"Compellingly written and completely even-handed, this is by far the clearest account of what happened in the Northern Ireland conflict - and why." "The Troubles in Northern Ireland rolled grimly on for almost thirty years from the late 1960s until the onset of the current shaky peace process. In that time, the conflict never strayed far off the news schedules of the world's media. Thousands of books, articles and theses were published, dissecting every possible aspect of the problem and making it the most researched civil conflict in history." "But behind the wall of information and opinion there is a straightforward and gripping story, demanding to be told in an accessible way."--Jacket.

The static society, 1921-63 -- The O'Neill years, 1963-69 -- Descent into violence, 1969-71 -- The end of Stormont, 1972-73 -- Sunningdale, strike & stalemate, 1974-76 -- From Castlereagh to Warrenpoint, 1977-79 -- The hungerstrikes, 1980-81 -- Anglo-Irish accord, 1982-85 -- Enniskillen, Libya & bombs in England, 1986-93 -- Peace process, 1993-94 -- Decommissioning, Docklands & Drumcree, 1994-96 -- Breakthrough, 1997-2000.