Plug Your Book reveals the most effective and least expensive tools to promote your titles and to increase your exposure. It’s the best book on online marketing I have ever read, and I read quite a few in the course of my consulting practice with small presses.

A research fellow in history at De Montfort University Leicester (U.K.), Cronin offers synopsis with little insight in this overview of Irish history. Starting with ancient Gaelic Ireland, he quickly moves on to the introduction of Christianity, the Viking and Norman-Anglo invasions, and the effects on the Protestant Reformation. With Cromwell’s invasion in the mid-17th century came the redistribution of land from the Catholics to the Protestants. This is the strong point of the book, as Cronin compacts convoluted Irish history into a comprehensive, readable form. He then briefly covers the 1798 Rebellion, Catholic emancipation under Daniel O’Connell and the great famine of the 1840s, all of which set the stage for the Fenian rebellion of 1867. The Fenians, though unsuccessful, would leave their imprint on Parnell and his Land League. Cronin paints a concise, albeit limited, picture of the events of 1914 through 1923

Few outside the security services have heard of 14 Company. As deadly as the SAS yet more secret, the Operators of 14 Company are Britain’s most effective weapon against international terrorism. For every bomb that goes off 14 Company prevent twelve. The selection process is the most physically, intellectually and emotionally demanding anywhere in the world. Trained to operate under cover, Operators have at their disposal an arsenal of techniques and weapons unmatched by any other UK government or military agency. This is the true story of one Operator and of some of the most hair-raising military operations ever conducted on the streets of Britain.

Book Review – Saint Patrick by Jonathan Rogers.
Christian Encounters, a series of biographies from Thomas Nelson Publishers, highlights important lives from all ages and areas of the Church. Some are familiar faces. Others are unexpected guests. But all, through their relationships, struggles, prayers, and desires, uniquely illuminate our shared experience.

Usually, as a matter of principle, I do not buy any books that promise the reader the guaranteed path to success, but every now and then I need a slap in the face, I guess. The not-so-literal slap in the face came with buying and reading New Path to Riches by Nick Usborne.