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Three Famines: Starvation and Politics
Famine may be triggered by nature but its outcome arises from politics and ideology. In Three Famines , award-winning author Thomas Keneally uncovers the troubling truth—that sustained widespread hunger is historically the outcome of government neglect and individual venality. Through the lens of three of the most disastrous famines in modern history—the potato famine in Ireland, the famine in Bengal in 1943, and the string of famines that plagued Ethiopia in the 1970s and 1980s— Keneally shows how ideology, mindsets of governments, racial preconceptions, and administrative incompetence were, ultimately, more lethal than the initiating blights or crop failures. In this compelling narrative, Keneally recounts the histories of these events while vividly evoking the terrible cost of famine at the level of the individual who starves and the nation that withers.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
About the author
Tom Keneally
33 books72 followersSee Thomas Keneally
Thomas Keneally was born in 1935 and his first novel was published in 1964. Since then he has written a considerable number of novels and non-fiction works. His novels include The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Schindler's List and The People's Train. He has won the Miles Franklin Award, the Booker Prize, the Los Angeles Times Prize, the Mondello International Prize and has been made a Literary Lion of the New York Public Library, a Fellow of the American Academy, recipient of the University of California gold medal, and is now the subject of a 55 cent Australian stamp.
He has held various academic posts in the United States, but lives in Sydney.
Thomas Keneally was born in 1935 and his first novel was published in 1964. Since then he has written a considerable number of novels and non-fiction works. His novels include The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Schindler's List and The People's Train. He has won the Miles Franklin Award, the Booker Prize, the Los Angeles Times Prize, the Mondello International Prize and has been made a Literary Lion of the New York Public Library, a Fellow of the American Academy, recipient of the University of California gold medal, and is now the subject of a 55 cent Australian stamp.
He has held various academic posts in the United States, but lives in Sydney.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
August 22, 2012
The author argues that bad weather, natural disasters, pests and crop failure are often not the main cause of famine. Other causes are: (1) harvests being stolen, (2) civil wars, (3) obstructions to transporting food from one part of the country to another, (4) hungry people lacking the money needed to buy the food, (5) relief aid being stolen by the army or government officials, and (6) government efforts to keep the famine secret.
The author studies three famines: (1) the Irish potato famine of the 19th century, (2) the Bengal famine during World War II, and the Ethiopian famine of the 1980s.
Ireland:
The Irish farmers were serfs to their English masters, and much of their harvest was taken away from them and shipped to England. There were workhouses for some of the Irish poor, but the Irish and English landowners bent over backwards to avoid encouraging laziness, rewarding the undeserving poor, promoting pauperism. Peasants were evicted from their houses for non-payment of rent. It was the opposite of the current situation in Europe and North America, where we are, at least in the view of us Rightists, too generous to the undeserving poor. Many of the peasants went overseas, not only to the United States, but also to Canada and Australia.
Bengal:
Part of the reason the Indians suffered is that Churchill was punishing Indians who failed to support the British war against the Japanese. There was even an Indian named Subhas Chandra Bose, who hated the British so much that he formed the Indian National Army, which fought with the Japanese and against the British. The British took much of the rice harvest to feed their own soldiers. The British also confiscated thousands of Bengali boats to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Japanese. Australia tried to send food to India, but was unable to do so, because all the ships were busy with the war against the Japanese. The British eliminated the words "famine", "corpse", and "starvation" from cables that were sent from India to Britain. One of the reasons India could not do more about the Bengal famine was that most of the leaders of the Congress Party had been imprisoned by the British.
Ethiopia:
Much of the blame for the Ethiopian famine can be layed at the feet of its communist dictator, Mengistu Haile Mariam and the Derg, who ruled Ethiopia between 1974 to 1987. Mengistu pushed not only Communism and collective agriculture (Peasant Associations), but the dominance of the Amharic ethnic group. I was surprised to learn that Ethiopia is a multi-ethic country. Of course, everyone knows about the Eritreans, who recently split off to form their own country. But Ethiopia houses many other ethnicities:
• Tigrayan, Christians who speak a Semitic language,
• Beja, Sufi Muslims and Coptic Christians who live in northeastern Ethiopia and Eritrea,
• Barentu Oromo, Cushitic-speaking Eastern Ethiopian farmers,
• Borana Oromo, Cushitic-speaking Southern Ethiopian herders,
• Sidama, Cushitic-speaking Protestant farmers who grow coffee and Ethiopian bananas,
• Ogaden, Somali-speaking Muslims,
• Afar, Muslim nomads who live in the Great Rift Valley and speak an eastern Cushitic language,
• Nuer, cattle herders who speak a Western Nilotic language similar to the Dinka of South Sudan,
• Anuak, people who speak the western Nilotic Luo language.
