Empires aren't built by armies and navies, but by people
resettling. Keneally reminds us the Irish Diaspora sent waves of
unwilling people to North America and Australia. California and
Australian gold fields were years away. Transcontinental railroads
were a remote dream. Exiled Irish could look forward to work in
farm labor, domestic service or as small shopkeepers.
Keneally's endowed with superior talent depicting real people in
true life situations. Who else portrays his own and his wife's
grandfathers in fiction and history? He tracks the movements of
Keneally family members with engaging style. Indeed, in story
telling he is without peer.
The real appeal of this book is not just the story of the Irish,
but the quest for justice. The Diaspora was driven by a ruling
nation refusing to face the realities of their inaction in the face
of all evidence. The most telling statement in this book is the
reminder that the population of Ireland in 1922 was just over half
of what it had been at the onset of the Blight. Don't buy this book
because you're Irish; do it to understand how easy it is to
overlook injustice and the long term impact on its victims.