Full name: The Great Shame: And the Triumph of the Irish in the English-Speaking World

Author: Thomas Keneally Year: 1997 Rank: Rating: Original Rating: Pop Rating: Genres/categories: History, Non Fiction Purchase/reserch links: LibraryThing Goodreads Amazon ISBNs: 9780385720267 0385720262

In The Great Shame, Thomas Keneally--the bestselling, Booker Prize-winning author of Schindler's List--combines the authority of a brilliant historian and the narrative grace of a great novelist to present a gripping account of the Irish diaspora. The nineteenth century saw Ireland lose half of its population to famine, emigration, or deportation to penal colonies in Australia--often for infractions as common as stealing food. Among the victims of this tragedy were Thomas Keneally's own forebearers, and they were his inspiration to tell the story of the Irish who struggled and ultimately triumphed in Australia and North America. Relying on rare primary sources--including personal letters, court transcripts, ship manifests, and military documents--Keneally offers new and important insights into the impact of the Irish in exile. The result is a vivid saga of heroes and villains, from Great Famine protesters to American Civil War generals to great orators and politicians. Similar books: Irish History For Dummies by Mike Cronin Paddy's Lament by Thomas Gallagher The Story of the Irish Race by Seumas MacManus Irish Freedom by Richard English The Famine Ships by Edward Laxton The Great Hunger by Cecil Woodham-Smith The IRA by Tim Pat Coogan The Transformation of Ireland by Diarmaid Ferriter Searching for Schindler by Thomas Keneally Fractured Emerald: Ireland by Emily Hahn The Famine Plot by Tim Pat Coogan Emigrants and Exiles by Kerby A. Miller Armed Struggle by Richard English Michael Collins by Tim Pat Coogan Dublin Tenement Life by Kevin C. Kearns Sun Dancing by Geoffrey Moorhouse Dead Wake by Erik Larson One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson Six Frigates by Ian W. Toll 102 Minutes by Jim Dwyer