Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine, 1845-1850

Black Potatoes is a very readable and understandable review of the important elements of the Irish potato famine of the 1840s. Wishing to learn more about this essential event in my Irish-American heritage, I read the book, The Great Hunger, which is offered and reviewed separately at this site. I mistakenly thought that would be a better read than Black Potatoes which is advertised as being for a high-school audience. But all the essentials of The Great Hunger were delivered in less than 1/3 the text by Black Potatoes, which of course is a much faster and informative read. In addition, it carries many sketches which make the story that much more vivid and imaginable, while there are many fewer in The Great Hunger which seems itself written more from the British point of view than the Irish (the author of Hunger was herself British). Black Potatoes is an excellent way to get a rapid understanding of that pivotal five-year period in Irish history.

What would you do if there was no food to eat, no clean clothes to wear or no shoes to wear in winter? The answers to these questions are found in Black Potatoes, which is set in Ireland in 1845 at the onset of the Potato famine. At the time of the potato famine, there were three classes of people in Ireland, the Irish farm laborers, the Irish farmers, and the English landlords. The farm laborers were the poorest, the farmers were middle class, and the landlords were the wealthy and powerful. The farm laborers and farmers rented land from the landlords and planted potatoes. When the potato famine hit, the Irish had a hard time paying their rents because of their failed crops. The Irish people had a long and enduring time during the potato famine to keep their families fed and well. The British Government came to the aid of the Irish, but many times it was too late. The book is very Anti-British and rightfully so according to the evidence of British attitudes toward the Irish that reveal the ethnic and religious prejudices that divided the Irish and the English. The writing style of the author is very realistic and Irish everyday life is very detailed that it leaves a horrific feeling of sadness for those who lived and died during the potato famine and the years after. The pictures in the book are actual sketches obtained from various sources such as the Illustrated London News and British and Irish libraries.

This is the best non-fiction I have ever seen. The liberal use of personal histories and stories along with illustrations from periodicals reporting the situation make this compelling and fascinating.

The potato blight that struck Ireland in the mid 1800s produced a nation-wide famine, resulting in "one million dead and two million who fled" to other countries, predominately the US and Canada. Countless other Irishmen, with no food, money or homes, simply disappeared. Susan Campbell Bartoletti's "Black Potatoes" recreates the era year by year from haunting contemporary newspaper illustrations, government records and first hand survivor stories, told to their children and grandchildren. Bartoletti provides a balanced account of the economic, political and social repercussions of the blight and the ensuing famine. Food was available but the poor did not have the means to acquire it. The British government was slow to react to the devastation. Irish government officials, landowners, and shopkeepers worked to protect their own interests but, finally, in the end, contributed the greatest amount of financial support to the poor. The Friends Church, operating local soup kitchens, and American relatives, sending millions of dollars in financial support, were allies of the Irish poor during these times.This book is a wonderful historical recounting of the time and is compelling reading for those of all ages interested in their Irish heritage. Bartoletti brings the horrors of famine and poverty to life. The 150-year old drawings, originally published in the "Illustrated London News", will stay with the reader long after the book is finished. The six-page narrative bibliography is as interesting as the story itself, and provides students and researchers with numerous sources for further study.

Susan Campbell Bartoletti, already well known for her award-winning fiction and nonfiction, has reached new heights with this book. It is clearly impeccably researched, yet never reads like a dry compilation of facts. It is by turns moving, horrifying, hopeful, and depressing. Although she points out the general indifference and (often) hostility of some government officials who could have provided some relief, she never falls into the easy trap of making anyone the villain of the terrible story of the Irish potato famine. Instead, she details the general ignorance of the cause of the blight and the sometimes well-meaning but misguided attempts of different people to remedy the situation.Most importantly, the reader leaves feeling that this is not some strange thing that happened to unknown people a long time ago. The feeling of immediacy, and the way the reader is led to empathize with the sufferers, make it fresh and real.Readers of "Nory Ryan's Song" who want to get the real history of this terrible time should be encouraged to read "Black Potatoes."