The Famine Plot: England's Role in Ireland's Greatest Tragedy

During a Biblical seven years in the middle of the nineteenth century, Ireland experienced the worst disaster a nation could suffer. Fully a quarter of its citizens either perished from starvation or emigrated, with so many dying en route that it was said, "you can walk dry shod to America on their bodies." In this grand, sweeping narrative, Ireland''s best-known historian, Tim Pat Coogan, gives a fresh and comprehensive account of one of the darkest chapters in world history, arguing that Britain was in large part responsible for the extent of the national tragedy, and in fact engineered the food shortage in one of the earliest cases of ethnic cleansing. So strong was anti-Irish sentiment in the mainland that the English parliament referred to the famine as "God's lesson." Drawing on recently uncovered sources, and with the sharp eye of a seasoned historian, Coogan delivers fresh insights into the famine's causes, recounts its unspeakable events, and delves into the legacy of the "famine mentality" that followed immigrants across the Atlantic to the shores of the United States and had lasting effects on the population left behind. This is a broad, magisterial history of a tragedy that shook the nineteenth century and still impacts the worldwide Irish diaspora of nearly 80 million people today.

About the Author :
Tim Pat Coogan is Ireland's best known historian and the author of numerous important works on Irish history, including Michael Collins and The IRA, published to wide acclaim. The former editor of The Irish Press, he lives in Dublin, Ireland.

Review :
"To many, Mr. Coogan... [is the] voice of modern Irish history... makes a compelling case for why we should revisit our current understanding of [the famine]." -"The Economist" "To many, Mr. Coogan [is the] voice of modern Irish history makes a compelling case for why we should revisit our current understanding of [the famine]." -"The Economist"" Many intriguing points [are] made in this book Coogan's pages spark and sputter with a deep, lingering, well-cherished rage. Peter Behrens, The Washington Post To many, Mr. Coogan [is the] voice of modern Irish history makes a compelling case for why we should revisit our current understanding of [the famine]. The Economist Coogan's insistent examining of the moral dimensions of that nation's policies, and how they fueled the horrors on the ground, represents his greatest contribution to the voluminous scholarship on the Irish famine, and is this book's greatest strength. The Boston Globe In disturbingly graphic images and compelling language based on true stories from the Famine archives and peppered with his own perspective, Coogan captures the utter devastation wrought by Ireland's greatest ecological disaster which reduced the population by one fourth. Irish Edition The best part is that it did such a good job at keeping me interested that I'm eager to read on and learn more. Fingers and Prose Coogan makes no bones about accusing the government of the day of "a genocidal intent" ... His writing on Ireland's past is intelligent and accessible to a large readership. BBC History Magazine " Many intriguing points [are] made in this book Coogan's pages spark and sputter with a deep, lingering, well-cherished rage. "Peter Behrens, The Washington Post" To many, Mr. Coogan [is the] voice of modern Irish history makes a compelling case for why we should revisit our current understanding of [the famine]. "The Economist" Coogan's insistent examining of the moral dimensions of that nation's policies, and how they fueled the horrors on the ground, represents his greatest contribution to the voluminous scholarship on the Irish famine, and is this book's greatest strength. "The Boston Globe" In disturbingly graphic images and compelling language based on true stories from the Famine archives and peppered with his own perspective, Coogan captures the utter devastation wrought by Ireland's greatest ecological disaster which reduced the population by one fourth. "Irish Edition" The best part is that it did such a good job at keeping me interested that I'm eager to read on and learn more. "Fingers and Prose" Coogan makes no bones about accusing the government of the day of "a genocidal intent" ... His writing on Ireland's past is intelligent and accessible to a large readership. "BBC History Magazine"" "Many intriguing points [are] made in this book...Coogan's pages spark and sputter with a deep, lingering, well-cherished rage.""--"Peter Behrens, " The Washington Post""" "To many, Mr. Coogan... [is the] voice of modern Irish history... makes a compelling case for why we should revisit our current understanding of [the famine]." -"The Economist" "Coogan's insistent examining of the moral dimensions of that nation's policies, and how they fueled the horrors on the ground, represents his greatest contribution to the voluminous scholarship on the Irish famine, and is this book's greatest strength."--"The Boston Globe" "In disturbingly graphic images and compelling language based on true stories from the Famine archives and peppered with his own perspective, Coogan captures the utter devastation wrought by Ireland's greatest ecological disaster which reduced the population by one fourth."--"Irish Edition" "The best part is that it did such a good job at keeping me interested that I'm eager to read on and learn more."--"Fingers and Prose" "Coogan makes no bones about accusing the government of the day of "a genocidal intent" ... His writing on Ireland's past is intelligent and accessible to a large readership." -- BBC History Magazine