Paddy Machiavelli – How to Get Ahead in Irish Politics - An Entertaining and Irreverent History of Irish Politicians

John Drennan

Beschreibung

The good, the bad and the cynical – how to get ahead in Irish politics

It might appear strange that a 16th-century Italian political philosopher should provide us with a roadmap to political power in Ireland, but as John Drennan's tongue-in-cheek account Paddy Machiavelli makes clear, the gap between the parish pump and the Renaissance palazzo is a narrow one indeed. In fact, observe the Irish body politic for long enough and the lines between the Florentine's faceless hero and our own Dáil aristocrats begin to blur ever so slightly.

A veteran of countless Leinster House power plays, Drennan takes inspiration from Machiavelli's The Prince, dispensing invaluable advice for the aspiring politician, such as how to cultivate the cloak of being an 'ordinary decent skin', how to choose your scapegoats carefully, and how to be a straight-talker whilst embracing vagueness.

This hilarious account of the compromises that the Irish politician has to make in order to seize power is not just a 'celebration' of the politics of cynical amorality; it's a timely reminder of the role we play in choosing our leaders.

In this wildly entertaining book, celebrated Sunday Independent columnist John Drennan is at his best.  The definitive guide to success in Irish politics, Paddy Machiavelli will have you laughing and crying all the way to the ballot box.

'Drennan's storytelling style is stage Irish, and like a culchie Cicero, he laces his brilliance with bile. It is the politics of Paddy and in the tradition of Hall's Pictorial Weekly via Craggy Island.'
Gerard Howlin, The Sunday Times

'There is a fierce intelligence and fierce independence at work here. No one escapes his gimlet eye, and he brings to the whole bizarre ecosystem of the Dáil a unique perspective, that of the insider who remains resolutely outside.'
Brendan O'Connor, The Sunday Independent

'If Paddy really wants to know the story, generally he asks Drennan first.'
Lise Hand, Irish Independent

'Drennan is one of the best pundits in Ireland. He has an understanding of politics that is both instinctive and intellectual.'
Pat Leahy, The Sunday Business Post

'[Drennan] reads the political game like the sort of bookie who always leaves Cheltenham with a full satchel.'
Ivan Yates, Newstalk

Verfügbar seit: 19.09.2014.

Drucklänge: 224 Seiten.

Weitere Bücher, die Sie mögen werden

Hope in the Dark - Untold...

Rebecca Solnit

With Hope in the Dark, Rebecca Solnit makes a radical case for hope as a commitment to act in a world whose future remains uncertain and unknowable. Drawing on her decades of activism and a wide reading of environmental, cultural, and political history, Solnit argued that radicals have a long, neglected history of transformative victories, that the positive consequences of our acts are not always immediately seen, directly knowable, or even measurable, and that pessimism and despair rest on an unwarranted confidence about what is going to happen next.Originally published in 2004, now with a new foreword and afterword, Solnit's influential book shines a light into the darkness of our time in an unforgettable new edition.

Zum Buch

Political Islam - Context Versus...

Khaled Hroub

This volume offers a comprehensive discussion of the contemporary debates within political Islam, providing an in-depth analysis of the specific movements, countries and regions in the Arab world and Israel. The contributors contend that the evolution of Islamic movements is contextual rather than ideological. Therefore, Islamic movements are best understood individually within their own historical, socio-political and cultural setting. Political Islam is an essential reference for academi, researchers and the media, as well as general readers with an interest in Islamic political debates. Contributors include Abdullah Baabood, Youcef Bouandel, Abdelwahab El-Affendi, Kamal Helbawy, Roel Meijer, Ibrahim Moussawi, Tariq Ramadan, Tilde Rosmer, Murad Batal al-Shishani, Sara Silvestri and Camille Tawil. '[Hroub's] work on Hamas is exceptional … a lucid, informative and extremely valuable introduction to this complex organisation.' -- Sara Roy, Harvard University

Zum Buch

The Communist Manifesto and...

Karl Marx

Widely debated since its publication in 1848, The Communist Manifesto is one of the world's most influential political manuscripts. Presenting an analytical approach to the problems of capitalism and the resulting class struggle between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, the text lays out the rationale and goals of communism as conceived by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. This edition of The Communist Manifesto is based on the English edition of 1888. In addition, this collection includes the following essays and writings by Marx, translated by H. J. Stenning: "A Criticism of the Hegelian Philosophy of Right," "On the King of Prussia and Social Reform," "Moralizing Criticism and Critical Morality: A Polemic Against Karl Heinzen," "Proudhon," "French Materialism," and "The English Revolution."

