ENGELS TO SIGISMUND BORKHEIM *” 

(London, early March 1872] 

..-Sorge is very naive to ask for a book on Ireland from our 
standpoint. I have been trying to write one for two years now,” 
but the war, the Commune and the International have called a 
halt to everything else. In the meantime I recommend him the 
following: 

1. The Cromwellian Settlement of Ireland by Prendergast, London, 
Longmans, 2nd ed., 1870-71. 

2. Memoir on Ireland by O'Connell, London—Duffey, 1869. 

For the historical fundamentals 

3. The Irish People and the Irish Land by Isaac Butt, London— 
Ridgway. 

This for the present. 

The Irish question, simple as it is, is nevertheless the product of 
a prolonged historical struggle and so requires a thorough study. 
A manual to make the situation comprehensible in around 2 hours 
does not exist...