Overview

Uncover the gripping narrative of Irish immigrants who transformed America in the aftermath of the Great Hunger. Tyler Anbinder's landmark work exposes the grit and resilience of the Famine Irish, defying hardship to redefine the American dream. From the bustling streets of New York to the heart of a nation in the middle of change, the compelling journey of these unrecognised heroes is unveiled, painting a vibrant scene of hope that echoes through the heart of America. A captivating testament to courage and perseverance, this book is a must-read, illuminating a pivotal chapter in the making of modern America, a testament to the enduring spirit that forged a new home in the land of opportunity. Drawing on previously unavailable records and a ten-year research initiative, stories of the refugees who settled in New York City are reclaimed. Plentiful Country is a compelling tribute to the resilience of these individuals.

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9781804187029

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Reviews

'It is hard to overestimate the importance and achievement of Anbinder's work ... Anbinder's revelation of the Famine Irish's successes has profound implications for how we think about our past and present, home and abroad' -- Christopher Kissane * Irish Times * 'A moving study that will open up the topography of New York in the mind of the reader anew' -- Donal Fallon * author of Three Castles Burning * 'Groundbreaking. The survivors of the Great Hunger portrayed as never before' -- Fin Dwyer * author of A Lethal Legacy * 'Anbinder's brilliant book presents a much more optimistic narrative of the Famine Irish in New York. Drawing on new archival sources, Anbinder gives voice to a generation's struggle to escape from destitution and despair and its remarkable success in achieving dignity and stability' -- Fintan O'Toole 'Rich and splendid ... a singular achievement from one of the foremost chroniclers of the 19th century immigrant experience' -- Myles Dungan * author of Four Killings * 'Groundbreaking and revelatory . . . this is revisionist history in the best sense of the word' * Business Post * 'With meticulous genealogical research, Anbinder fleshes out the lives of labourers and domestics, peddlers, barmen and saloon-keepers, making for an absorbing read' -- Breandán Mac Suibhne * Sunday Independent * 'A miracle of historical precision' * National Review * 'A masterpiece of research and writing ... vividly captures the rich history of a complex people' -- T.J. Stiles * winner of the Pulitzer Prize for The First Tycoon and Custer's Trials * 'Plentiful Country celebrates the survivors of Ireland's Great Famine, who are so often cast as dazed immigrants unprepared and unsuited for life in New York and America. Drawing on a decade of research, Tyler Anbinder presents them instead as women and men with agency: adept learners who, by both seizing and creating opportunities for themselves, remade their new country. They speak for themselves in this book, in word and deed' -- Hasia Diner * New York University, and author of Erin’s Daughters in America * 'In Tyler Anbinder's moving, expertly told narrative, I learned what happened to that generation of immigrants and their descendants. This is a hugely important and too little-known part of the American story' -- Adam Hochschild * New York Times bestselling author of Spain in Our Hearts and American Midnight * 'Impressive ... substantive ... illuminating' * Commonwealth * 'A superb revisionist history of the Famine generation' * The Wall Street Journal * 'Plentiful Country is a masterpiece of research and writing. Tyler Anbinder has outdone himself by weaving the lives of individual immigrants into a sweeping history of the Irish in New York. From their struggles in Ireland before the famine to the crammed-full ships that carried them over, from their lives as servants, laborers, and artisans to their fanatical savings, ingenious enterprises, and movements across the United States, this book vividly captures the rich history of a complex people' -- T.J. Stiles * winner of the Pulitzer Prize for The First Tycoon and Custer's Trials *

'Plentiful Country is a masterpiece of research and writing. Tyler Anbinder has outdone himself by weaving the lives of individual immigrants into a sweeping history of the Irish in New York. From their struggles in Ireland before the famine to the crammed-full ships that carried them over, from their lives as servants, laborers, and artisans to their fanatical savings, ingenious enterprises, and movements across the United States, this book vividly captures the rich history of a complex people' -- T.J. Stiles * winner of the Pulitzer Prize for The First Tycoon and Custer's Trials * 'On a recent visit to Ireland, I saw one of the docks where, it was said, desperate, starving women once held up their children, beseeching strangers to take them to a new life in America. In Tyler Anbinder's moving, expertly told narrative, I learned what happened to that generation of immigrants and their descendants. This is a hugely important and too little-known part of the American story' -- Adam Hochschild * New York Times bestselling author of Spain in Our Hearts and American Midnight * 'Plentiful Country celebrates the survivors of Ireland's Great Famine, who are so often cast as dazed immigrants unprepared and unsuited for life in New York and America. Drawing on a decade of research, Tyler Anbinder presents them instead as women and men with agency: adept learners who, by both seizing and creating opportunities for themselves, remade their new country. They speak for themselves in this book, in word and deed' -- Hasia Diner * New York University, and author of Erin’s Daughters in America *

Author Information

Tyler Anbinder is an emeritus professor of history at George Washington University, where he taught courses on the history of American immigration and the American Civil War era. He is the author of three award-winning books and of numerous articles, and his publications have been honoured with the Avery Craven Prize of the Organization of American Historians, the Mark Lynton History Prize of the Columbia School of Journalism, and the Hubbell Prize of the Society of Civil War Historians. Anbinder has also held the Fulbright Commission's Thomas Jefferson Distinguished Chair in American History at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, and has won three prestigious research grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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