Peter and Fiona Somerset Fry, authors of the highly successful History of Scotland , present a concise and enjoyable introduction to the history of Ireland taking the story up to 1972. Starting in about 6000 BC, they cover the neolithic, bronze and iron ages, describing Irish tombs, artefacts and buildings; the arrival of Christianity in Ireland; the golden age (500-800 AD) when Irish scholars were the most renowned in Europe; the great Viking period; the takeover of Ireland by Henry II in 1171; the long and painful association with England; the struggle between Protestant and Catholic, colonial settler and native Irishman; and the fight for independence, achieved by the South in 1921. They take the story up to the present day.