Mengistu fought wars against the Eritreans and many other ethnic minorities. Dawit Wolde Giorgis asked the United Nations for food aid in 1984. Much of the food aid from the West went through the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission, which was headed by Giorgis.The Soviet Union gave Ethiopia very little food aid. Conservative Americans wanted to deny Ethiopia food aid to punish it for allying itself with the Soviet Union. The government of Ethiopia spent much of its money on its military and buying arms from the Soviet Union. Mengistu had earlier expelled Médecins Sans Frontiers from Ethiopia for criticizing him. Ethiopians living in Ethiopia during the famine received a great deal of aid in the form of remittances from overseas Ethiopians.
The author studies three famines: (1) the Irish potato famine of the 19th century, (2) the Bengal famine during World War II, and the Ethiopian famine of the 1980s.
Ireland:
The Irish farmers were serfs to their English masters, and much of their harvest was taken away from them and shipped to England. There were workhouses for some of the Irish poor, but the Irish and English landowners bent over backwards to avoid encouraging laziness, rewarding the undeserving poor, promoting pauperism. Peasants were evicted from their houses for non-payment of rent. It was the opposite of the current situation in Europe and North America, where we are, at least in the view of us Rightists, too generous to the undeserving poor. Many of the peasants went overseas, not only to the United States, but also to Canada and Australia.
Bengal:
Part of the reason the Indians suffered is that Churchill was punishing Indians who failed to support the British war against the Japanese. There was even an Indian named Subhas Chandra Bose, who hated the British so much that he formed the Indian National Army, which fought with the Japanese and against the British. The British took much of the rice harvest to feed their own soldiers. The British also confiscated thousands of Bengali boats to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Japanese. Australia tried to send food to India, but was unable to do so, because all the ships were busy with the war against the Japanese. The British eliminated the words "famine", "corpse", and "starvation" from cables that were sent from India to Britain. One of the reasons India could not do more about the Bengal famine was that most of the leaders of the Congress Party had been imprisoned by the British.
Ethiopia:
Much of the blame for the Ethiopian famine can be layed at the feet of its communist dictator, Mengistu Haile Mariam and the Derg, who ruled Ethiopia between 1974 to 1987. Mengistu pushed not only Communism and collective agriculture (Peasant Associations), but the dominance of the Amharic ethnic group. I was surprised to learn that Ethiopia is a multi-ethic country. Of course, everyone knows about the Eritreans, who recently split off to form their own country. But Ethiopia houses many other ethnicities:
• Tigrayan, Christians who speak a Semitic language,
• Beja, Sufi Muslims and Coptic Christians who live in northeastern Ethiopia and Eritrea,
• Barentu Oromo, Cushitic-speaking Eastern Ethiopian farmers,
• Borana Oromo, Cushitic-speaking Southern Ethiopian herders,
• Sidama, Cushitic-speaking Protestant farmers who grow coffee and Ethiopian bananas,
• Ogaden, Somali-speaking Muslims,
• Afar, Muslim nomads who live in the Great Rift Valley and speak an eastern Cushitic language,
• Nuer, cattle herders who speak a Western Nilotic language similar to the Dinka of South Sudan,
• Anuak, people who speak the western Nilotic Luo language.
Mengistu fought wars against the Eritreans and many other ethnic minorities. Dawit Wolde Giorgis asked the United Nations for food aid in 1984. Much of the food aid from the West went through the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission, which was headed by Giorgis.The Soviet Union gave Ethiopia very little food aid. Conservative Americans wanted to deny Ethiopia food aid to punish it for allying itself with the Soviet Union. The government of Ethiopia spent much of its money on its military and buying arms from the Soviet Union. Mengistu had earlier expelled Médecins Sans Frontiers from Ethiopia for criticizing him. Ethiopians living in Ethiopia during the famine received a great deal of aid in the form of remittances from overseas Ethiopians.
February 23, 2013
Interesting look at the commonalities between 3 different famines, completely separate by place and time: the potato famine in Ireland in the mid-19th century, the Bengal famine in the 1940's, and the Ethiopian famines of the 1970's-80's.
