Emigrants and Exiles: Ireland and the Irish Exodus to North
ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Miller, Kerby A., PUBLISHER: Oxford University Press, USA, rong>Therong> first "translantic" history rong>ofrong> rong>therong> Irish, Emigrants and Exiles promises to become a landmark in our understanding rong>ofrong> this important emigration movement. From rong>therong> rong>earlyrong> s to rong>therong> rong>earlyrong> s, no fewer than seven million people emigrated from Ireland to north America. This vast flow amounted to much more than mere numbers: it at once reflected and compelled enormous social changes on both sides rong>ofrong> rong>therong> Atlantic. Emigrants and Exiles chronicles rong>therong> momentous causes rong>ofrong> rong>therong> Irish emigration and its far-reaching impact--on rong>therong> people rong>therong>mselves, on rong>therong> land rong>therong>y left behind, and on rong>therong> new one rong>therong>y came to. Drawing on enormous original research, Kerby Miller focuses on rong>therong> thought and behavior rong>ofrong> rong>therong> "ordinary" Irish emigrants, Catholic and Protestant, as revealed in rong>therong>ir personal rong>lettersrong>, diaries, rong>journalsrong> and memoirs as well as in rong>therong>ir songs, poems, and folklore. He finds that while many were eager newcomers to "rong>therong> land rong>ofrong> promise," many more saw rong>therong>mselves as involuntary "exiles" who had been forced to leave Ireland by cruel fate or British oppression. rong>Therong> exile mentality, Miller shows, was deeply rooted in Irish history, culture, and personality, and it prrong>ofrong>oundly affected rong>therong> traumatic course rong>ofrong> modern Irish history even as it shaped rong>therong> Irish-American experience in very particular ways. rong>Therong> impressive scope rong>ofrong> Miller's work embraces all rong>therong> successive waves rong>ofrong> Irish emigration, and he fills rong>therong> book with rich human detail. About rong>therong> Author:Kerby A. Miller is Associate Prrong>ofrong>essor rong>ofrong> History at rong>therong> University rong>ofrong> Missouri, Columbia.