Book review: Ireland: The Autobiography ed. by John Bowman

When is an autobiography not an autobiography? When, perhaps, it is written by 160 or so different people and is, rather, an anthology, writes Frank MacGabhann.

This anthology, edited by broadcaster and historian John Bowman, cannot be called a snapshot of Ireland. In fact, it is more than 160 snapshots that can be dipped into at any time.

The vignettes range from a few paragraphs to a few pages. As with snapshots, some people will like some vignettes more than others. So, too, with this reviewer.