However, the Orange Order has been changing in recent years. A new more liberal leadership has marginalised its extremists but is limited by the intense democracy of the movement - each Lodge is autonomous.
Brian Kennaway, a leading figure, criticises the negative image of the constant use of parades and protest rallies, some of which resulted in violence and warns of the dangers of bringing vast numbers on to the streets. There is a growing acceptance of the need for face-to-face dialogue between the Orange and residents' groups.
Anyone who wishes to fully understand Northern Ireland must read this book. It is empathetic but does not whitewash the brethren. The Order could play a big role in providing some stability during a time of great, unsettling change. You could say that it could keep many Protestant men off the streets  - but you know what I mean. There must be better ways of maintaining an identity in a society that must become less segregated and less ground down by its vast history.
Those who refuse to understand all parts of the equation or just take sides between ethnic groups help sustain the problem. This book is a splendid and highly controversial corrective to such bad habits.

Gary Kent

The author is Westminster correspondent of the Belfast-based Fortnight magazine. He has tramped the fields with Ruth Dudley Edwards and this year was a guest of Sinn Fein on the Garvaghy Road.