"Drawing on frequent visits to Ireland over three decades, and his encounters with many of the leading players in the nationalist struggle, Hayden provides a gripping, first-hand history of the politics of the island, from "the Troubles" to the peace process. Here is a side of Ireland unseen by tourists: tea with a young Danny Morrison at his flat off the Falls Road, whispered conversation with Martin McGuinness in the shadow of a British listening post, a walk around the Milltown cemetery in Belfast with Gerry Adams. Interleaved with these reports from the heartland of the conflict, Hayden takes us back to the United States and his work as a Senator in the California State government. Here he confronts the editors of the Los Angeles Times over the paper's coverage of Bloody Sunday, welcomes the MP and leader of the SDLP John Hume on a visit to the state, and witnesses the first meeting between the Sinn Fein leadership and Bill Clinton at the White House."--Jacket.