John Hume:Peacemaker

From Publishers Weekly Hume, who was nominated for the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize because of his work on the IRA cease-fire initiative, was born in Derry in 1937. Educated on scholarship at Maynooth College in the Republic, he was active in the civil rights marches of the late '60s and helped found, and eventually led, the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). During his time as an activist, he fought against the Special Powers Act, internment, and the pro-Unionist, anti-Catholic Stormont Parliament. With his election as an MP in 1983-the first Catholic in 300 years to represent the city of Derry at Westminster-he continued to criticize the violence in the North and was a prime architect of the 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement. Although a pacifist with a deep disdain for the IRA, he was the first politician to bring Sinn Fein (the IRA'S political arm) and Gerry Adams into the political mainstream. His negotiations with Adams, British Prime Minister John Major and Irish Taoiseach Albert Reynolds (who wrote the introduction to this book) finally led to the implementation of a cease-fire on September 1, 1994. Drower (The Path to Leadership) has written a detailed biography of one of the master Irish politicians of the latter 20th century. Photos not seen by PW. Copyright 1995 Cahners Business Information, Inc. Product description This biography of John Hume, based on interviews with friends, foes and colleagues, charts his political career from his early years in the Derry civil rights movement, to his decisive role in the Peace Process.