{"product_id":"9780717163915","title":"What If? Alternative Views of Twentieth-Century Irish History: An Entertaining and Thought-Provoking Counter-History of Twentieth-Century Ireland","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWhat If?\u003c\/i\u003e is an entertaining, thoughtful, provocative and original look at some of the milestones of twentieth century Irish history that offers a glimpse of what might have been.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWe all know that there was nothing inevitable about much of modern Ireland’s history. Things could have turned out very differently, so it is natural to wonder what would have happened if certain events had never occurred or happened in a different way. \u003ci\u003eWhat If?\u003c\/i\u003e is the thought-provoking, enjoyable and insightful book that explores this conceit as its starting point, asking of key events in twentieth-century Ireland: ‘what if?’ \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBased on Diarmaid Ferriter’s acclaimed RTÉ Radio One series, the book looks at twenty events in twentieth-century Ireland, each of which was discussed on Ferriter’s show with two experts, and speculates on how things might have developed had circumstances been different. In doing so, Ferriter also sheds much new light on what actually did happen, how Ireland changed during the course of the twentieth century and the experiences of those who lived through it. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe big questions are tackled: what if there had been no 1916 Rising? What if Ireland had been invaded during World War II?  What if there had been no programmes for economic expansion? What if Mary Robinson had not been elected president in 1990? \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut the book also poses other, less obvious, questions: what if James Joyce and Samuel Beckett had stayed in Ireland; if Britain had blocked Irish immigration in the 1950s; if there had been no \u003ci\u003eLate Late Show\u003c\/i\u003e or \u003ci\u003eMagill\u003c\/i\u003e magazine; if Bishop Eamon Casey had never met Annie Murphy; or if John Charles McQuaid had never been Archbishop of Dublin?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eWhat If? Alternative Views of Twentieth-Century Ireland\u003c\/i\u003e: Table of Contents\u003col\u003eIntroduction\u003cli\u003eWhat if there had been no \u003ci\u003eLate Late Show\u003c\/i\u003e?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat if there had been no pro-life amendment referendum in 1983?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat if there had been no \u003ci\u003eMagill\u003c\/i\u003e magazine?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat if John Charles McQuaid had not been appointed Archbishop of Dublin in 1940?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat if Ben Dunne had not gone on a golfing trip to Florida in 1992?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat if Bishop Eamon Casey’s secret had not been discovered?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat if there had been no 1916 Rising?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat if the Treaty ports had not been returned in 1938?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat if the Blueshirts had attempted a coup in 1933?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat if de Valera had stood down as leader of Fianna Fáil in 1948 instead of 1959?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat if Donogh O’Malley had not introduced free secondary education in 1967?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat if the \u003ci\u003eIrish Press\u003c\/i\u003e had not closed down in 1995?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat if James Joyce and Samuel Beckett had stayed in Ireland?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat if Frank Duff had not established the Legion of Mary in 1921?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat if the Jim Duffy tape had not been released during the 1990 presidential election?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat if Proportional Representation had been abolished in 1959 or 1968?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat if T. K. Whitaker had not been appointed Secretary of the Department of Finance in 1956?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat if the members of U2 had gone to different schools in the 1970s?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat if Britain had imposed restrictions on Irish immigration in the 1950s?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat if Noël Browne had not been involved in Irish politics?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e","brand":"Gill Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47125674819824,"sku":"9780717163915","price":4.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780717163915_p0.jpg?v=1763630908","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780717163915","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}