Rating: 
Summary: The Irish Are survivors
Review: Keneally's book will be a classic.He has captured the Irish Diaspora as none could do better.This is a huge story covering time,places, politics,love,hate,family,oppression,wars,peace;but through it all the determination of a race to survive.
Keneally writes so well that he makes it seem that he was right there all the time and that you are travelling right along with him.
Even the Irish ,however you want to define what is Irish,will find that the spread and influence of the Irish is far greater than ever realized.
After so many other's attempts it took an Australian of Keneally's stature to write the story so well.
So many resort to fiction to tell a story,but Keneally tells the story magnificently and does it with facts.
Rating:
Summary: Unbelievably powerful
Review: Michael MacDonald did an unbelievable job with this book. I've never been to Massachusetts, but through his impecable descriptions and hillarious stories, I have the clearest picture in my mind of what it must have looked like. I read a lot, and this has been the only book that I have been moved to review. It's incredibly well written, and I could not put it down, finishing it last night at about 2 am. I work in an inner-city school district, and what always amazes me is the ability of some of these young people to rise to such heights in the face of so much unbearable adversity. It's so easy to judge these young people when we have not walked in their shoes. This is a must-read for anyone who works with young people. God bless you, Michael, and congratulations on an amazing achievement.
Rating:
Summary: Fathers of the Irish Tricolor
Review: The movement around whom Kennealy's epic narrative revolves, the "Young Ireland Movement," was led by William Smith O'Brian, Thomas O'Meagher, John Michell, Terence McManus and Patrick O'Donohue. In the heat of the revolutionary year of 1848, their country beset by famine and official neglect, they attempted a peaceful coup against British rule. They failed, of course, as did others - on both sides of the Anglo-Celtic divide - who sought Irish home rule. But one of their lasting achievements was the adoption of the tricolor Irish flag - originally given them during a visit to Paris as a present by their French sympathizers. These were not the first revolutionaries - Irish rebellions date back way before Oliver Cromwell. But they were the best educated and the most articulate of their day, and as "The Great Shame" reveals, the loss of their leadership was profound. Transported as state prisoners to Van Diemens' Land (modern Tasmania), many of them - most notably Michell and Meagher - escaped to the United States. Meagher was the star, rising to a Union General during the Civil War, distinguishing himself at Fredericksburg and later becoming Goveernor of Montana. Michell, as if to prove that seemingly reasonable people can choose a radically different course, plunged into Confederate politics and became a die-hard secssionist. Hugh Larkin's story serves as something of a prologue to the "Great Shame." A "Ribbonman," he was one of the many blue-collar Irishmen whose campaigns against the British, however passionate, remained localized to their particular home towns. When he journey to Australia, unlike the Young Irelanders, was permanent: he became a successful farmer and, after earning his freedom, a relatively prosperous New South Wales country merchant. Kenneally's own family is descended from him. Even Larkin's story, however, has its tragedies, with a wife and a little daughter left behind - there is simply no historic trace of the little girl's fate. The closing chapters of The Great Shame deal with the Fenian Movement, its transportation to Western Australia and its own leaders' daring escape to America. Keneally also explores the collapse of Gladstone's Home Rule bill - and with it the last best hope for a peaceful settlement of Irish independence. This is not only a terrific history of the time, it is a celebration of the links which bind four great English-speaking countries: Australia, Ireland, Britain and America.
Rating:
Summary: Erin go bragh
Review: The story of what happened to the Irish political prisoners known as the Young Irelanders and the Fenians, in the 1850s and 60s, is expertly told by Australian writer Thomas Keneally in "The Great Shame." Sticking firmly to documented history, about the only thing Keneally leaves out is the nastier side of Fenianism, with its secret vendettas and occasional underlying brutality. But that all lies in the misty past, and Keneally has done a first-rate job of bringing much of this truculent history out into the light. This is an epic journey, just as the formation of the Irish diaspora needs it to be. You never quite know where you are you going to go next, as ships sail back and forth from Ireland to Australia and from Australia to the Americas. It is the roaring days of sail just before steam, and gold is being discovered right and left on both sides of the Pacific, sufficient to lend impetus to various Fenian schemes through goldfields' fundraising. One of the characters involved in the 50s was a man destined to become an American Civil War hero with the rank of general. He fought on the Union side while another Irishman who had fought the same battle as he had at home in Ireland, and had also been transported for it, fought with the Confederates. Such were the fortunes of war at that time. The book also recounts how the Fenian forces tried on three occasions, prior to Confederation, to invade Canada in order to hurt the British in North America. They also had the long-term plan of mounting an invasion of Ireland from a Canadian base. It was all a bit pathetic in the end, but for a time, it was in deadly earnest and who could have said what the result might not have been had the Fenian forces succeeded. Perhaps the most interesting part of a very entertaining book is the retelling of an attempted rescue from Western Australia of the last group of Fenian "lifers," all soldiers who had been cashiered from the British Army for their part in Fenian plots in England and Ireland. These men had little hope of ever leaving their prison, and were mostly ailing by the time American Fenians had raised the enormous sum needed to buy a ship to go to their rescue. The hair-raising tale of what happened is one of the nineteenth century's best adventure stories, and Keneally relishes the telling of it. So this is a book which has everything an Irishman, or an Irishman at heart, could wish for. I wonder what the reaction of the English might be to such a tale. The evidence is somewhat damning, to the effect that political repression of the most odious kind was used during and after the famine. Of course, this is only referring to the nineteenth century and does not go back in any detail to the awful story of Cromwell's men or even earlier, which might lead one to think that the English, when they came to Ireland, only did so to practice. If you've got any Irish blood in you, (and if you didn't previously know one way or the other, this may prove to be a glorious occasion for finding out) you'll fairly quickly be learning to say the old war cry, Erin go bragh. Ireland forever! It's a strange tale and one that should make us reflect about the nature of power and its misuse. It all seems so long ago now but that's just a mirage of sorts, for it was really only just the other day. Lastly I should point out that writing a book like this must have been a sheer delight. Keneally seems to have visited many of the sites he talks about and they are often in out of the way places. I imagine that it was an absolute pleasure for him to write a book like this and I look forward to the day when he finds time to do it again. I can't recommend "The Great Shame" highly enough.
