34. How the Irish Saved Cililization

By Thomas Cahil
Rated 4 Stars
From Library

While I enjoyed this book I had to read it in small increments to keep from getting bored with it. I did enjoy the writing style but thought that the author spent way too much time beating around the bush and rehashing the reasons why the Roman Empire failed. I kept wanting to shout "Get On With It, Dude." That should have been another book instead of rolled up into this one. Below is the blurb from amazon and once again I seem to be in the minority as far as critical comments. Oh well......

Amazon.com

In this delightful and illuminating look into a crucial but little-known "hinge" of history, Thomas Cahill takes us to the "island of saints and scholars," the Ireland of St. Patrick and the Book of Kells. Here, far from the barbarian despoliation of the continent, monks and scribes laboriously, lovingly, even playfully preserved the West's written treasury. When stability returned in Europe, these Irish scholars were instrumental in spreading learning, becoming not only the conservators of civilization, but also the shapers of the medieval mind, putting their unique stamp on Western culture.