This is the biography of Michael Collins, 1890-1922, who fought in the Easter Rising in Dublin and quickly rose to prominence among Ireland's new revolutionary leaders. As director of Organisation and Intelligence during the War of Independence, he evoked the passionate loyalty of his friends and the hateful fear of his British opponents. He did, however, play a vital part in the Anglo-Irish negotiations of 1921 and resolutely defended the Treaty. An inspired Commander-in-Chief of the new Irish government's forces, he was shot dead at the age of 32 in an ambush at the height of the Civil War which followed the Treaty. His colourful personality as well as his controversial career left a permanent mark on the history of independent Ireland of which, in spite of his premature death, he is regarded as a founding father.