Opening with an evaluation of the roots of the Rising, the authors present pen portraits of the leaders and a through analysis of their motives, plans and objectives. They challenge the traditional interpretation that these leaders expected military failure, motivated by a desire to provide a 'blood sacrifice' and hoping thereby to rejuvenate Irish nationalist sentiment. A detailed chronological account of the Rising itself vividly recaptures the action in the key locations, giving fresh insights into the actual experience of Easter Week for the rebels, the military personnel who opposed them, and the civilian population. The authors conclude their narrative by reviewing the British government's reaction to the Rising, analysing the background to the declaration of martial law, and assessing the British military response.