The Unkindest Cut: A Cartoon History of Ulster, 1900-2000

Ulster's 20th century was, to say the least, eventful, with the home rule crisis, partition from the south of Ireland, two world wars, depressions, recessions and recurring outbreaks of civil conflict. Through it all, political cartoonists kept up a running commentary on events and personalities - Carson, Devlin, O'Neill, Hume, Adams and Trimble. Their cartoons reveal the prejudices, suspicions and sheer absurdities that the situation has engendered over the years. This volume presents historian John Killen's selection of around 140 cartoons, together with his captions and text. Demonstrating the characteristic dark humour common to all sides in the north, the selection also suggests some interesting, if quirky, scenarios for a better future.