Galloping from the Ice Age to the present, The Shortest History of Ireland will completely change the way people see the Irish past.

Guiding us through centuries of bitter struggle and fierce resistance, James Hawes charts the importance of Ireland’s links to its real mainland – Europe – and to its exiled children in America. For centuries, Europe provided hope in the face of near-genocidal colonisation – and then Greater Ireland (as it was sometimes called) across the Atlantic took over.

Today, Ireland finds itself in an era of renewal. Bolstered by huge economic growth, a young and growing population and support from both its diaspora and its allies, the nation just has to sidestep the last, toxic wreckage of the British Empire, and its fascinating past will flow into a bright future.

A tale of triumph, tragedy and revival, this is popular history at its thrilling best.