Afterlives: The Hunger Strike and the Secret Offer that Changed History

By July 1981 four republican hunger strikers had already died in Long Kesh Prison. To outsiders, Margaret Thatcher appeared unbending; yet, far from the prying eyes of the press, her government was making a substantial offer to the prisoners. On 5 July this offer was given to Gerry Adams in Belfast, and relayed to the prison leadership. In this controversial book, O'Rawe documents the four-year war of words that followed. O'Rawe combines a moving and courageous personal record with first-hand documentation. He provides essential background and astringent commentary on the realpolitik of the peace process and republicanism in Northern Ireland today, and its impact upon the country as a whole.