Before the Dawn: An Autobiography

In this fascinating memoir of his early life, Gerry Adams, the president of Sinn Féin, describes the development of the modern “Troubles’’ in the North of Ireland, his experiences during that period, including secret talks with the British government and imprisonment, his leadership role in Sinn Féin, and the tragic hunger strike by imprisoned IRA prisoners in 1981. Born in 1948, Adams vividly recalls growing up in the working-class Ballymurphy district of West Belfast, where he became involved in the civil rights campaign in the late 1960s and was active in campaigns around issues of housing, unemployment, and civil rights. The unionist regime, which had been in interrupted power for 50 years, reacted violently to the protests, and the situation exploded into conflict. Adams recounts his growing radicalization, his work as a Sinn Féin activist and leader, his relationship with the IRA, and the British use of secret courts to condemn republicans. Adams was a political prisoner. He was arrested many times and recounts his torture. He spent a total of five years in the notorious Long Kesh prison camp. First as an internee, held without charge, and then as a sentenced prisoner after he made two failed attempts to escape. Adams chronicles the dramatic hunger strikes of Bobby Sands, Francis Hughes, Raymond McCreesh, and others in 1980–81 which saw ten men die. Though he opposed the hunger strike Adams was instrumental in organizing the mass campaign in support of the hunger strikers which saw Bobby Sands elected as a member of the British Parliament and Ciaran Doherty and Kevin Agnew elected to the Irish Parliament. Before the Dawn is an engaging and revealing self-portrait that is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand modern Ireland. First published in 1996―at a time when politics in the North of Ireland was in crisis and the Good Friday Agreement was still two years away―this new edition contains a brand new introduction and epilogue written by the author, covering Adams’s family, Brexit, and the peace process.

Biographies & Memoirs

ADAMS, GERRY

Historical

University of Notre Dame Press

In this fascinating memoir of his early life, Gerry Adams, the president of Sinn Féin, describes the development of the modern “Troubles’’ in the North of Ireland, his experiences during that period, including secret talks with the British government and imprisonment, his leadership role in Sinn Féin, and the tragic hunger strike by imprisoned IRA prisoners in 1981. Born in 1948, Adams vividly recalls growing up in the working-class Ballymurphy district of West Belfast, where he became involved in the civil rights campaign in the late 1960s and was active in campaigns around issues of housing, unemployment, and civil rights. The unionist regime, which had been in interrupted power for 50 years, reacted violently to the protests, and the situation exploded into conflict. Adams recounts his growing radicalization, his work as a Sinn Féin activist and leader, his relationship with the IRA, and the British use of secret courts to condemn republicans. Adams was a political prisoner. He was arrested many times and recounts his torture. He spent a total of five years in the notorious Long Kesh prison camp. First as an internee, held without charge, and then as a sentenced prisoner after he made two failed attempts to escape. Adams chronicles the dramatic hunger strikes of Bobby Sands, Francis Hughes, Raymond McCreesh, and others in 1980–81 which saw ten men die. Though he opposed the hunger strike Adams was instrumental in organizing the mass campaign in support of the hunger strikers which saw Bobby Sands elected as a member of the British Parliament and Ciaran Doherty and Kevin Agnew elected to the Irish Parliament. Before the Dawn is an engaging and revealing self-portrait that is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand modern Ireland. First published in 1996―at a time when politics in the North of Ireland was in crisis and the Good Friday Agreement was still two years away―this new edition contains a brand new introduction and epilogue written by the author, covering Adams’s family, Brexit, and the peace process.

