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A review by srash
Killing Rage by Eamon Collins, Mick McGovern
4.0
Well, that was disturbing.
Collins was an intelligence officer for the IRA in the 1970s and 1980s in the town of Newry. He helped arrange assassinations and bombings before becoming a police informer after he became disillusioned with the IRA, though he soon became disillusioned with being a "tout" too. Following his expulsion from the IRA and banishment from Northern Ireland, Collins--who was never nothing if not defiant, regardless of the occasion--ignored the edict, returned home, and worked in community education and became an outspoken proponent of an end to the violence. [Unfortunately, Collins's defiance led to his still unsolved murder a couple of years after the release of this book, no doubt the IRA making good on its threats to him.)
Collins is brutally honest, and the resulting book is hard to read as a result. He writes quite openly about the work he did with the IRA, what led him to join, and what led him to leave. Collins is an insightful, intelligent, and well-educated man (he was a law student before he began his career as a revolutionary/terrorist) who seems more comfortable analyzing his actions and decision-making process than many other people are.
I can't say I particularly liked Collins, but I do admire his forthcomingness and thought the book was an excellent look at the Troubles. He gives good context for the events of the era and does a good job of chronicling the way the organization began to fragment in the 1980s as tension developed between the more militant members and those more interested in political solutions.
Collins was an intelligence officer for the IRA in the 1970s and 1980s in the town of Newry. He helped arrange assassinations and bombings before becoming a police informer after he became disillusioned with the IRA, though he soon became disillusioned with being a "tout" too. Following his expulsion from the IRA and banishment from Northern Ireland, Collins--who was never nothing if not defiant, regardless of the occasion--ignored the edict, returned home, and worked in community education and became an outspoken proponent of an end to the violence. [Unfortunately, Collins's defiance led to his still unsolved murder a couple of years after the release of this book, no doubt the IRA making good on its threats to him.)
Collins is brutally honest, and the resulting book is hard to read as a result. He writes quite openly about the work he did with the IRA, what led him to join, and what led him to leave. Collins is an insightful, intelligent, and well-educated man (he was a law student before he began his career as a revolutionary/terrorist) who seems more comfortable analyzing his actions and decision-making process than many other people are.
I can't say I particularly liked Collins, but I do admire his forthcomingness and thought the book was an excellent look at the Troubles. He gives good context for the events of the era and does a good job of chronicling the way the organization began to fragment in the 1980s as tension developed between the more militant members and those more interested in political solutions.