I have just received a copy of a new eBook Ireland – in a new light by Chris Hill and Colin McCadden. Published by eBooks Ireland it is a most wonderful illustrated book that takes you on a virtual tour of Ireland. The images – 400 in all – are enchanting with an amazing depth of colour. It’s a delight to flick through them on the iPad. The text is short, to the point and not intrusive, in most cases just identifying the scene but in others providing valuable context. There are also galleries of images that allow you to dispense with the text altogether. The arrangement is logical with chapters for the provinces and sub-chapters for the counties in each province. Navigation is easy, whether you want to browse seriatim or to jump to your favourite province or county. In a nutshell it’s a coffee-table book for the iPad – truly a great read/view. As yet Ireland – in a new light is available only for the iPad and through iBooks. In time that will change so that those with Kindle and Android devices can share the experience. At about $A15 it is a real bargain. Try it out with a free sample at the iBooks store or take a look at eBooks Ireland‘s Facebook page.

John Wright, a freelance writer, formerly from Tasmania and now living near Oxford in England, has just had a book published by The History Press Ireland called Undaunted: The Irish in Australia. It contains 29 true stories about extraordinary adventures of Irish men and women from early convict/settler times through to the 1930s and features castaways, shipwrecks, cannibals, goldfields cross dressers, nurses, a runaway nun, war heroes, suffragettes, midwives, crocodile attack, a missing plane and explorers. About six of these stories are set in NSW. The book will be available in Australian bookshops from February 2013, RRP $34.99. More information from the distributors Woodslane.