The late "Tod" Andrews was almost a symbolic figure in his progression from revolutionary to managerial technocrat and public figure - in which capacity he saw various regimes come and go. These books also offer remarkable glimpses of pre-independence Ireland, including a year spent under the guidance of Patrick Pearse, where the young Andrews was far from happy. During the Civil War, Andrews was an adjutant to Liam Lynch, and later he endured years of unwilling submission to the Cumann na nGael Government, before Fianna Fail came to power. His managerial skills were shown by his work with Bord na Mona, followed by years in the hot seat of CIE. De Valera and Lemass are only two of the leading figures who crowd these pages, and Andrews emerges as a thoughtful man as well as an exceptionally able and energetic one. Surely essential reading for anyone trying to make sense of the Ireland of the inter-war years, a milieu which remains oddly remote to the younger gernerations today.