THE LIE OF THE LAND

A riveting and curious look at the state of Ireland at the end of the century. Drawing from two decades of writings, Irish Times columnist O'Toole discusses everything from parallels between the American West and Ireland, John Ford's films, and the myth of JFK to Irish television personality Gay Byrne and his Late Late Show. O'Toole introduces the collection with an examination of what globalization—Ireland's entrance into the ``world's fair of consumerism''—means for a country where ``emigration has been the single biggest fact in the 75-year history of the Irish state.'' He also examines the previously taboo—including the Catholic Church and its silences regarding adulterous priests and pedophiles. O'Toole is at his most affecting when he recounts the story of the birth and abandonment of a baby in the west of Ireland in 1995. A country where the illegality of abortion is written into the constitution now has a tacit understanding that the death or abandonment of an infant doesn't require prosecution or punishment. While such a position would be considered shocking in the US, O'Toole counts it as progress for Ireland, a sign of compassion toward women. Affirming the long-term existence of the Irish diaspora, O'Toole says, ``Ireland is something that often happens elsewhere.'' Useful to American audiences in their analysis of how the Irish and the American intersect, these writings serve as a reminder that global, mass culture is formed by experiences on both sides of the Atlantic. Heartfelt and passionate, O'Toole's ruminations effectively map a changing Ireland.