The Irish Famine (book)

The Irish Famine (book)

infobox Book |
name = The Irish Famine
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Colm Tóibín and Diarmaid Ferriter
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = England, Ireland
language = English
series =
genre = Novel
publisher = Profile Books Limited
release_date = 3 May 2001
english_release_date =
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages = 220 pp (first edition, hardback)
isbn = ISBN 1-86197-249-0 / 9781861972491 (first edition, hardback)
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"The Irish Famine" is a book co-authored by Diarmaid Ferriter and Colm Tóibín in 2001. The book is comprised of two volumes, the first of which was written and originally published by Tóibín in 1999. The second volume, written by Ferriter, is entitled "The Capricious Growth of a Single Root" and was added in 2001. [ Ferriter, Diarmaid and Tóibín, Colm. "The Irish Famine" Profile Books Ltd. London, 2001. p. iv]

Volume One

The first volume of "The Irish Famine" discusses how the Irish (writers, historians, government officials) have approached the task of describing and creating accounts of the Famine. Tóibín wrote his volume in part, for Irish-Americans; he has been critical of how the Potato Famine of 1845-1850 has been taught in American schools.Deignan, Tom. "‘An Gorta Mór’: The Great Hunger". America Magazine. Volume 187 No. 12. 12 October 2002] He mentions that Americans are "full of emotional language, selective quotation and vicious anti-English rhetoric" and that " [Americans] assert, despite all evidence to the contrary, that Ireland remained a net exporter of food during the Famine."Deignan, Tom. "‘An Gorta Mór’: The Great Hunger". America Magazine. Volume 187 No. 12. 12 October 2002]

Volume Two

The second volume of "The Irish Famine" is a selection of primary source documents chosen by Ferriter that pertain to the Famine and its history. Documents include: British Parliamentary Papers; Distress papers from the National Archives of Ireland; Relief Commission Papers; Society of Friends Famine Papers; reports from various Relief Committees; the Prendergast family letters; statistics from the Office of Public Works during 1845-1850; reports from County Inspection Officers; personal statements by leading religious officials; reports from the Irish Constabulary; and personal correspondence of Richard Dowden, the former Mayor of Cork, the Lord Lieutenant, the Duke of Leinster, Lord Cloncurry, Robert Peel, Charles Trevelyan, and John Russell, among others.

Critical response

Reviews of Ferriter's volume have been positive; "America" called the primary sources that Ferriter collected "fascinating and revealing."Deignan, Tom. "‘An Gorta Mór’: The Great Hunger". America Magazine. Volume 187 No. 12. 12 October 2002] Ferriter himself, however, has said that "These documents...do nothing to settle the [Famine] argument; instead, they establish its terms and complexity."Deignan, Tom. "‘An Gorta Mór’: The Great Hunger". America Magazine. Volume 187 No. 12. 12 October 2002] "The Irish Famine", as a whole, has been well-received also; "Read Ireland" reviewed it as a "unique book [that] opens a door to a new and deeper understanding of the Great Irish Famine." [ [http://www.readireland.ie/booknews/booknews6/issue169.html "Read Ireland Book Review". Issue 169] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.newstatesman.com/200105210050 New Statesman review]
* [http://www.socialistreview.org.uk/article.php?articlenumber=8082 Socialist Review]
* [http://www.eiu.edu/~historia/2006/Henderson2006.pdf. Historiographical Review from Eastern Illinois University magazine] pdf
* [http://www.spectator.co.uk/archive/books/19536/---and-famine-and-hatred.thtml The Spectator review]
* [http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:WmPkDBEnssAJ:https://www.americamagazine.org/BookReview.cfm%3FarticleTypeID%3D31%26textID%3D2548%26issueID%3D408+%22The+Irish+Famine%22+ferriter+university&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=82&gl=uk America magazine review]
* [http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA216950.html?q=Diarmaid+Ferriter Publishers Weekly review (short)]
* [http://www.emigrant.ie/files/indexfile.asp?id=236 Bookview Ireland review]


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