The upshot of this book is that famines are never caused exclusively by what you think they are, i.e. natural disaster (drought, flooding, pests, etc.). I think most of us know that, but this book is an examination of exactly what other forces conspire to make for famine conditions. These "other forces" typically consist of corrupt or inept government, a lack of taking it seriously until it's too late, a blaming of the victims (there were some fascinatingly appalling quotes about this! Such as how the Irish "deserved it" because of their "base moral character", how they just weren't working hard enough, etc.), and usually a deprioritizing of the famine in favor of military or other pursuits.
I thought it was very interesting in terms of what the similarities were between famines. The book was well-structured, examining each of the famines through the lenses of different topics (such as resistance by the victims, the relief phase, etc.).
I personally found it a bit dry at times, but I'm not really a history buff so this is somewhat typical. Overall, I thought it was an interesting topic and well-researched.
The upshot of this book is that famines are never caused exclusively by what you think they are, i.e. natural disaster (drought, flooding, pests, etc.). I think most of us know that, but this book is an examination of exactly what other forces conspire to make for famine conditions. These "other forces" typically consist of corrupt or inept government, a lack of taking it seriously until it's too late, a blaming of the victims (there were some fascinatingly appalling quotes about this! Such as how the Irish "deserved it" because of their "base moral character", how they just weren't working hard enough, etc.), and usually a deprioritizing of the famine in favor of military or other pursuits.
I thought it was very interesting in terms of what the similarities were between famines. The book was well-structured, examining each of the famines through the lenses of different topics (such as resistance by the victims, the relief phase, etc.).
I personally found it a bit dry at times, but I'm not really a history buff so this is somewhat typical. Overall, I thought it was an interesting topic and well-researched.
March 5, 2012
Hard to rate this one, as the subject matter is so wrenching and angers me so. There were times, for example, I had to just stop reading and get away for a bit. But Keneally's writing is typically excellent, and I enjoyed the parallel chapter structure, as well as the breakdown by cause/villain/relief/etc.
June 8, 2015
Keneally output of books is truly amazing. In this one he takes his previous research of the Irish Famine, his experience in Ethiopia and added the Bengali 1943 famine to discuss common causes, villains, heroes and impacts. He makes a number of observations including that there is always enough food it is a matter of getting it to the right people - and it is the Government of the day which prevents this from happening. I would have liked Keneally's thoughts on the Bengali famines of the 1760s and 70s.
This is not a great book as it flicks back and forth between the three events and could have been structured better. Nonetheless, it is an important book reminding us the lives and rights of minorities or the dispossessed are so often under valued.
This is not a great book as it flicks back and forth between the three events and could have been structured better. Nonetheless, it is an important book reminding us the lives and rights of minorities or the dispossessed are so often under valued.
July 16, 2019
Extremely disappointed with this book. I’ve rarely encountered a non-fiction work where the information was so poorly organized. In an effort to discuss three famines - the Irish potato famine, the famine in Bengal in WW2, and the famine in Ethiopia in the 1980’s - the author managed to thoroughly confuse me about all three. Instead of presenting each famine one by one, in a chronological order, the author tries to jump around between them - but sometimes discussing the aftermath before the causes; sometimes mentioning the “villain” only to pivot immediately to the natural causes that sparked the famine. This appeared to be an effort to elucidate overarching patterns and themes, but those are hard to come by without a base layer confidence in what's going on. This manner of narrative can work if done properly, but here it manages to take under-discussed tragedies that should evoke outrage and instead leave the reader listlessly confused. Didn’t bother to finish. Two stars because it IS important to acknowledge the human element in famine (for example, Britain was actively exporting food from Ireland during the famine).
November 16, 2017
An excellent book which I enjoyed as an audio book. Covering the Irish potato famine 🥔 🍀, the (mostly unknown) Bengal famine of WW2 and the famines of Ethiopia in the 1970s and 1980s it is a highly educational, yet harrowing read. Makes you feel grateful for everything the world has achieved, albeit we still have a long way to go in some places and for some people in terms of good security, peace, fair elections and freedom of speech. I can highly recommended, one of the books that has me most impressed so far this year. 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
October 4, 2011
Probably really like 3.5 stars, but giving it 4 for the importance of the topic as a whole.
July 15, 2022
I picked up this book upon recommendation from Michael Yon on his blog (michaelyon.com) regarding what he refers to as panfamwar. Pandemic, famine, and war all being interrelated.
