An Cosantóir

| 33 Locked Out: A Century of Irish Working-Class Life Editor: David Convery Publisher: Irish Academic Press Ltd (Sept, 2013) (http://irishacademicpress.ie) ISBN: 978-0716532026 Price: €22.55 PB/ €58.50 HB Pages: 304 pages This book takes you back a hundred years, into the lives of the ordinary people who worked day in day out. People you never would have heard much about because of all the coverage of the troubles at the time. It's written by 12 different contributors, each contributing their knowledge and research to a chapter, which I found was a very interesting way of comprising the book, as it gives you different perspectives of the different happenings through the years of the working class of Ireland. The lead-in chapter by Conor McCabe explains the 1913 Dublin Lockout and the roles of all the factors and different trade unions that had a part to play. Probably the most interesting part of the book for me was discovering about the existence and evolution of the 'animal gangs' in chapter 6 by Donal Fallon. 'Animal gangs' first starting out as what Gardaí at the time described as 'of the corner boy type' newsboys. Another interesting chapter is the final chapter in which the class issue is touched on by Michael Pierse who gives us a deep look at the different classes at the time and relates them to today's class divisions. This book is a very interesting read for the Irish historian in all of us, I would highly recommend it. KB About the editor: David Convery is a historian whose work specialises primarily in the history, politics and memory of twentieth century Irish working-class life. He wrote a major study entitled Brigadistas on the Irish anti Fascist fighters in the Spanish Civil War. The Volga German – A Novel Author: Colin Sloan Publisher: Resurgam Press (August 2013) ISBN: 978-0956794826 Price: €12.85 Pages: 170 Ex Irish Defence Forces and UN veteran Liam Broy, is a cheeky north Dublin lad who in the late eighties is travelling around Europe while he tries to figure out what he will do with the rest of his life. Having come out of the army after his recent peacekeeping trip to Lebanon, where he won two bravery awards trying to save his pals on a patrol in southern Lebanon. Liam finds some solace while toiling away in the bowels of the Munich Bayerischer Hof Hotel in Germany - "It's nothing compared to the Leb". He is befriended by a quiet elderly hotel colleague, Andreas Mensche, who eventually lets Liam stay with him. Andreas is also a veteran, only of a different war; as a 16-year-old he was caught up in the outbreak of WWII. His parents and sisters were killed by the NKVD in his home town of Strekerau – The Jewel of the Volga. He then served in the German Army during the battle for Stalingrad. The two veterans forge a different kind of friendship, where each slowly releases their memories of the horrors of war and eases each other's pains. This is an enjoyable read which explores postconflict stress with very different characters and experiences. This book will be enjoyed by those who have served in the military and people who like a 'good read'. The book is available from Easons & Sons and on amazon.co.uk. WF About the author: Colin Sloan has published several books including 'Titus Unlive', 'From the Lambeg to the drum', 'Straight outta Belfast and Lisburn: Camera and Verse'. He has worked as a bookseller for many years in Northern Ireland. www.colinsloanauthor.com www.military.ie the defence forces magazine

• Cover