Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Plentiful Country:
Irish need apply.
Quick synopsis:
A look at how Irish immigrants fleeing the Irish Potato Famine prospered once they reached the U.S.
Fact for Non-History People:
England did not stop exporting food out of Ireland during the famine.
Fact for History Nerds:
Approximately 1 million Irish died during the famine and 2 million emigrated.
My Take on Plentiful Country:
As the grandson of Irish immigrants “right off the boat,” I was very excited to dive into Tyler Anbinder’s Plentiful Country. While my grandparents were not Famine immigrants, the Irish experience landing in America is well known within the community even to this day. If there is one thing that I feel no one can argue with, Anbinder did extensive research and it shows.
Anbinder is basically writing about what happened to the Irish immigrants of the Great Potato Famine when they got to New York and how their lives ended up. Anbinder also gives an excellent rundown of the reasons and consequences of the Great Potato Famine. He doesn’t let the British government off the hook, either, which means I don’t need to rant about it here.
Anbinder then breaks down each class of immigrant such as unskilled laborers or business owners and traces their lives. What Anbinder is really trying to do is refute a false historical narrative that Irish immigrants came to America and didn’t rise about their stations. The author emphatically proves this wrong with personal narratives but also actual numbers. If you want to argue with Anbinder, go right ahead, but you better do some research because he is going to show up with charts. I know this because the charts are in the book. I love them.
I will say that this narrative does lose a little steam because of the sheer weight of the numbers along with the fact that each class gets its own in-depth chapter. It probably could have been a little shorter and still made its points. It’s a minor issue and doesn’t hinder someone who is interested in this subject from enjoying it while learning way more than you would expect.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Little, Brown and Company.)
Verdict:
A must for anyone wanting to know more about Irish immigration. Buy it here!
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