This study is based on thousands of interviews over 35 years with the leaders and members of the Republican movement and the IRA itself, as well as the Irish, British and Americans involved in the Troubles. Not unmindful of the unfolding of history, nor the relevance of events, the focus of this study is on the workings of an organization involved in armed struggle.The book addresses the functioning of a revolutionary movement, not the theory, or the assumptions of observers. How does the IRA work, and why? Who gets what and at what cost? What are the advantages of secrecy and history - and what are the attractions of the secret army, and to whom?