"This outstanding study explains why the city and its region deserve the resonant title. Unlike the fireworks and sea serpents in the Lee, it will endure, and so ensure that the origins of Cork's economic and cultural distinctiveness are understood."--Toby Barnard
Very impressive work. Thus is not a light read but I learnt so much about the region in the 2 centuries before the famine. The writer has used a vast range of sources, which in itself much has meant much more research than appears in the final text.