This is a collection of writings from the Irish satirist Flann O'Brien, edited from more than 3000 columns which appeared daily in the "Irish Times" under the pseudonym Myles na gCopaleen. Where previous collections are mere compilations, this collection of wartime columns treats the famous Irishman Myles na gCopaleen and his hectoring associates as the fictional characters they were intended to be. Tracking the shocking disintegration of this bright young writer, philosopher and social commentator, we witness Myles' steady decline, as his sparkling wit darkens in an alcoholic tragedy of the mind.