Dublin: The Making of a Capital City - Tapa blanda

He distils a mountain of scholarship to illuminate the whole of Dublin's history. He is strongest on political and social change, informative too on the city's marvellous architecture ... This is the fullest overview of the many transformations of one of the world's most enchanting cities. (The Times 2014-05-10)

A scholarly, encyclopaedic exploration of our capital city ... highly readable ... a magnificent work of scholarship ... Novelists, historians and general readers will plunder this cornucopia for years to come. (Irish Times 2014-06-21)

This is narrative history of a high order, supported by impressive scholarship. (Sunday Business Post 2014-05-25)

This new account has 'classic' written all over it. A handsome, well-indexed and copiously illustrated volume. (BBC History Magazine 2014-08-01)

Dickson's Dublin is an achievement: he synthesises a vast body of literature to create a work that is comprehensive, intriguing and sober in its judgments ... Dickson has woven together the city's social, economic, cultural, demographic and architectural histories; the story he tells will intrigue natives, enlighten newcomers and stand as a monument to this great city's place in an ever-changing Ireland. (John Gallagher Sunday Telegraph 2014-05-18)

Majestic ... Dublin wears its years of study and learning without affectation, in language that's accessible and more than occasionally deliciously barbed with irony. (Tommy Barker Irish Examiner 2014-08-10)