An Cosantóir

| 35 dvd book Terror in Ireland 1916-1923 Edited by David Fitzpatrick Publisher: Lilliput Press (April 2012) www.lilliputpress.ie Price: €15.00 ISBN: 9781843511991 Pages: 248 paperback This book, although the chapters appear bite sized in the contents, is a comprehensive and detailed look at acts that constituted terror during our struggle for independence and the Civil War. It breaks down these times through painstaking research, figures and testimonies and relates them to the result of terror. It focuses not just on the numbers of dead or money lost, but also on the very real emotional impact the fighting had on both sides and the people caught in between. A number of contributors were specially commissioned for the book, so no one author is responsible for the entire set of chapters. That means this turbulent time in our history is examined from a number of angles and written in different styles. However one thing that is consistent throughout is the academic nature of the book. It contains many facts and figures and is enhanced by illustrations, maps and charts. A great book if you intend to study this period or have an already good knowledge of it. David Fitzpatrick is Professor of Modern History at Trinity College, Dublin. His most recent book is Solitary and Wild: Frederick MacNeice and the Salvation of Ireland, also published by The Lilliput Press in 2012. JACK REACHER Director: Christopher McQuarrie Staring: Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, David Oyelowo, Joseph Sikora, Richard Jenkins, Werner Herzog and Robert Duvall Certification: 15 Runtime: 2 hours 10 minutes Released: 19 Apr 2013 Christopher McQuarrie's adaptation of Lee Child's No 1 Best Selling novel series featuring Jack Reacher. This mystery crime drama is adapted from 'One Shot', #9 of 17. As an ex-military policeman turned vigilante drifter is called in to help investigate after an expert sniper takes the lives of five random victims. The prime suspect Barr (Sikora) insists upon his innocence and believes he's been set up and asks for Jack Reacher (Cruise). Barr's lawyer (Pike) asks Reacher to investigate the shootings, Reacher is led to believe there is an unseen force pulling the strings of the investigation and he's determined to get to the truth. Fans of the Reacher series have voiced their dislike of Cruise playing Reacher, who is a bigger broader and taller character in Lee Child's books. But Lee himself has said, "Cruise doesn't soften the character and will grow with the film adaptations." game The Peacemakers of Niemba By Tom McCaughren Publisher: Sommerville Press (1966, republished March 2013) http://somervillepress.com Price: €11.99 ISBN: 978-0-9573461 1 6 Pages: 160 I read this book not knowing a whole lot about what actually happened in the Congo before, on or after that faithful day of November 8th, 1960. The book slowly builds you up to what happened, Tom brings you back not only to the ambush but gives you almost a day to day account of what the mission entailed and the daily lives of the soldiers involved. The detailed research leaves very few rocks unturned as to exactly how the ambush came about and those responsible - who denied this tragic event. The ambush itself is written very graphically and holds no punches to what these brave Irish soldiers suffered, 9 of them lost their lives serving for the UN for the first time - the UN's first big loss of life in the Congo. Reading about these events brings out a sense of pride in the troops that served on this mission, and brings home the sad and unnecessary loss of life. 'The Peacemakers of Niemba' is an excellent and easy read, and for anyone like me that didn't know the full story, you'll have no doubts about the faith of that brave patrol. Tom McCaughren wrote The Peacemakers of Niemba when Defence Correspondent of The Irish Times. He later joined RTE for which he covered the troubles in Northern Ireland and related violence in the republic. As Security Correspondent of RTE, he also covered the peacekeeping operations of Irish troops in the Middle East and the Balkans. www.tommccaughren.net Steel Battalion Heavy Armor Set in 2082, Steel Battalion Heavy Armor depicts a world devoid of semiconductors, where war is waged with rudimentary weapons as new superpowers struggle for dominance. In a twist of fate, the US army has been forced to begin major landing operations on what was once its own soil. In this lowtech era, there is one weapon class that will determine the course of the war - the Vertical Tank (VT). Playing as pilot Lt Powers, you control one such VT as you embark on a mission that will see the action shift from North America to battlefields and war-torn streets across the globe. VT movement, aiming and firing of the main guns are undertaken using the Xbox 360 controller. A wide variety of other combatcrucial actions are done through Kinect for Xbox 360 with upper body gestures - from starting the engine to operating the scope or manning the turret-mounted machine gun. Genre: FPS – Platform: Xbox 360 - PEGI: 18 – Price: €19.98 (gamestop.ie). Release: 22 June 2012. © Capcom USA, Inc. & Ascaron Entertainment UK Ltd - All Rights Reserved. www.military.ie the defence forces magazine

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