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The Great Famine: The History of the Irish Potato Famine during the Mid-19th Century Paperback – July 12, 2016

by Charles River Editors (Author)
3.7 3.7 out of 5 stars 208 ratings
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*Includes pictures *Includes accounts of the famine by Irishmen who suffered through it *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents “I have called it an artificial famine: that is to say, it was a famine which desolated a rich and fertile island that produced every year abundance and superabundance to sustain all her people and many more. The English, indeed, call the famine a 'dispensation of Providence;' and ascribe it entirely to the blight on potatoes. But potatoes failed in like manner all over Europe; yet there was no famine save in Ireland.” – John Mitchel, Young Ireland Movement Anyone who has ever heard of “the luck of the Irish” knows that it is not something to wish on someone, for few people in the British Isles have ever suffered as the Irish have. As one commissioner looking into the situation in Ireland wrote in February 1845, "It would be impossible adequately to describe the privations which they habitually and silently endure...in many districts their only food is the potato, their only beverage water...their cabins are seldom a protection against the weather...a bed or a blanket is a rare luxury...and nearly in all their pig and a manure heap constitute their only property." Even his fellow commissioners agreed and expressed “our strong sense of the patient endurance which the laboring classes have exhibited under sufferings greater, we believe, than the people of any other country in Europe have to sustain." Still, in their long history of suffering, nothing was ever so terrible as what the Irish endured during the Great Potato Famine that struck the country in the 1840s and produced massive upheaval for several years. While countless numbers of Irish starved, the famine also compelled many to leave, and all the while, the British were exporting enough food from Ireland on a daily basis to prevent the starvation. Over the course of 10 years, the population of Ireland decreased by about 1.5 million people, and taken together, these facts have led to charges as severe as genocide. At the least, it indicated a British desire to remake Ireland in a new mold. As historian Christine Kinealy noted, “As the Famine progressed, it became apparent that the government was using its information not merely to help it formulate its relief policies, but also as an opportunity to facilitate various long-desired changes within Ireland. These included population control and the consolidation of property through various means, including emigration... Despite the overwhelming evidence of prolonged distress caused by successive years of potato blight, the underlying philosophy of the relief efforts was that they should be kept to a minimalist level; in fact they actually decreased as the Famine progressed.” Although the Famine obviously weakened Ireland and its people, it also stiffened Irish resolve and helped propel independence movements in its wake. By the time the Famine was over, it had changed the face of not just Ireland but also Great Britain, and it had even made its effects felt across the Atlantic in the still young United States of America. The Great Famine: The History of the Irish Potato Famine during the Mid-19th Century looks at the history of the notorious famine and its results. Along with pictures and a bibliography, you will learn about the Irish Potato Famine like never before, in no time at all.
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  1. Print length
    40 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    July 12, 2016
  4. Dimensions
    6 x 0.1 x 9 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    1535250070
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1535250078
  7. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (July 12, 2016)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 40 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1535250070
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1535250078
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.1 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.7 3.7 out of 5 stars 208 ratings

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Charles River Editors

Charles River Editors

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Charles River Editors is a digital publishing company that creates compelling, educational content. In addition to publishing original titles, we help clients create traditional and media-enhanced books.

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Customer reviews

3.7 out of 5 stars
3.7 out of 5
208 global ratings
It’s the size of a pamphlet, not worth the money!
2 Stars
It’s the size of a pamphlet, not worth the money!
Although I haven’t read the book yet, the advertisement is totally miss leading. It doesn’t tell you the size, and bad surprise it’s only a couple pages. It looks like a pamphlet! Not worth the 10 dollars. You have a better chance to just search up the information online!
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Top reviews from the United States

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars the. great famine
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2024
Verified Purchase
I enjoyed this book very much even though such a depressing subject, it's such an important part of global and Irish history. The book covers many of the economic and social impact of the famine without going too deeply into any one subject. The book provides information on the greediness of the English people, government and particularly the landowners who did not care that the Irish people were starving.
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Edwin Charles Lowe
4.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent and Informative Account of the Famine!!!!
Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2019
Verified Purchase
Review Written April 20, 2019
The Irish Patato Famine

