Summary
In September 1845, the farmers of Ireland made a chilling discovery-much of their potato crop was black, mushy, and rotten. The crop failure marked the beginning of the Great Irish Famine, one of the greatest humanitarian crises of the 19th century. With some 3 million Irish people dependent on the potato for their very survival, starvation and epidemic disease soon devastated the population. During the famine years, at least 1 million people died, and another 1 million left their homeland for good. Was the famine the inevitable result of an unprecedented natural disaster? Or was the British government's neglect of the Irish poor to blame for the mass death and destruction?
Illustrated with full-color and black-and-white photographs, and accompanied by a chronology, bibliography, and further resources The Great Irish Famine, Updated Edition brings readers to the mid-1800s to explore the conditions that surrounded the event and its effect on Ireland that can still be felt today. Historical spotlights and excerpts from primary source documents are also included.
About the Author(s)
A graduate of Swarthmore College, Liz Sonneborn has written numerous books for children, young adults, and adults. Her works for Facts on File and Chelsea House include The End of Apartheid in South Africa, The American West, The California Gold Rush, A to Z of American Indian Women, The Great Black Migrations, and The Ancient Kushites, which the African Studies Association's Children's Africana Book Awards named an Honor Book for Older Readers in 2006.