We wrecked the place

In "We Wrecked the Place," Jonathan Stevenson records the post-ceasefire reflections of thirty-two militants - both republican and loyalist - weaving their thoughts and lives into Northern Ireland's blood-spattered past. Peace is not possible without the consent of the warriors, and many of the men and women interviewed demonstrate a readiness for peace for the first time in their adult lives. Most IRA veterans finally realize that bombs will not produce a united Ireland. Most loyalists finally accept that sectarian assassination only weakens the union with Britain. The Troubles are over for nearly all of Stevenson's subjects, who reveal here who they are and why they felt compelled to turn to violence. Readers will meet Tommy Gorman, who joined the Provisional IRA in 1970, spent several years in prison on and off between 1971 and 1986, and is now a community worker in west Belfast and a member of Sinn Fein: Anthony McIntyre, who joined the Provisional IRA in 1973, was sentenced to life imprisonment in Long Kesh prison, earned a B.A. in politics while incarcerated, was released in 1992, and is now pursuing a Ph. D. in politics at Queen's University of Belfast; David Ervine, who grew up in heavily Protestant east Belfast, joined the Ulster Volunteer Force in 1972, sentenced to 11 years in Long Kesh, was released in 1980, and is now a political spokesman for the Progressive Unionist party; and a whole host of other characters whose stories are integral to the life-blood of the Troubles.