In this fine biography, M. J. MacManus traces vividly and dramatically a career which has been romantic in almost every phase, and gives a brilliant interpretation of the character and personality of the great Irishman who in his own time has become a world figure. In the present edition, the last six chapters, written by David O'Neill, bring the story of de Valera up to the end of 1961, when the veteran statesman had been over two years in office as President of Ireland. His election, as the Taoiseach, Mr. Sean Lemass, said at the inauguration ceremony in June 1959, was a fitting tribute to one who "for over forty years, in war and peace, in good and evil days," had been "a living symbol of the ideals for which so many of our race have striven." The wheel had indeed turned full circle.
