What at first appears to be a book for the academic is in fact a fascinating insight into village life in Ireland as it adapts to economic modernisation. Bookview Ireland Feb 2001 Peace writes compellingly and with grace, not least in passing from Inveresk to broader implications... This is an exemplary community study. Nigel Rapport, University of St Andrews Social Anthropology 9 (3) 2001 this is optimistic about the strength of Irish rural culture in the face of the great globalising forces that surround us. Books Ireland April 2001 Adrian Peace steps behind the appearance if dull sameness in the rural community to highlight the ongoing struggle through which residents of County Clare maintain their community distinction and fine differences ... a commendable, lively and sensitive work that contributes significantly to understanding Irish society. American Ethnologist 2003 constitutes a most important contribution to the still rather thin corpus of ethnographies based on research in Irish communities. It must be regarded as required reading for all students of contemporary Irish society and in addition raises issues of relevance wherever local communities feel that their unique identities are threatened by the potentially homogenising influences of global forces. The Australian Journal of Anthropology 2003