Martin McGuinness: From Guns to Government

Martin McGuinness has variously been described as the second most powerful man in Britain after Rupert Murdoch,” the personification of the armed struggle,” and IRA Godfather of Godfathers.” Yet McGuinness, now the first Minister for Education in the Northern Ireland Assembly, is also a devout Catholic and the father of four. In his native Derry, he is equally revered and reviled. In this new biography, Liam Clarke and Kathryn Johnston uncover the truth behind the enigmatic, intensely private individual who holds the peace process in the palm of his hand. Drawing on interviews with friends and family, IRA volunteers, police officers, IRA victims, civil servants, and politicians, they tell the story of how McGuinness steered the IRA through war to peace. Liam Clarke is Northern Ireland Editor of The Sunday Times and author of Broadening the Battlefield; Kathryn Johnston is a journalist and filmmaker.