This is a historical chronical of the Irish Patato Famine, 1845-1850. In the fall of 1845 a blight, previously unknown to Ireland struck the patato crop, and would continue to do so for five consecutive years. The patatos in Ireland having no immunity to the blight, turned to a black mass in the ground, and destroying the entire crop. Because patatos were the single food source for as much as 40% of the Itish its loss led to a catistrophic famine that killed an estimated 900, 000 people and caused as many as 3 millions to leave Ireland forever in order to escape starvation. During the famine relief efforts by the government of Great Britian (Ireland was part of Great Britian at the time) were unsucessful in easing much of the suffering. By the time the Famine was over, it had changed the face of not just Ireland but Great Britain as well, and it had even made its effects felt across the Atlantic in still young America.

This book was professionally researched from numerous primary and secondary sources, written, and published by Charles Rivers Editors. This publishing house has produced an extensive collection of thoroughly researched, concise, informative, and well written historical texts.This collection is focused on chronicling the lives of historically significant persons, events, nations, and peoples. I have read many of their offerings and found each volume well written, researched, informative and presented with an unbiased perspective.

This book delivers an interesting, straight forward account of this terrible famine and its many consequences. It is well written, easy to read and comprehend. It is well researched and carefully documented for accuracy. The narrative is engaging and augmented throughout by eye witness accounts and comentary that is informative, authentic, and added to the account. My considered opinion is that this book provides a balanced, factual narrative of the famine and its social, cultural, political, and economic impacts on Ireland, Great Britian, and America. Readers that like history books will enjoy this book.
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JJares
3.0 out of 5 stars Informative Read but Incredibly Redundant
Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2023
Verified Purchase
The Great Potato Famine began in the 1840s, and ten years later, the population was down by 4 million. About one million starved, and many people left the country (about 3 million), yet the British exported enough food from Ireland to prevent starvation. By the end of the potato blight, America, Great Britain, and Ireland were permanently altered.

The stats are appalling --

* Most of the emigrants away from Ireland went by ship, and conditions on the ships were awful (they were called 'coffin ships.')
* Many ships were not seaworthy or carried disease. There needed to be more food for the passengers.
*Thousands died in shipwrecks.
* The young and healthy were most likely to emigrate.

The author was redundant; all of the salient information was enclosed in chapter six. The most significant change was in the way the land was used. Before the Famine, the land continued to be parceled to the male children, making it harder to eke a livelihood from the ground. During the Famine, landowners changed from farming to animal husbandry, leaving thousands without a place to live or work.

Before the Famine, Catholic farmers were happy with religious freedom. But the Famine created bitterness in the survivors, which made a generation look for independence from Great Britain. That bitterness led to the creation of the Irish independence organizations (IRA, for instance).

This book's explanation sounded like genocide to me; no wonder the Irish hate the British so much. The author tried to dismiss genocide -- obviously, the author cannot read what he wrote.
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TR
2.0 out of 5 stars It’s the size of a pamphlet, not worth the money!
Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2020
Verified Purchase
Although I haven’t read the book yet, the advertisement is totally miss leading. It doesn’t tell you the size, and bad surprise it’s only a couple pages. It looks like a pamphlet! Not worth the 10 dollars. You have a better chance to just search up the information online!
Customer image
TR
2.0 out of 5 stars It’s the size of a pamphlet, not worth the money!
Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2020
Although I haven’t read the book yet, the advertisement is totally miss leading. It doesn’t tell you the size, and bad surprise it’s only a couple pages. It looks like a pamphlet! Not worth the 10 dollars. You have a better chance to just search up the information online!
Images in this review
Customer image
Customer image
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R. Johnson
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent and researched overview. Highly recommended.
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2016
Verified Purchase
The author has obviously done extensive research into the political and other aspects of combined circumstances before and during the years of potato famine.

I know that one of my direct ancestors sold himself as an indentured servant (before the famine) to pay for his passage to America. As I read this book, I wondered about those in our extended family that might have perished in Ireland during the famine.

For anyone with Irish ancestors, this book is worth at least skimming through to understand more of the context and the reasons for great migration to our American melting pot of new culture.

