Böcker av James M Bourke

About the bookChasing a Chinese Dragon is a crime story with a difference. The dragon in the title is a young Chinese woman who embarks on a killing spree across Southeast Asia. She is chased by Simon Grant, a MI6 agent, who tells the story. He shares with us something of the secret world of SIS and the role of the secret agent 'under the alien sky.' The first killing occurs in London; several more follow across Southeast Asia, culminating in an attempt on the life of the chief of the Malaysian Special Branch in London. The killer pursues her victims with the cunning of a dragon. However, she is not a real dragon. The dragon here is a Chinese metaphor for a person seeking justice, retribution and redress. She is not a serial killer. She is a very complex character, deeply disturbed by legacy issues that remain unresolved in post-colonial Southeast Asia. At several points in the narrative the narrator stops to explain the colonial history of Southeast Asia and the 'legacy issues' that still remain unresolved.

Stories from Irish History is a collection of 13 stories based on selected episodes in Irish history, some of which are unremembered. They are historical fiction, a popular modern genre which has great appeal for many readers. Even though the stories are partly fictional, they are based on extensive historical research. We have to go back in time in order to discover ourselves and our culture. We do not have to live in the past but neither should we deny it. Our history is all around us, in the very air we breathe, not only in our history books but in the hills and valleys, in our lore and literature, in our art and architecture, in our songs and poetry. We know that the past is never past. We need to know who we are and who we used to be. We need to know about our cultural heritage, our pre-history, our lore, our local history and the story behind placenames. Ireland is a nation of story-tellers and historical fiction keeps that tradition alive not only in Ireland but also among the Irish diaspora in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Requiem for the Republic is a collection of socio-political essays on the state of the Irish nation. Unfortunately, the current 'New Ireland' is but a pale shadow of the republic that was established a hundred years ago in 1921 following the War of Independence. The thesis of these critical essays is that Ireland is no longer a true republic. It is the author's contention that it has become a servile secularist state, ruled by a political elite with an inflated sense of self-importance and a lack of empathy for the common people. The essays look at different aspects of the transformation of a Christian nation into a secularist state. The main focus is on the clash of cultures between the toxic ideology of the 'New Ireland' and the high ideals set by the founding fathers of the republic. Of course, the views expressed by Bourke are his personal opinions. They are contestable and will be contested. Many 'liberal' writers choose to ignore the disintegration of Christian Ireland and its traditional values. However, Bourke will not be silent. He states his case with searing honesty knowing that to remain silent would not serve the public interest.