Irish Hunger: Personal Reflections on the Legacy of the Famine [Paperback]

Tom Hayden (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1568332009 | ISBN-13: 978-1568332000 | Publication Date: October 10, 2000

Renowned Irish and Irish-American contributors—actors, activists, poets, journalists, politicians, and historians—offer moving commentaries and modern perspectives on the events and aftermath of the 19th century Irish famine, an historical event of such tragic proportions that it continues to shape the Irish psyche on both sides of the Atlantic.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Remarkable. A comprehensive, invaluable contribution to the Famine story by some of Ireland's best-known writers and scholars. Infused with a contemporary resonance. Mr. Hayden's selfless and estimable book deserves the widest possible audience. (Gabriel Byrne )

One of the most elegantly produced works yet on the problems of dealing with Famine.... The effect is like that of a dam breaking. (Michael D. Higgins )

As with any great story, the elements that are repeated in the retelling, those pieces that are burnished by each new teller, lead to the deepest truth in history, in fiction, in everyday life....The best of these essays share the quality of being written by wakers from a dream. (Susan Salter Reynolds Los Angeles Times )

...history is not about power and triumph nearly so often as it is about suffering and vulnerability...we have to wonder again and again at the strength of the people who could survive the famine. (Robinson, Mary )

Restoring our memory of the Famine, by every means available to us, will position us to pursue the many other themes that make us what we are and inspire others to do likewise. Strengthening the ties between Ireland and Irish America, piecing together the fragments of the past that now lie on both sides of the Atlantic, can only be good for all of us. (Sean Kenny )

About the Author

Tom Hayden, known and respected for his radical political activities during the 1960s, is of Irish descent. Now a California state senator, he lives in Los Angeles and visits Ireland frequently.

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Roberts Rinehart (October 10, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568332009
• ISBN-13: 978-1568332000
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,834,165 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!!!, March 1, 2005

By 

Kate Smart "Private" (Private) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Irish Hunger: Personal Reflections on the Legacy of the Famine (Hardcover)

Being Irish, I have long been interested in the Great Famine which destroyed a third of Ireland's population. This book is unlike anything I have ever come across: these essays insist that the famine cannot be studied as an isolated historical event, such as the Great Depression, or a war. Rather, the famine is seen as the end of a civilization, of an entire culture. A better anaology would be to compare it to the destruction of the Aztecs; what once existed was gone forever and to be replaced by a new order. Pre-famine Irish were gaelic speaking peasants who enjoyed an oral culture. There is almost nothing left of these people - the Irish museums have no artifacts, no written accounts. Nothing survived of these people, and what we do know about the famine comes largely from the observations of dispassionate English politicians.

This books examines how the famine has become deeply woven into the Irish psyche; how it has become a part of the Irish collective consciousness and has shaped all that has transpired since. This is truly a novel approach, and one that I found to be very compelling. This is a book to be owned.