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The Great Shame

And the Triumph of the Irish in the English-Speaking World

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The Great Shame

By: Thomas Keneally
Narrated by: John McDonough
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About this listen

Thomas Keneally, the Booker Prize-winning author of Schindler’s List, is universally praised for crafting smooth narratives from authentic historical events. With The Great Shame, he turns his insightful eye toward the Irish struggle through the 19h century. In sharp contrast to much of Europe, Ireland was a terrible place to be during the 1800s. Many of the nation’s finest people set sail for America and Canada. Others were forcibly exiled to Australia for committing crimes as minor as shoplifting. And approximately one million perished when a widespread potato fungus fueled a devastating famine. But the Irish survived—on their homeland and spanning the globe—making profound contributions to the world. Epic in scope, this account captures the humanity of these events and ultimately emerges as a message of hope and glory. Keneally, an Australian with Irish bloodties, powerfully examines many shattered lives—including those of his own relatives. Narrator John McDonough brings a spirit to this extraordinary book that will not soon be forgotten.

©1998 The Serpentine Publishing Co., Ltd. (P)2000 Recorded Books, LLC 19th Century Emigration & Immigration Europe Modern Social Sciences Ireland Imperialism
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this is a genuinely lovely book, and it's hard to stop listening once you get started

Fascinating stories that span the globe

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Thanks again for all your work and what else is there to say but all is well with the world.

gook

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For those wishing to understand why the ‘Irish Famine ‘ happened and it’s consequences this book is essential reading. Kinneally is a master story teller and writer, bringing all his power to this wonderful book. I cannot recommend it enough. I loved it from beginning to end and this is an excellent reading by John McDonough.

Essential for those who wish to understand Ireland

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If you are interested in Irish history at all you will love this book. Beautifully read in a lilting Irish.

Brilliant book

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very very interesting and informative especially if like myself you are of irish heritage.. highly recomend it

A must read

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This is an incredible book.

The research is breath-taking, and the story-telling is brilliant. Thomas Keneally is a genius story teller.

Time-wise, it's a big commitment, but I was swept along by the real-life tales, and the lives and deaths of our (near) ancestors.

I was worried about the narrator, but in fact, John McDonough was great, and seemed to understand / empathise with the material.

Great book - well worth the time

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This should be renamed the poor Irish
There's two sides to any story, especially in Ireland.
This book fails to take account of that.
A better listen by far is the BBCs A History Of Ireland In 240 Episodes

The Poor Irish

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