Belfast: An Illustrated History

by Jonathan Bardon

This best-selling history of Belfast from its beginnings as a river-crossing, through its centuries of radical politics and thrusting commercial enterprise, to its present state, is now established as the definitive book on the subject. Extracts from contemporary letters, newspapers and official reports, together with the memories of ordinary men and women, enrich the lucid and compassionate narrative, vividly evoking the daily life of the city.

Genres: Ireland

322 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1982

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second history of Belfast I have read in the past few months. In part, the intent is to prepare myself to understand the socio-historical context to maximize the value of my visit there in 2012. Ironically, in the past week there has been renewed violence between the Catholic minority and the Protestant majority, despite a several-years' stand-down that has held. Now I can say I better understand the tensions, over several generations, and am less disposed to cast aspersions on the loyalists who consider themselves truly part of the United Kingdom.

It also inspires me to check to see how the city fared since 1982, the year the book was published. Whether the population has continued to decline further below the 400,000 at the time of the book.