Review by Choice Review
Kinealy (Univ. of Central Lancashire) has written or edited five substantial books on the Irish Famine since 1994 (e.g., This Great Calamity: The Irish Famine, 1842-52, CH, Jan'96), making her one of the most prolific authorities now writing on the subject. In this work she revisits a theme that figures prominently in her previous studies: that adequate food supplies existed in Ireland during the Famine, but that the government contributed to the deaths of thousands by allowing grain and livestock to be exported. Drawing on little-used sources, the author makes an energetic argument that nevertheless begs for much more elaboration than she can devote to it in the space available. Kinealy grounds much of the book on archival research and a wealth of contemporary sources, used to particularly good effect in sections concerning popular protest, rebellion, and the responses of the churches--matters that other general studies dwell little on. She also considers the forms that famine memory and commemoration have taken and examines familiar subjects such as governmental and philanthropic responses to the crisis. For advanced undergraduate and graduate students and professionals. G. Owens Huron University College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