Please note that this book is set up so that it's "lending enabled." For readers, who have not used that feature, you may send an email link to any family member or friend, and he/she will have 10 days of access to read (on ANY Kindle device or free reading app...I use PC and iPhone).
8 people found this helpful
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C. Phelps
4.0 out of 5 stars Informative Read
Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2016
Verified Purchase
Being of Irish descent I enjoyed the information found in this book. It read like a thesis, around in circles, but was informative. I now have a better understanding of how the effects of famine changed the landscape of Ireland. Very sad, but true.
One person found this helpful
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Pat MacKay
5.0 out of 5 stars Good book, tough subject
Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2020
Verified Purchase
This book was great, very informative and very readable. It shows the Famine in the context of the politics of the time.
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Herman J. Goetter
3.0 out of 5 stars Death rate in Ireland from famine
Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2023
Verified Purchase
There doesn't appear to be many more facts adding to what I had previously learned before
reading this book .
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Top reviews from other countries

none
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 11, 2018
Verified Purchase
good read, would recommend
One person found this helpful
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Richard Latham
4.0 out of 5 stars A blight on the British
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 7, 2016
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A scholarly treatment of the potato blight in Ireland that led to the death of over one million people. The Great Famine is explained in some details with an introduction to the political background and why the potato was so fundamental to the diet of the poor subsistence farmers. Therefore although the disease hit the potato crop in Europe it had a much more significant impact in Ireland,
The book goes on to explore the effects, responses and consequences of the famine.
It is not a comfortable read especially as Ireland was a a net exporter of food during this period of mass starvation. The poor were too poor to respond when their meagre crop failed; they couldn't afford to buy food or cover their rent.
The great British empire at its height of power couldn't mobile the political will and respond with poor relief and food to combat the hunger. Some have argued that this amounts to genocide. The truth lies somewhere between, a lack of political will, a fear of an increasing Catholic population, a disconnect with the people of that island although it was part of the Union.
Plenty to consider and no easy answers to get behind. For my mind it had lasting consequences on the Irish psyche and future political relationships between Ireland and Britain.
As a child raised on english history I was aware of some of the facts but it isn't the greatest episode in the history of my country and that despite Queen Victoria giving money to aid victims of the famine; Britain perhaps isn't as Great as the title sometimes suggests.
Lots of help and assistence was given that saved lives, but the loss of over 10% of the population was not an acceptable statistic, since the reality is that it was about a million men, women and children. That it lasted over 5 years perhaps identifies that the British government could have done more; that the population of Ireland is only just recovering to pre-Famine levels shows the scale of this event and the spirit of its people.
12 people found this helpful
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Colin Peters
3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but thorough proof editing required
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 7, 2018
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A very good account of a shameful period in history. This work contains a lot of duplication and requires thorough proof editing - many careless errors and needless repetition.
One person found this helpful
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S.H.A Hollingshead
4.0 out of 5 stars Some things never change!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 17, 2017
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A good summary of the famine showing the causes (various) and the initial response by the Peel government which was well-intentioned if somewhat ineffectual (no means of grinding the maize donated). Then the callous attitude of the 'Liberal' Russell and his associate Trevelyan that reminds me of the current attitude towards disability claimants! Hard labour provided for weak starving people many of whom died as a result of their efforts to build unwanted roads to nowhere. Also noted the generally sympathetic response of the general public in Britain and efforts to provide relief. However the enormous burden of guilt shared by absentee landlords and their 'factors' and,particularly the greedy merchants who kept prices of the (abundant) food above the reach of the poor. The whole bloody shambles reminds me so much of current government responses to need - judgemental, mean, too late and usually inappropriate. The Russell government is (just) absolved from deliberate genocide but showed a complete lack of understanding of the situation.

The book itself contains innumerable typos and annoying examples of poor editing. How many of these are down to the editors and how many resulted from transfer to Kindle format is difficult to say. Nevertheless a very readable and illuminating book.
5 people found this helpful
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kevin Gates
4.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 26, 2018
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It’s is a good read with clear information.
One person found this helpful
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