On the Blanket

The H Block protest is one of the strangest and most controversial issues in the tragic history of Northern Ireland. Republican prisoners, convicted of grave crimes through special courts and ruthless interrogation procedures, campaigned for political status by refusing to wear prison clothes and daubing their cell with excrement. Were they properly convicted criminals, or martyrs to political injustice? Where does the truth lie? Here, is a masterpiece of investigative journalism, is the only authoritative first-hand account of the H Block protest, updated and expanded for the first U.S. edition. Coogan's investigation led deep into the social, cultural and economic maze of Northern Ireland's history. Ultimately, the H Block question exposed the dilemma of British rule in Ireland, the tensions of a divided community and the roots of Republican violence. Coogan gives a masterly analysis of the history, politics and media debate surrounding the issue, but all of this is related - unforgettably - to the lives of the ordinary people. The reader's feelings are not spared, and the story is made all the more poignant when one considers the horrifying sequel to the H Block protest - the tragic deaths of Bobby Sands and nine other hunger-strikes in 1981.