or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
or
Amazon Prime free trial required. Sign up when you check out. Learn more
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
or
Get a £0.25 Amazon.co.uk Gift Card
The Irish Famine: A Documentary
 
 
Tell the Publisher!
I’d like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

The Irish Famine: A Documentary [Paperback]

Colm Toibin , Diarmaid Ferriter
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
Price: £8.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.
Only 3 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).
Want guaranteed delivery by Monday, February 13? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Hardcover --  
Paperback £8.99  
Trade In this Item for up to £0.25
Trade in The Irish Famine: A Documentary for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.

Frequently Bought Together

The Irish Famine: A Documentary + Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine, 1845-1850 + The Irish Famine (New Horizons)
Price For All Three: £20.48

Show availability and delivery details

Buy the selected items together

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought


Product details

  • Paperback: 222 pages
  • Publisher: Profile Books; New Ed edition (30 Sep 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1861974604
  • ISBN-13: 978-1861974600
  • Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 13 x 2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 486,885 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Colm Tóibín
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.

Visit Amazon's Colm Tóibín Page

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Colm Tóibín's The Irish Famine is a superbly pithy account of the controversies surrounding the failure of Ireland's potato crop from 1845-1848. Moving freely between historical sources and personal reflection, Tóibín asks why existing accounts of the famine focus on statistics and government policies instead of considering the experiences of those who died, were bereaved, or emigrated during the calamity. Tóibín acknowledges the Famine's political significance but he avoids simplistic accounts of "genocide". In arguing for a more informed analysis of the crisis, he raises vital questions about the writing of history. How can we tell an "official" story without losing sight of more intimate, intensely personal tragedies? How can we write about an event which was marked by the complete erasure of its victims? One way forward is through myth. Although mistrustful of partisan versions of the Famine, the book argues that fantasies about the Famine can sometimes be as revealing as "facts". As one of Ireland's most prominent contemporary novelists, Tóibín is also well placed to deal with the literary echoes of the crisis. Indeed, it's astonishing that he manages to get so much thought-provoking material into less than a hundred pages of crisp, highly readable prose. -- Vincent Quinn --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

'Colm Toibin's opening essay [is] quite outstanding - a very model of wisdom, of profound moral engagement and of scholarship, the very same qualities which inspired Diarmaid Ferriter's choice of documents. This small but brilliant book reaches right into the heart of the most tragic period in Irish history. I recommend it unreservedly' - Kevin Myers, Spectator 'Unusual and fascinating' - Sunday Independent (Dublin)

Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
The house at Coole has gone now; razed to the ground. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


 

Customer Reviews

3 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Good, 3 Feb 2010
This review is from: The Irish Famine: A Documentary (Paperback)
Reprinting contemporary documents gives an insight into contemporary attitudes and their complexity, beyond simplistic political sloganising. Toibin's summary is thoughtful, though at times difficult to follow.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars the irish famine, 3 Nov 2009
By 
Kathleen Houston (Northern Ireland.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Irish Famine: A Documentary (Paperback)
this is a great book for anyone doing the family tree, it help,s you live threw their life of what it would of been like to live in your ancestors shoes, how they were treated and just how hard, ad painful those days really were, it should never be forgot, and although I was born in N,I. I never knew nothing about this terrible hunger and poverty, and the way this country is going at the moment, well the working man, the real worker,s of UK "not the MP,s" the working man is only 2 weeks away from poverty if he losses he job. so it does wake you up a bit to what,s going on and how easy it is for a country to fall juring this credit crunch.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Irish Famine, 3 Mar 2010
By 
S. Foster (Devon) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Irish Famine: A Documentary (Paperback)
A dissapointing book. It seemed to quote loads of other books all the time. Long winded.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
 Go to Amazon U.S. to see both reviews  2.5 out of 5 stars 
Were these reviews helpful?   Let us know
 
 
Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 

Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   


Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category


Look for similar items by subject


Feedback


Amazon.co.uk Privacy Statement Amazon.co.uk Delivery Information Amazon.co.uk Returns & Exchanges