How the Irish Saved Civilization

Title: How the Irish Saved Civilization

Author: Thomas Cahill

Publication date: 1996

Book's setting: Nonfiction- Fall of Rome to Late Antiquity

Random facts: It was on the New York Times Bestsellers list. Nice.

Plot summary: Starting with the fall of Rome and St Augustine, Cahill tells the story of the decline into the dark ages. Focusing mainly on Ireland, he explains their barbaric past as well as the coming of St Patrick and Catholicism. Basically it's about how the Irish monks and clerics saved the world. They preserved records and copied over philosophy and poetry and kept the Bible safe while the rest of the world was in turmoil. And then how, years later, they emerged and spread their knowledge, dragging Europe out of the dark with the same works that had made it great hundreds of years before.

Favorite aspects: I love history. Reading this book really gave me a new way of looking at the Dark Ages. It's interesting, Europe never actually pulled itself out of the plague filled, war torn world. Really it was the remnants of the Roman Empire, Catholicism, and previously existing science and literature that saved them. So think what would have happened if the Church hadn't been able to jump-start the rebirth of Europe... How long would it have taken humanity to go through all those steps again? Would we even be here now if Plato and the Bible hadn't been preserved? It's almost like that was God's way of assuring that Christianity would survive the Dark Ages and constant barbarian wars and the black death and all the awful stuff in the Middle Ages. Monks were really spectacular people.

Least favorite aspects: Cahill quoted a lot of ancient literature but the set up was very odd and I had a hard time reading the poems. Although I think I can blame a publisher for that.

Other works it reminded me of: Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer; The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli.

Sadie's merciless break-down: I read the majority of this book one night from 11pm-3am. It was after a long day and I was very grumpy and hormonal. My cat was asleep on my stomach and I just read all night, feeling moody and alone. The fall of Rome depresses me. It makes me literally sad- the way natural disasters and murders and relatives in the hospital make me sad. Yesterday I was watching Doctor Who with my little sister... and of course it was the Roman Nestene Duplicates episode. Auton Rory has nothing to do with this book, except for that they were Romans and made me sad all over again. Dying civilizations toy with my emotions in crazy ways.
But Rome isn't the point of this book. Ireland is. Or rather, how Ireland had to pick up the pieces of a dying Roman society before everything was lost forever. I've never been overly fond of Ireland. Not that I dislike it or anything, but I am not Irish and never felt a connection to them. Scotland was always more mysterious to me. (Tam Lin and all.) But How the Irish Saved Civilization gave me a new respect for them as a little country. I root for the underdog and Ireland is like, the original underdog. I was at dinner with the Dooley family on St Patrick's Day and I was complaining that I didn't really understand Patrick or Ireland or anything and how oblivious I was to them as a society and country. All I know about Irish people are Brooklyn Irish bars like McMahons and O'Riley's. So Mr. Dooley lent me this book and demanded I read it. I'm glad I did.

Recommendation rate: If you're a history buff then you should read it. Otherwise it's just dates and facts and sexy Romans and half-naked Celts. Your choice.