He’s been imprisoned, shot at, denounced, shunned, and banned, yet Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams remains resolute in his belief that peace is the only viable option for the Irish people. Adams led the oldest revolutionary movement in Ireland on an extraordinary journey from armed insurrection to active participation in government. Now he tells the story of the tumultuous series of events that led to the historic Good Friday Agreement as only he can: with a tireless crusader’s conviction and an insider’s penetrating insight. In vivid detail, Adams describes the harrowing attack on his life, and he offers new details about the peace process. We learn of previously undisclosed talks between republicans and the British government, and of conflicts and surprising alliances between key players. Adams reveals details of his discussions with the IRA leadership and tells how republicans differed, “dissidents” emerged, and the first IRA cessation of violence broke down. He recounts meetings in the Clinton White House, tells what roles Irish-Americans and South Africans played in the process, and describes the secret involvement of those within the Catholic Church. Then—triumphantly—this inspiring story climaxes with the Good Friday Agreement: what was agreed and what was promised. Gerry Adams brings a sense of immediacy to this story of hope in what was long considered an intractable conflict. He conveys the acute tensions of the peace process and the ever-present sense of teetering on the brink of both joyous accomplishment and continued despair. With a sharp eye and sensitive ear for the more humorous foibles of political allies and enemies alike, Adams offers illuminating portraits of the leading characters through cease-fires and standoffs, discussions and confrontations. Among the featured players are John Major, Tony Blair, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Jean Kennedy Smith, and Nelson Mandela. As the preeminent republican strategist of his generation, Gerry Adams provides the first comprehensive account of the principles and tactics underpinning modern Irish republicanism. And in a world where peace processes are needed more urgently than ever, A Farther Shore provides a template for conflict resolution.

A Farther Shore: Ireland's Long Road to Peace

Leaders & Notable People

Random House]

Random House Publishing Group

Adams, Gerry. Before The Dawn: An Autobiography. London, Heinemann, 1996. 16cm x 24cm. 346 pages with maps and photographs. Original hardcover with dustjacket. Good condition with minor signs of external wear.

Before The Dawn

Morrow

The controversial president of Ireland's Sinn Fein describes his life as a young boy growing up in a small Irish town, his first stages of involvement with the IRA and the turbulent times during the revolutionary period, and modern-day peace talks with the British.

William Morrow & Co.

Gerry Adams has been at the forefront of Northern Ireland's struggle for nearly three decades, taking leadership positions and guiding his country in negotiating peace talks with England for the first time in their tumultuous history. Now, in Before the Dawn, Adams recounts his years growing up in the Irish countryside and, with startling detail, his early involvement in the IRA.Adams includes engaging stories of his boyhood and never-before-told family tales. His description of his critical role in Northern Ireland's violent and dramatic revolutionary period will haunt and intrigue readers. Ireland instills the strongest of emotions in her offspring, and Adams is no exception. Lyrical and riveting, Before the Dawn, explores the origins of one of this century's most compelling men.

Harper-perennial

Gerard "Gerry" Adams (Irish: Gearóid Mac Ádhaimh; born 6 October 1948) is an Irish republican politician, president of the Sinn Féin political party, and the Teachta Dála (TD) for Louth since the 2011 general election.From 1983 to 1992 and from 1997 to 2011, he was an abstentionist Westminster Member of Parliament (MP) for Belfast West. When he resigned in 2011 he had to accept a paid office of the Crown and was made Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead although this title was rejected by Adams.He has been the president of Sinn Féin since 1983. Since that time the party has become the fourth-largest party in the Republic of Ireland, the second-largest political party in Northern Ireland and the largest Irish nationalist party in that region. In 1984, Adams was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt by several gunmen including John Gregg. From the late 1980s onwards, Adams was an important figure in the Northern Ireland peace process, initially following contact by the then-Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) leader John Hume and then subsequently with the Irish and British governments.In 2005, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) indicated that its armed campaign was over and that it was exclusively committed to democratic politics. Under Adams, Sinn Féin changed its traditional policy of abstentionism towards the Oireachtas, the Parliament of the Republic of Ireland, in 1986 and later took seats in the power-sharing Northern Ireland Assembly.In 2014, he was arrested for questioning and held for four days by the Police Service of Northern Ireland in connection with the abduction and murder of Jean McConville in 1972. He was freed without charge and a file was to be compiled and sent to the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland.

RANDOM HOUSE UK

This is a collection of personal reminiscences of local and national Irish history and an era in the history of Belfast. Gerry Adams was MP for West Belfast from 1983 to 1992 and is the author of "The Politics of Irish Freedom", "Cage Eleven" and "'The Street' and Other Stories".

Falls Memories

Brandon Books

The Politics of Irish Freedom

History

Europe

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by ADAMS, GERRY. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by ADAMS, GERRY

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by ADAMS, GERRY. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Before the Dawn: An Autobiography

Before the Dawn: An Autobiography

A Farther Shore: Ireland's Long Road to Peace

A Farther Shore: Ireland's Long Road to Peace

Before The Dawn

Before the Dawn: An Autobiography

Before the Dawn: An Autobiography

Before The Dawn

Falls Memories

The Politics of Irish Freedom