Ireland

'a major new economic history of Ireland by one of the country's most distinguished economic historians ... The discussion is comprehensive and thorough ... As one would expect, Dr Ó Gráda restores some balance to recent revisionist historiography of the Famine and the Land War of the 1880s ... His wide use of quotations from Irish is refreshing, again reflecting the experience of the cosmhuintir, often neglected in Irish historiography.' Peadar Kirby, The Irish Times 'The copious, complicated statistics merely illustrate the points in the text, which is full of interest and not without dry humour.' Charles Chevenix Trench, Irish Independent Weekender 'a new standard text-book on Irish economic history... the author's relaxed style of writing, his sympathy for the forensic methods of the non-quantitative historian, and his eye for the telling quotation enhance the accessibility of his arguments. Its intellectual range, its rigorous standard in the weighing of evidence, its methodological pyrotechnics and its palpable humanity, will ensure that Irish economic history will never be quite the same again.' David Dickson, History Ireland, Autumn 1994 `What has been wanting until O Grada's volume has been a coherent overview and synthesis ... one of this book's virtues is the author's willingness to try something new to make progress on an important topic ... This study will quickly gain a place on the shelves of economic historians and others interested in Irish history ... this volume will ... make an excellent teaching tool ... the book's scope and the respectful tone taken toward those with whom the author disagrees make this work a fine example to hold up to students at any stage: rigor does not require narrowness, and disagreement need not be petty.' Journal of Economic Literature `the new economic history of Ireland is championed by a scholar whose remarkable command of its theories, methods, and scholarship is enhamced by his willingness and ability to step away from the dispassionate layers of statistical complexities to infuse his work with passion and compassion for the people who lived, died, emigrated, prospered, and suffered in Ireland.' Journal of Economic History `What the book does superbly well is to explain fully, clearly, and graphically those problems and episodes which have benefited from the cliometric treatment in the past 10 years or so... The beauty of the book is that O Grada does not simply summarize the revisionist arguments and conclusions...The text is enlivened with many little cameos or glimpses of individual farms and estates, businesses and banks, like plums in a pudding...the calm rationality of O Grada's presentation, the scepticism with which he greets cultural explanations of economic matters, and his infectious enthusiasm fro numbers will surely inspire new economic historians to make further inroads into the Irish economy.' The Economic history Review `a judicious and closely argued survey of a great deal of recent research, much of it by O Grada himself...the variety of evidence used...is impressive...O Grada's mastery of the literature and the quality of his writing is superior to anything written on the subject for many years.' Economica `One of the criticisms of New Economic history is that it is all theory and no history, but this cannot be levelled at O Grada, whose knowledge and understanding of Irish economic history are probably unparalleled...there is much to relish. He may be a skilled and committed econometrician, but his work is accessible to the general reader...His book, by finely intertwining history with the new methodology, has made a significant and enduring contribution to post-revisionist Irish historiography.' Fortnight `monumental study of economic and social change between the onset of the Industrial Revolution and the eve of World War II ... The approach used is quantitative and analytical throughout but the exposition itself is rarely more complicated than the subject matter demands ... The range of subjects traversed by Ó Gráda is astonishing, and different historians will want to focus on their favorite themes. The storytelling in this book is lively. The effect is not simply to reduce the risk of quantitative overload for the reader; the triumphant result is an earthier, more authentic history of the Irish peoples.' Liam Kennedy, Queen's University, Belfast, American Historical Review, April 1996 `It is a judicious and closely argued survey of a great deal of recent research, much of it by O'Grada himself. The variety of evidence used by O'Grada is very impressive. O'Grada's mastery of the literature and the quality of his writing is superior to anything written on the subject for many years.' Dudley Baines, The London School of Economics, Business History, 11/96