The Great Famine by Amelia Khatri

The Great Famine examines the multifaceted causes and devastating consequences of the Irish Potato Famine (1845-1849), a pivotal event in world history. It explores the confluence of environmental factors, specifically the arrival of potato blight, alongside existing socioeconomic conditions and British economic policies that transformed a localized agricultural crisis into a widespread catastrophe. The book highlights the biological vulnerability of Ireland's dependence on a single crop and the impact of British Colonialism on Irish land ownership and food distribution.

The narrative also traces the subsequent mass migration and its profound effects on both Ireland and the nations receiving the displaced population. The book argues that the famine was not merely a natural disaster, but a complex interplay of ecological vulnerability exacerbated by political and economic systems. By using government documents, personal letters, and research from agricultural science, The Great Famine adopts a narrative non-fiction approach to bring this history to life.

Structured to provide a comprehensive analysis, it begins with pre-famine conditions in Ireland, transitions to the blight's devastating effects, analyzes the British government's response, examines mass emigration, and concludes with the famine's long-term impact on Irish society and modern food security policies.