed look at Ireland''s history and culture with background on everything from the megalithic remains at Bru na Boinne to how to play the uilleann pipes. This updated edition includes contexts sections on history and traditional music and features a brand new literature section. The guide comes complete with maps and plans for the whole island with new maps of Wicklow mountains, Kinsale, Cashel, Dingle town, The Burren and Westport. Make sure your trip the Emerald isle is one not to forget with this ultimate guide.

Make the most of your time with The Rough Guide to Ireland

Ireland Since 1939

Book: Paperback | 5.07 x 7.79in | 448 pages | ISBN 9781844881048 | 26 Feb 2008 | Penguin | 18 - AND UP

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A compelling narrative of contemporary Ireland from one of its most highly respected historians

The Ireland of today is a place poised between the divisiveness of deep-seated conflict and the modernizing pull of material prosperity. Though each state's history is strikingly divergent, the mirroring ideologies that fuel them are remarkably symbiotic. With Ireland Since 1939, one of the most distinguished Irish historians working today casts a fresh and unpredictable eye to Ireland's history from World War II up through the present to show how-by putting aside its North/South conflict-Ireland can look forward to a prosperous economic future.