BEFORE THE DAWN - An Autobiography.

US,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.[True 1st edn,originally published in Ireland by Brandon Book Publishers Ltd.,1996.] FINE+/FINE.No owner inscrptn and no price-clip (US$25.00) to dw/dj.Bright,crisp, clean,glossy laminated,subject's portrait,colour photographic illustrated upper panel of dw/dj with white letters,orange+white letters to spine/backstrip,critics' reviews to rear panel; with negligible shelf-wear and creasing to edges and corners - no nicks or tears present.Top+fore-edges bright and clean; contents bright, tight,clean - virtually pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners - appears unread? Bright,crisp,clean,sharp-cornered,plain dark brown paper-covered boards with black paper blind-spine with bright,crisp,stamped silver gilt letters to spine/ backstrip,brown+white striped headband,and immaculate plain white eps.US,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,vii-ixpp+1-332pp [paginated] includes author preface,11 chapters+epilogue,16pp contemporary b/w photographs in 1 block between pp176/7and 6pp glossary to rear.Plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages,poem extract,another poem extract (from Scenery Since Bloomsday by Denis Ireland),2 b/w maps (Belfast),another title separator page and 4pp blanks at rear. Gerry Adams is widely regarded a the most controversial leader in modern Irish history,yet few know what sort of man he is.For years his voice was banned from British radio and television,while commentators and politicians condemned him and all he stood for.Now,in 'Before the Dawn',with a remarkable insight into an extraordinary life,readers can judge for themselves.Born in West Belfast in 1948 into a family with close ties to both the trade union and republican movements,Gerry Adams is the eldest of ten children.He writes with affection of his mother,"an articulate and gentle woman," of his father,a republican activist who had been jailed at the age of sixteen,and of his grandmother,who nurtured in him a love of reading.He describes his childhood,despite its material poverty,in glowing and humorous terms,recollecting golden hours spent playing on the slopes of the mountain behind his home and celebrating the intimate sense of community in the tightly packed streets of working-class West Belfast. But even before leaving school to work as a barman,he had become aware of the inequalities of life in the north of Ireland.Soon he was engaged in direct action on the issues of housing, unemployment,and civil rights.Gerry Adams brings a unique perspective to the years of conflict,insurrection,and bitter struggle that ensued when,in his view,peaceful political agitation was met with hysterical reaction,and the sectarian tinder-box of Britain's last colony erupted.From the pogroms of 1969 to the hunger strikes of 1981,from the streets of West Belfast to the cages of Long Kesh, this powerful memoir is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand modern Ireland.Please contact rpaxtonden@blueyonder.co.uk ,because of the weight and value of this item,for correct,insured shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page!