Emigrants and Exiles

Rich in human detail, penetrating in analysis, this book is social history on an epic scale. The first "transatlantic" history of the Irish, Emigrants and Exiles offers the fullest account yet of the diverse waves of Irish emigration to North America. Drawing on enormous original research, Miller focuses on the thought and behavior of the "ordinary" Irish emigrants, as revealed in their personal letters, diaries, journals, and
memoirs as well as in their songs, poems and folklore. Miller shows that the exile mentality was deeply rooted in Irish history, culture and personality, and it profoundly affected both the traumatic course of
modern Irish history and the Irish experience in America.