Emigrants and Exiles: Ireland and the Irish Exodus to North America (Oxford Paperbacks)

This is a very in-depth research of the topic as stated in the title. If you are interested in Irish history this book is quite informative and interesting. However, it is not lite reading because of the author's detailed efforts to convey to the reader the many reasons why Ireland and the Irish people came to be such a distinctive population. These are reasons that cannot easily be summed up in a few short pages, but I do think the author could have done a better job in summarizing his information. Refreshingly, the author only lets his personal biases creep into the book occasionally. Most disappointing is that my paperback copy of this book was marred by an imperfect printing and many of the words on the left side of opposing pages were hardly readable. It became quite frustrating to have to guess at some of them.To anyone who is doing research, this is a good read.

This excellent history is a must-have for American family genealogists with Irish roots - it is one thing to know the names of your ancestors, but another to truly comprehend their experience as immigrants and the social and economic issues they encountered when they arrived in America. If you are a writer who is interested in accurately reflecting the Irish American experience pre and post-immigration, this is an excellent resource. Even though the book was published in 1985, the thoroughly researched material remains relevant and accurate. The book is a scholarly work written by a serious scholar, but if you have interest in or need for the material, you find the content engaging and useful. Note: I did not read the material chronologically as I am interested in specific time periods and social issues, but the book's chronological order and index make it easy to locate the content one is seeking.

This book is going to take me months, if not years, to read! I don't know who the author was writing for but not the the average reader, that's for sure. I have to have a dictionary by me & even then don't understand what he is trying to say because of some of his sentence structure. I have 3 yrs of college, went to nursing school, & was an RN nearly 30 years so I can't read that far below normal but, geeze, this is a chore. However, there is really good information in it & I know, if I can ever plow through it, I will be glad I did. I just wish it weren't written so lofty for some kind of scholars so it would be more pleasurable to read.

This book has much very deep research about the reasons for emigration from Ireland, and also the attitudes of those who emigrated. For anyone who hasn't already read about this issue, this is an interesting book. Pretty heavy reading!

Truly a well written highly informative detailed account of Ireland happenings over the long ago to present years. Recommend for those everyone seeking an interesting read and particularly for those seeking information on those that came before us during the rough tough times that seemed always to go on and on for those of us that will always be from Ireland yet forever contacted to Ireland..

I would’ve given it five stars if “North America” included more about the Irish Canadians - the path my ancestors took to America. It has very little about outside the US.

The book was in good condition but smelled strongly of smoke. I had hoped to read it immediately, but I’ll have to let it air out for a few days to let the smell dissipate.

Kerby Miller's Emigrants and Exiles is the unsurpassed history of the Irish exodus to the North America, which, as the author says, was in global terms a major population movement. This book has been aptly described as "magisterial." Its broad in its coverage and conceptualization, rich in its detail and information, powerful in its argumentation.

Kerby A. Miller's book, Emigrants and Exiles, is the result of fifteen years of research and writing. It is an impressive work, offering the first major interpretation of the Irish migrant experience in North America. Miller's examination of the Norman conquest of Ireland, its systems of laws and land ownership reveals how Irish Gaels became "Exiles in Erin". Following on from the Norman conquest, the English conquest of Ireland had remained more "aspiration than achievement". Miller examines how the Irish nobles reasserted themselves in the middle ages, revealing the tensions between Gaelic tradition and modernity, before moving on to the subjects of famine, pre-famine exodus, Irish emigration before America became a Republic and post-famine emigration from Ireland to North America.Miller based his work on 5,000 emigrant letters and memoirs [the letters are listed in the bibliography]. Miller argues that the theme of exile was dominant in the letters and memoirs of the 4 million emigrants who journeyed to Canada and North America, covering a period between 1851 to1921. Miller also stresses the importance of the Anglicization of Ireland in the 19th century and its influence on the Irish culture.This is an important work; not only is it well written, but it is also written with a clear bias toward the truth without self-pity or over glamorizing national identity. So, I give this work five stars for excellence.Gregory John KielyPerth, Western Australia

Kerby Miller presents a unique view of Irish migration, untainted by stereotypes, and stimulating in its clarity and confidence. As an Irishwoman raised on the stereotypes who discovered in my personal life their unreliability, this book was a mine of information, full of alternative meanings and possibilities, a temptation to go even more deeply into this fascinating topic.

This is probably only being bought by the real Irish history buffs so the fact that it's a heavy, academic read can only be good. It's a reasonably balanced,very detailed, unprejudiced account of a potentially controversial topic. I'd like to have seen a couple of maps and some archive photos included for illustaration.

Best thing I have found on Irish emigration, based on emigrants' letters and extensive research.

I am very disappointed to this... I bought this book as new and it came as it was used by several people.It is too damaged. Not recommended.