Rating:
Summary: Heroic effort to bring so much History to one momentous work
Review: This book first caught my attention, as this is the Author who penned what has become a classic both in book and movie form, "Schindler's List". The book also was to explain much about the Australian aspect of the Irish Diaspora that was a facet I had not read about. My Great-Grandfather came to the US and his Brother went to Australia, so there was personal interest as well. The book is sweeping in many respects, its length, the time in History it covers, and the meticulous research that must have been required in its creation. The beauty of the work is it can be read as a major Historical Work or if the reader prefers, a 19th Century novel. I found the writing to be very dense requiring more time than I normally would take to read such a book. There is so much information that if much of it is new and you wish to really get your mind around it, it requires a good deal of time. I actually read the book in parts and took time to put in to perspective what I had read. This book is probably about double the length or even more than that of the average book today, but don't deny yourself a great read because it takes two hands to carry. Irish History is not the material that makes for many happy endings. Another reviewer mused about what they would think of this book in England, I think it would be hard to find on a bookshelf! The History of and the time that brackets The Great Famine is as grim as any human suffering you have read before. The English landlords behavior was atrocious and this book pulls no punches in that regard. The Author also talks about some of the more unsavory groups that operated in Ireland and often found themselves on a ship to the other side of the world. To the Author's credit he does not dwell, he recounts History and it's left to the reader to draw conclusions. Someone else wrote there were some factual errors and they appear well informed. I don't believe they are detrimental to the work or its merit, they are worth knowing for historical accuracy. Whether you are Irish or not the book is time well spent. At the conclusion you will be sorry it's over, but I always take that as a sign it was a great read. And as someone once said "there are no Irish stories with happy endings". This book may not be uplifting in the traditional sense, but as present developments in the news are showing that saying may yet be proven wrong. Ireland is doing very well as it enters the 21st Century, and some of the descendents of those who were forced to leave, are now returning. As the Diaspora Descendents returns, and Ireland flourishes, that would be the happiest ending of all.
Rating: 
Summary: This book should have been titled "Republicans at Large"
Review: This book is absolutley nothing like I thought it'd be. By the title and description on the back, I figured this book would be a narrative of the forced or voluntary exile of most of the population and their subsequent settling in the new world(s). I expected a braod stroke but was instead given a pencil. I'm not complaining, it's just that my expectations were not met, hence disappointment. Overall, I thought this book was OK, nothing particulary spectacular. I thought the book would have been a bit more efficeint had it focused merely on the Young Irelanders or the Fenians. I understand their fates were intertwined but most of their interaction could have been downplayed/omitted. I also felt that the book ended sloppily. It's almost as if the author felt it was getting late and decided to wrap things up. The advantage of reading history books is that even if the book isn't great, you still learn something. That pretty much summarizes my feelings on the matter.
Rating:
Summary: This book should have been titled "Republicans at Large"
Review: This book is absolutley nothing like I thought it'd be. By the title and description on the back, I figured this book would be a narrative of the forced or voluntary exile of most of the population and their subsequent settling in the new world(s). I expected a braod stroke but was instead given a pencil. I'm not complaining, it's just that my expectations were not met, hence disappointment. Overall, I thought this book was OK, nothing particulary spectacular. I thought the book would have been a bit more efficeint had it focused merely on the Young Irelanders or the Fenians. I understand their fates were intertwined but most of their interaction could have been downplayed/omitted. I also felt that the book ended sloppily. It's almost as if the author felt it was getting late and decided to wrap things up. The advantage of reading history books is that even if the book isn't great, you still learn something. That pretty much summarizes my feelings on the matter.
Rating:
Summary: A copy on every Irish bookshelf
Review: This is a big--wonderfully big--book that is both entertaining and very informative all the way through. It's an important book because it teaches a lot about Irish history that many Irish-Americans just think or feel as mythology. It makes history very human, in the way Angela's Ashes made Frank McCourt's "mythic" immigration story human. LIke Angela's Ashes, for much of The Great Shame you do feel like you're just sitting down with a great storyteller. And if it's this book or 'Tis, buy this one. There should be a copy of this book next to every copy of Angela's Ashes, one on every Irish-American bookshelf.
Rating:
Summary: A Fascinating Read
Review: Thomas Keneally looks into his own family history, and ends up setting forth the fascinating story of Young Ireland, one of the most neglected periods of Irish history. With his great eye for detail and beautiful imagery, Keneally relates the story of such Irish legends as William Smith O'Brien, Thomas Meagher and John Mitchel. "The Great Shame" brings the lives of these and the other Irish legends of the time to vivid life, following them from their roots in Ireland, to their exile in Van Diemen's Land, and culminating in their glorious rebirth in Civil War America. Read this book!
Rating:
Summary: A Fascinating Read
Review: Thomas Keneally looks into his own family history, and ends up setting forth the fascinating story of Young Ireland, one of the most neglected periods of Irish history. With his great eye for detail and beautiful imagery, Keneally relates the story of such Irish legends as William Smith O'Brien, Thomas Meagher and John Mitchel. "The Great Shame" brings the lives of these and the other Irish legends of the time to vivid life, following them from their roots in Ireland, to their exile in Van Diemen's Land, and culminating in their glorious rebirth in Civil War America. Read this book!
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