This book is written by an academician who extensively researched the case of Bridget Cleary and in the process delves into the history of Irish cultuThis book is written by an academician who extensively researched the case of Bridget Cleary and in the process delves into the history of Irish culture. Bridget Cleary was burned to death by her husband with the assistance of relatives. It is set in Tipperary in the late 19th Century. Bridget becomes ill and the people around her decide that she has been taken away by the fairies who have put a changeling in her place. In the end in order to get his wife back, Michael Cleary, Bridget's husband burns her to death in their kitchen. Over the course of several days, seven relatives come and go into the house aiding Michael and offering advice on getting rid of the changeling.
Michael Cleary and the others are arrested and charged with murdering Bridget. At this time Ireland was still under the governance of Britain but the prospect for home rule in the country was a very hot issue in Parliament and after 900 years, it seemed like a possibility. The problem was that Unionists at the time were vehemently opposed to the idea and when stories about fairies abducting Bridget Cleary came to be known, Unionists argued that the Irish were incapable of self government. The incident coincided with the arrest and conviction of Oscar Wilde because of his homosexuality and shortly after the downfall of Charles Stewart Parnell after his extra marital affair. The idea was that these deviations from normal behavior were part and parcel of the Irish. How much influence this all had on home rule is not known but the accused were all convicted.
The judge hearing the case did not believe that the accused committed the crime out of a belief that fairies had taken Bridget. He believed that it was a case of deliberate murder and so the sentences, particularly Michael Cleary's were harsh.
Bourke explains the purpose of mythology in the life of the Irish and how their belief almost never resulted in violence. That said, she believed that Cleary deeply believed in the mythology and therefore did not commit murder. She explains the role of mythology in Ireland and other cultures as warnings to obey the rules of the society or pay the consequences.
I am Irish American; was married to an Irishman, lived in Ireland for many years and came across superstition on a fairly regular basis. My mother in law believed in many things and my husband had his fair share of belief in it as well. We had an employee who, rather than move into a house she and her husband had built, lived in a tiny trailer for 18 months with their three children while another house was built. The reason was that she discovered that the house built on a fairy ring. This took place in the 1980's. Many of us might find this ridiculous but these are deeply held beliefs and Ireland was only beginning to emerge from 900 years of colonialization and victimization by the British. They had only recently had the opportunity to earn an education and life was becoming less isolated. It is a fascinating book for anyone interested in this topic....more
This book is one of those that once you have finished reading it, you realized just how much you have learned from it. And it does not hurt that it isThis book is one of those that once you have finished reading it, you realized just how much you have learned from it. And it does not hurt that it is beautifully written. David Treuer is Native American and the book is a bIography, of sorts. It is a biography of a Reservation. He captures the stories of his family, friends, and acquaintances that he has known in his life. Each comes to life and the reader feels like she has a connection to each of them and to the author. It is the story of poverty and progress, of lives suddenly ended too soon, of kids living in poverty and looking for ways out. But most of all, Treuer manages to capture the spirit of the reservation that makes those living and dying there matter to us. But this is not a story of victimization. It is the story of every day people, often in dire circumstances, who live their lives, making decisions that are sometimes good and sometimes not. I highly recommend this book. Although I heaped praise upon "The Spirit of Wounded Knee", and rightfully so, this book is more personal. At many times, life on the reservation seemed much like my own upbringing and maybe that is the point. It reminds us that we are all connected to one another as members of the human race and we have an obligation to one another. ...more
For anyone with an interest in antiquity, this book is a treasure-trove. From chapters on the important actors in Greece, (Socrates, Plato, etc.) to lFor anyone with an interest in antiquity, this book is a treasure-trove. From chapters on the important actors in Greece, (Socrates, Plato, etc.) to literary achievements, to Greek thought and religion, the reader is given a veritable smorgasbord of Greek culture. Written by one of the foremost experts on Greece, it is a pleasure to read as it enhances the reader's understanding of the golden age of Greece. ...more
This excellent book picks up where "Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee" left off. It begins after the Wounded Knee massacre and its point is to document thThis excellent book picks up where "Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee" left off. It begins after the Wounded Knee massacre and its point is to document the fact that Native American history did not end at the end of the 19th Century, that it continued, amidst more bad decisions and cultural genocide by the government. Treuer documents how Native Americans have faired over the last century. His book is a statement about not alone have all the real Indians have not died off but are alive and well and making their way in the world. Although most still are struggling, many are making their way in the world and finding a way to be an Indian and an American. Many tribes have done well with casinos and other ventures. Native Americans have begun to reclaim their history and their culture and find ways to find their own American dream. This is a very well written and researched book and something that all Americans should read. ...more
Grann has written a fascinating account of the murders of members of the Osage people who happened to own land containing one of the richest oil findsGrann has written a fascinating account of the murders of members of the Osage people who happened to own land containing one of the richest oil finds in the country. Previous to their ownership, the tribe had been moved (again). During Jefferson's presidency, they had been moved and promised by Jefferson personally, that they would never have to leave their land. Within 4 years, Jefferson moved them again. After this, they would be moved again. This time the land offered and accepted was a patch of what was considered to be as undesirable as land could be: nothing would grow, it had little natural beauty and had no value to white people...until the discovery of oil. Suddenly the Osage were amongst the richest people in the country. The Osages received "headrights" which entitled them to money from the oil companies who drilled on their land. They were millionaires practically overnight. When this occurred, the government decided that the Indians could not be trusted to handle their own money and so they appointed guardians who decided how much and when the Osages would receive their money. Then the murders began. Some were shot, others poisoned. Local investigations yielded nothing- largely because the local governments were corrupt and many were benefitting from the murders. Eventually, the newly formed FBI was brought in to investigate. A man named Tom White was in charge of the case and uncovered the culprits for several of the murders. J. Edgar Hoover, the head of the FBI determined that the case was closed, and as was the norm, he took all the credit himself, never mentioning White who had actually broken the case. Although there were many loose ends in the case, Hoover wanted it closed and so it was. It wasn't until many years later that the author began research on a project about the by now, forgotten case. What he discovered was that the men prosecuted by the FBI were just the tip of the iceberg. There were hundreds of unsolved murders of Osage Indians during that time but by that time, people were dead, evidence lost. The story could be seen as typical of the treatment of Native Americans in this country. They were denied their rights of ownership, it was supposed that they had to have guardians in order to "safeguard" their fortunes, and when something happened to them, the cases were rarely taken seriously. It seemed to be understood that if you killed an Indian, you would get away with it. And the perpetrators did; on a grand scale. The book is well written, reading more like a novel than history. The more one learns about our treatment of Native Americans, the more obvious it is that we have a lot to answer for. ...more
This is an important book. The research is outstanding and the author's commitment to his project undeniable. It is a book that everyone should read bThis is an important book. The research is outstanding and the author's commitment to his project undeniable. It is a book that everyone should read but might not want to. I am in grad school and have to read several books at a time. This was the book I chose for my light reading outside of class, lol. Diamond traces the origins of civilization from the Fertile Cresent to every corner of the world and his results are well researched, scholarly, and important. I did find however, that the book could be quite dry. The book is around 400 pages but it felt more like a book more than double that length. ...more
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