Emigrants and Exiles: Ireland and the Irish Exodus to North America

New York: Oxford University Press, 1985. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/very good. Very light shelf wear to the book and jacket, top edge dusty. Clean and unmarked. First printing, full number line. "Drawing on enormous original research, Kerby Miller focuses on the thought and behavior of the "ordinary" Irish emigrants, Catholic and Protestant, as revealed in their personal letters, diaries, journals and memoirs as well as in their songs, poems, and folklore. He finds that while many were eager newcomers to "the land of promise," many more saw themselves as involuntary "exiles" who had been forced to leave Ireland by cruel fate or British oppression. The exile mentality, Miller shows, was deeply rooted in Irish history, culture, and personality, and it profoundly affected the traumatic course of modern Irish history even as it shaped the Irish-American experience in very particular ways. The impressive scope of Miller's work embraces all the successive waves of Irish emigration, and he fills the book with rich human detail." Every effort is made to ship all books and other items within 24 hours. Clean recycled packing material will be used when possible. The Book Shed has a been a member of the Vermont Antiquarian Bookseller's Association since 1997. An online bookseller with a bookshop sensibility!