[2] He is critical of both unionist and nationalist historiography, coming to similar conclusions about the Proclamation of the Irish Republic and the contemporaneous Ulster Covenant, which he says are "manipulative documents... replete with contradictions, evasions and silences... Each has its quotient of make-believe".

[5] Irish senator Maurice Hayes said that the book "slaughters almost every sacred cow in sight, from the Famine to the Rising, the Ulster Covenant and the Proclamation of the Republic, the Troubles (however labelled retrospectively) and the Civil War".

Ruth Dudley Edwards recommended giving a copy to then-Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams, who, she says, clings to the MOPE mentality "like a comfort blanket".

[6] In an academic review, Professor Penelope Corfield lauds the book for being "Sombre in subject matter, lucid in approach, impressive in range, brilliant in insights, sturdy in documentation, judicious in tone, coolly courageous in its willingness to debunk stereotypes".

[2] Writing in Irish Studies Review, Ian Miller calls Unhappy the Land "an intriguing book that sets out to challenge, provoke and presumably annoy many of its readers".