As the Man in the Middle, Hume probably has the most, invidious position of all the wide spectrum of personalities prominent in the Northern crisis. Scorned by IRA supporters as a pussyfooting, law abiding neoRedmondite, regarded by the unionists as an intriguer and virtually a traitor, often attacked or misrepresented by the English press (including the "liberal" section of it), his has been an uphill struggle and Just now he has seen the cup of peace dashed to the ground again and spilt. Apart from being a strong, moderate man and a shrewd one, he is also gifted academically - when he studied at Maynooth, the future Cardinal O Fiaich considered him the brightest history student he had taught. This book, by an Englishman, is not uncritical but leaves Hume undiminished.