How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe
By Thomas Cahill. This national bestseller tells the story of the "island of saints and scholars," from the fall of Rome to the rise of Charlemagne -- the time of St. Patrick. Far from the barbarian despoliation of the continent, Irisn monks and scribes laboriously, lovingly, and even playfully preserved the West's written treasury. Wrote one critic, "Cahill's lively prose breathes life into a 1,600-year-old history." In paperback, 246 pages.
