President of Sinn Féin and Westminster MP for West Belfast, Gerry Adams has been a published writer since 1982. His books have won critical acclaim in many quarters and have been widely translated. His writings range from local history and reminiscence to politics and short stories, and they include the fullest and most authoritative exposition of modern Irish republicanism.
Born in West Belfast in 1948 into a family with close ties to both the trade union and republican movements, Gerry Adams is the eldest of ten children. His mother was an articulate and gentle woman, his father a republican activist who had been jailed at the age of sixteen, and he was partly reared by his grandmother, who nurtured in him a love of reading.
His childhood, despite its material poverty, he has described in glowing and humorous terms, recollecting golden hours spent playing on the slopes of the mountain behind his home and celebrating the intimate sense of community in the tightly packed streets of working-class West Belfast. But even before leaving school to work as a barman, he had become aware of the inequities and inequalities of life in the north of Ireland. Soon he was engaged in direct action on the issues of housing, unemployment and civil rights.
For many years his voice was banned from radio and television by both the British and Irish governments, while commentators and politicians condemned him and all he stood for. But through those years Brandon published a succession of books which made an important contribution to an understanding of the true circumstances of life and politics in the north of Ireland.
In his autobiography, Before the Dawn, Gerry Adams brings a unique perspective to the years of conflict, insurrection and bitter struggle which ensued when peaceful political agitation was met with hysterical reaction and the sectarian tinderbox of Britain's last colony erupted. From the pogroms of 1969 to the hunger strikes of 1981, from the streets of West Belfast to the cages of Long Kesh, his powerful memoir is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand modern Ireland.
His first book, published in 1982 before he had become a well-known public figure, was Falls Memories, a "nostalgic and very personal account of a working-class community deeply steeped in Republicanism". Irish News.
Gerry Adams was interned without trial on the Maidstone prison ship and in Long Kesh during the 1970s. Twice sentenced for attempting to escape from internment, he spent most of his time as a sentenced prisoner in the cages of Long Kesh internment camp, which gave rise to one of his most remarkable books, Cage Eleven, his own account — sometime passionate, often humorous — of life in a British internment camp.
He has also published a collection of short stories, The Street, which led James F. Clarity of the New York Times to describe him in the Irish Independent as "A good writer of fiction whose stories are not IRA agitprop but serious art."
"A skillful writer with a sound intellectual foundation for his political beliefs." Time
"One thing about him is certain: Gerry Adams is a gifted writer who, if he were not at the center of the war-and-peace business, could easily make a living as an author, of fiction or fact." New York Times
A unique insight into recent Irish politics, this new book covers the crucial period between mid-1997 and the end of 2000. Consisting of selected articles from his regular column in the New York newspaper, The Irish Voice, these writings provide not only a revealing chronicle of the peace process but also an insight into his private life, and some surprisingly light and humorous moments.
"The importance of this collection from one of the foremost revolutionary figures of the late 20th century becomes immediately evident . . . And, as these articles show, he is a thinker of considerable stature . . . An Irish Voice is a good read. For the humour as much as the philosophy or the politics." Tim Pat Coogan, The Irish Times
Cage Eleven is Gerry Adams' account — sometimes passionate, often humorous — of life in Long Kesh prison and, above all, of his fellow prisoners.
"When the work of most of the participants in literature's yearly orgy of hype and hysteria has been consigned to history, Adams's slim volume will be alive and well." Sunday Press
“Whatever you think about the Sinn Fein leader, he has an extraordinary story to tell. Hope and History, his latest book, is a fascinating account of his journey through the peace process....” Daily Mirror
"The warmth of Adams's writing comes from the affection of a man for the remembered things of his past...The Street demonstrates that Adams can write well." Times Literary Supplement
"A definitive history of the Irish struggles of the 1970s, from the nationalist point of view. Adams, a fine writer, presents a straightforward, unapologetic memoir." Publisher's Weekly
