This engaging and provocative work discusses over 50 books that have been instrumental in the development of Irish social and political thought since the early 17th century. Steering clear of traditionally canonical Irish literature, authors Bryan Fanning and Tom Garvin debate the significance of their chosen texts and explore the impact, reception, controversy, debates, and arguments that followed publication. Fanning and Garvin present these seminal books in an impelling dialogue with one another, highlighting the manner in which individual writers informed each other's opinions at the same time as they were being amassed within the public consciousness, reflecting the dominant political and social issues of the day. From Jonathan Swift's savage indignation to Flann O'Brien's disintegrative satire, this book provides a fascinating discussion of how key Irish writers affected the life of their country by upholding or tearing down those matters held close to the heart, to Irish identity, and to the habits of the nation. The range of writers discussed also include Wolfe Tone, John Mitchell, James Connolly, Frank O'Connor, Edna O'Brien, John McGahern, Noel Browne, Nell McCafferty, Fintan O'Toole, Mary Raftery, among many others.