When President of the Irish Republic Michael Collins signed the Anglo-Irish Treaty in December 1921, he remarked to Lord Birkenhead, ‘I may have signed my actual death warrant.’ And in August, 1922, during the Irish Civil War, that prophecy came true—Collins was shot and killed by a fellow Irishman in a shocking political assassination. So ended the life of the greatest of all Irish nationalists, but his visions and legacy lived on. This authoritative and comprehensive biography presents the life of a man who became a legend in his own lifetime, whose idealistic vigor and determination were matched only by his political realism and supreme organizational abilities. Coogan's biography provides a fascinating insight into a great political leader, while vividly portraying the political unrest in a divided Ireland, that can help to shape our understanding of Ireland's recent tumultuous socio-political history. “There have been several other lives of Collins, but none has assembled such wealth of detail.” – Independent on Sunday “A lively and colourful adventure story with a fascinating, yet recognisably human, hero.” - Dublin Sunday Press