Zum Buch

Practise the Great Habit of...

Andrew Richardson

This breakthrough programme is for all who wish to acquire practice tools that will minimise stress and enhance their ability to think and act clearly.Are you stressed too much of the time and on edge? Relaxation can be practiced so you find it easier to achieve, like playing the piano or learning tennis. This Relax kit gives you tools to help you do this. And so you must try them all out and see which works for you when. You can keep using them whenever you wish and as part of a regular wellbeing self help programme.There are seven audios in this Conscious Relaxation programme:R1 Introduction (7 mins)R1 sets the scene and explains why relaxation practice is so beneficial.R2 Three Techniques (10 mins)R2 teaches three simple relaxation techniques for you to practice so they are there for you, when you need to be calmer in real life situations.R3 Priming (8 mins)R3 is short but will extend your capacity to achieve a more relaxed state in your day to day lives.R4 Anchoring (9 mins)R4 teaches a method that connects calm feelings to the physical.R5 Progressive Muscle Relaxation (12 mins)R5 is slightly longer body scan practice – a classic of its type (12 mins)R6 Breathing Meditation (16 mins)R6 is designed to enhance your capacity to breathe in a relaxing way whenever you need to.R7 Anxiety Control (21 mins)R7 focuses on anxious feelings and how to use them and control them in the right kind of way.Email access to Andrew RichardsonI want to hear how you have got on with Conscious Relaxation and be available for you with advice, mentoring and if needed personalised one on one help – so you can truly recover and find the optimism and energy that is your birthright.

Zum Buch

We Are Not Refugees - True...

Agus Morales

Never in history have so many people been displaced by political and military conflicts at home—more than 65 million globally. Unsparing, outspoken, vital, We Are Not Refugees tells the stories of many of these displaced, who have not been given asylum."With the keen eye and sharp pen of a reporter, Agus takes us around the world to meet mothers, fathers, [and] children displaced from their homes. Now, more than ever, this is a book that needed to be written and needs to be read."—Ali Noraani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum and author of There Goes the Neighborhood: How Communities Overcome Prejudice and Meet the Challenge of American Immigration"Morales notes [that] those who live on the margins are not even refugees, often seeking survival without the UNHCR, internally displaced people whose stories we need to hear, whose lives we need to remember. . . a must read." —Dr. Westy Egmont, Professor, Director of the Immigrant Integration Lab, Boston College School of Social WorkFor over a decade, human rights journalist Agus Morales has journeyed to the sites of the world's most brutal conflicts and spoken to the victims of violence and displacement. To Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Central African Republic. To Central America, the Congo, and the refugee camps of Jordan. To the Tibetan Parliament in exile in northern India.We are living in a time of massive global change, when negative images of refugees undermine the truth of their humiliation and suffering. By bringing us stories that reveal the individual pain and the global scope of the crisis, Morales reminds us of the truth and appeals to our conscience.

Zum Buch

The Spies Who Never Were - The...

Hervie Haufler

The thrilling true story of the daring double agents who thwarted Hitler’s spy machine in Britain and turned the tide of World War II. After the fall of France in the mid-1940s, Adolf Hitler faced a British Empire that refused to negotiate for peace. With total war looming, he ordered the Abwehr, Germany’s defense and intelligence organization, to carry out Operation Lena—a program to place information-gathering spies within Britain. Quickly, a network of secret agents spread within the United Kingdom and across the British Empire. A master of disguises, a professional safecracker, a scrubwoman, a diplomat’s daughter—they all reported news of the Allied defenses and strategies back to their German spymasters. One Yugoslav playboy codenamed “Tricycle” infiltrated the highest echelon of British society and is said to have been one of Ian Fleming’s models for James Bond. The stunning truth, though, was that every last one of these German spies had been captured and turned by the British. As double agents, they sent a canny mix of truth and misinformation back to Hitler, all carefully controlled by the Allies. As one British report put it: “By means of the double agent system, we actually ran and controlled the German espionage system in this country.” In The Spies Who Never Were, World War II veteran cryptographer Hervie Haufler reveals the real stories of these double agents and their deceptions. This “fascinating account” lays out both the worldwide machinations and the personal clashes that went into the greatest deception in the history of warfare (Booklist).

Zum Buch