He distils a mountain of scholarship to illuminate the whole of Dublin's history. He is strongest on political and social change, informative too on the city's marvellous architecture ... This is the fullest overview of the many transformations of one of the world's most enchanting cities.
The Times
A scholarly, encyclopaedic exploration of our capital city ... highly readable ... a magnificent work of scholarship ... Novelists, historians and general readers will plunder this cornucopia for years to come.
Irish Times
This is narrative history of a high order, supported by impressive scholarship.
Sunday Business Post
This new account has 'classic' written all over it. A handsome, well-indexed and copiously illustrated volume.
BBC History Magazine
Dickson's Dublin is an achievement: he synthesises a vast body of literature to create a work that is comprehensive, intriguing and sober in its judgments ... Dickson has woven together the city's social, economic, cultural, demographic and architectural histories; the story he tells will intrigue natives, enlighten newcomers and stand as a monument to this great city's place in an ever-changing Ireland.
John Gallagher
Sunday Telegraph
Majestic ... Dublin wears its years of study and learning without affectation, in language that's accessible and more than occasionally deliciously barbed with irony.
Tommy Barker
Irish Examiner