This is a book about a very complex and convoluted period in Irish history. Eamon de Valera, already a giant (and controversial) figure in the founding of the Irish Republic fights another war - with the Axis and Allied powers to keep Ireland neutral throughout WW2. Ireland, in no position to defend itself, played a perilous diplomatic game, but under the real threat of invasion by Germany, the United Kingdom, and even at one stage the United States of America. While Irish attempts to bargain with, and eventually to pressure the United States to support the integration of Northern Ireland into the republic failed, simply maintaining neutrality turned out to be de Valera's considerable achievement. One of the interesting aspects of the history is that very early in the war de Valera had entered into secret agreements with the United Kingdom to defend the republic against a German invasion. This is a good history of a fairly obscure (unless you are Irish) part of history, but it adds significantly to an appreciation that WW2 was as much a diplomatic war as a military one. ( )