Items related to The Serpent's Tail
“Dillon is recommended reading for anyone wishing to understand the complexities of British-Irish politics. He stands alone as one of the most creative writers of our time.”
Irish Times
“Martin Dillon’s exhaustive work covers the whole panoply of dirty tricks and conspiracies, black propaganda, disinformation, psychological warfare, agents and double agents ."
Financial Times
“This excellent book demands the attention of anyone concerned about civil liberties in the United Kingdom ...a catalogue of cynicism, lies, harassment, torture and murder that makes the Cold War duplicity a la Deighton and Le Carre seem positively endearing.”
The Guardian
“Dillon’s books are a working lifetime’s brave and persistent effort to get information of a kind which, as he frankly says, can be perilous to possess, let alone to reveal.”
Times Literary Supplement
“Martin Dillon is the greatest living authority on Irish terrorism. He is our Virgil to that inferno in all the varieties of its torment.”
The late historian & author, Dr. Conor Cruise O’Brien
“A couple of Catholic Belfastian teens, Stephen Kirkpatrick and Michael McDonnell, are caught between England's MI5, the SAS and the IRA as they seek a safe way into adulthood in 1970s’ Ireland. This is an excellent read, fast and peopled with folks you recognize instantly. I recommend it highly.”
Bonnye Reed Fry – Reviewer
“A classic of our times.”
Stephen Bentley – Reviewer
A gripping thriller based on a true sequence of events in which two young Belfast Catholics are recruited as informers and find themselves at the heart of a ‘sting’ involving the IRA, the SAS and MI5. The Serpent’s Tail is the first work of fiction by the man Conor Cruise O’Brien has described as ‘The greatist living authority on Irish terrorism.’
The true story of an SAS inspired sting against the Provisional IRA which almost destroyed the organisation. The IRA later admitted that the operation was a brilliant piece of planning by the SAS and the British Intelligence Agency, MI5. Its success was, however, short-lived leading to the sacrifice of many agents and the emergence of a more determined and ruthless IRA leadership.
In the style of Le Carre and Deighton, this book tells for the first time the story of the shadowy world of agents and double agents, the ruthlessness of both sides in the undercover war, the naivety of the British political and military Establishments, how and why the Provisionals took their campaign to mainland Britain, and bombed their way to the conference table and the White House.
Irish Times
“Martin Dillon’s exhaustive work covers the whole panoply of dirty tricks and conspiracies, black propaganda, disinformation, psychological warfare, agents and double agents ."
Financial Times
“This excellent book demands the attention of anyone concerned about civil liberties in the United Kingdom ...a catalogue of cynicism, lies, harassment, torture and murder that makes the Cold War duplicity a la Deighton and Le Carre seem positively endearing.”
The Guardian
“Dillon’s books are a working lifetime’s brave and persistent effort to get information of a kind which, as he frankly says, can be perilous to possess, let alone to reveal.”
Times Literary Supplement
“Martin Dillon is the greatest living authority on Irish terrorism. He is our Virgil to that inferno in all the varieties of its torment.”
The late historian & author, Dr. Conor Cruise O’Brien
“A couple of Catholic Belfastian teens, Stephen Kirkpatrick and Michael McDonnell, are caught between England's MI5, the SAS and the IRA as they seek a safe way into adulthood in 1970s’ Ireland. This is an excellent read, fast and peopled with folks you recognize instantly. I recommend it highly.”
Bonnye Reed Fry – Reviewer
“A classic of our times.”
Stephen Bentley – Reviewer
A gripping thriller based on a true sequence of events in which two young Belfast Catholics are recruited as informers and find themselves at the heart of a ‘sting’ involving the IRA, the SAS and MI5. The Serpent’s Tail is the first work of fiction by the man Conor Cruise O’Brien has described as ‘The greatist living authority on Irish terrorism.’
The true story of an SAS inspired sting against the Provisional IRA which almost destroyed the organisation. The IRA later admitted that the operation was a brilliant piece of planning by the SAS and the British Intelligence Agency, MI5. Its success was, however, short-lived leading to the sacrifice of many agents and the emergence of a more determined and ruthless IRA leadership.
In the style of Le Carre and Deighton, this book tells for the first time the story of the shadowy world of agents and double agents, the ruthlessness of both sides in the undercover war, the naivety of the British political and military Establishments, how and why the Provisionals took their campaign to mainland Britain, and bombed their way to the conference table and the White House.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author:
Martin Dillon has won international acclaim for his unique, investigative works on the Ireland conflict. Dr. Conor Cruise O’Brien, the renowned historian and scholar, described him as “our Virgil to that inferno.” The Irish Times hailed him as one of the most creative writers of our time and the Guardian compared him to John Le Carrie and Len Deighton. Martin Dillon’s trilogy, The Shankill Butchers, The Dirty War & God and the Gun, sold over a quarter of a million copies in the British Isles. His twelve non-fiction works are considered definitive accounts of the conflict. He began his distinguished career as a newspaper reporter and later became a programme editor with the BBC and a writer/producer with its award winning Timewatch. Throughout his BBC career he campaigned against its flawed interpretations of what constituted balance. He has been a terrorism expert for news outlets in Europe and North America. His play The Squad was one of the first about The Troubles and was produced on BBC radio and television by the late Ronald Mason, the esteemed Head of BBC Radio Three Drama. Dillon’s books include The Enemy Within, an account of the IRA’s terror campaigns in Britain, starting at the outbreak of World War II. Stone Cold was a portrait of a natural born killer and in The Trigger Men he delved into the lives of the most notorious assassins. Dillon exposed the IRA’s secret burials, the use of State-sponsored assassins and the phenomenon of sadistic torture by paramilitaries. He helped prepare the way for peace in Ireland by bringing together Nobel Prize winner, John Hume, and Gerry Adams, the IRA’s political leader. His help and advice were sought by the Margaret Thatcher and John Major governments. As a journalist and writer his life has been intertwined with the history of the Irish Troubles and its darkest days. He is often described as one of the most important voices of the conflict.
Synopsis:
By the author of non-fiction books about Ireland, notably "The Shankill Butchers", "The Dirty War" and "The Enemy Within". This novel tells of an SAS-inspired "sting" within the IRA, and is based on a true sequence of events in Belfast in the late 1980s.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherR. Cohen Books
- ISBN 10 1860660061
- ISBN 13 9781860660061
- BindingHardcover
- Rating
(No Available Copies)
Search Books: Create a WantIf you know the book but cannot find it on AbeBooks, we can automatically search for it on your behalf as new inventory is added. If it is added to AbeBooks by one of our member booksellers, we will notify you!
Create a Want