A well written and easy to comprehend book about three famous famines (Irish Potato Famine, Bengal Famine, and Ethiopian Famine) regarding their causes, responses, and aftermath. The book was well paced.
I remember the Ethiopian Famine of the '80s from all the commercials and of course the BandAid and LiveAid stuff on the TV and radio. I hadn't realized just how much of it was caused by political/military issues at the time, though I was aware that the government had turned communist. One of the biggest social aspects I remember well was how the admonition to kids to eat all the food on their plate changed from "...there's children starving in China." to "...there's children starving in Africa."
The Irish Potato Famine is one of the most widely known famines in history, at least around here. It seems that you can't walk into a room without there being someone of Irish descent in it. Even my family, which is nearly entirely of German, German-Russian, and Swedish ancestry has a tiny smidgen of Irish (Great grandmother's family came over in the 1840s, the only line that got here before the 1890s). I knew that the potatoes had contracted blight several times, but I hadn't known just how much of the actual suffering was caused by political machinations. The author did make an anti-Catholic statement, not sure if it was his views or that of one of the people involved at the time, that threw me for a loop.
The Bengal Famine I had heard about, but didn't know much and simply assumed it was largely because of issues related to WWII. I hadn't realized just how much of it was caused by political considerations at the time.
Political interests are a recurring, and major cause, of famine it would seem. While drought/flooding of cropland often sets the stage for famine, it appears that there is often plenty of food available. It's the political nature of the response that actually causes the famine. The people living in the area affected are undesirable and/or expendable to the ruling politicians and bureaucrats interests.
The epidemic/pandemic diseases associated with famine was somewhat new to me. I had been aware of things like cholera and scurvy because of the malnutrition and poor sanitary conditions. Typhus should have been obvious but I wasn't really thinking about it. The mental aspects, the starving refusing to eat good food and seeking out poor quality food, was new to me. The upset digestive systems from the "new" foods introduced should have also been obvious, but I hadn't realized it.
The Trade Paperback was well formatted with no obvious spelling/grammatical errors. The author does use British spelling rather than American, so you see "gaol" instead of "jail".
A well written and easy to comprehend book about three famous famines (Irish Potato Famine, Bengal Famine, and Ethiopian Famine) regarding their causes, responses, and aftermath. The book was well paced.
I remember the Ethiopian Famine of the '80s from all the commercials and of course the BandAid and LiveAid stuff on the TV and radio. I hadn't realized just how much of it was caused by political/military issues at the time, though I was aware that the government had turned communist. One of the biggest social aspects I remember well was how the admonition to kids to eat all the food on their plate changed from "...there's children starving in China." to "...there's children starving in Africa."
The Irish Potato Famine is one of the most widely known famines in history, at least around here. It seems that you can't walk into a room without there being someone of Irish descent in it. Even my family, which is nearly entirely of German, German-Russian, and Swedish ancestry has a tiny smidgen of Irish (Great grandmother's family came over in the 1840s, the only line that got here before the 1890s). I knew that the potatoes had contracted blight several times, but I hadn't known just how much of the actual suffering was caused by political machinations. The author did make an anti-Catholic statement, not sure if it was his views or that of one of the people involved at the time, that threw me for a loop.
The Bengal Famine I had heard about, but didn't know much and simply assumed it was largely because of issues related to WWII. I hadn't realized just how much of it was caused by political considerations at the time.
Political interests are a recurring, and major cause, of famine it would seem. While drought/flooding of cropland often sets the stage for famine, it appears that there is often plenty of food available. It's the political nature of the response that actually causes the famine. The people living in the area affected are undesirable and/or expendable to the ruling politicians and bureaucrats interests.
The epidemic/pandemic diseases associated with famine was somewhat new to me. I had been aware of things like cholera and scurvy because of the malnutrition and poor sanitary conditions. Typhus should have been obvious but I wasn't really thinking about it. The mental aspects, the starving refusing to eat good food and seeking out poor quality food, was new to me. The upset digestive systems from the "new" foods introduced should have also been obvious, but I hadn't realized it.
The Trade Paperback was well formatted with no obvious spelling/grammatical errors. The author does use British spelling rather than American, so you see "gaol" instead of "jail".
May 10, 2020
Famine is rarely just about food production shortfall
An interesting book looking at 3 famines (Irish, Bengal and Ethiopian) describing the extenuating circumstances which caused each. Well written and emotionally stirring the author hits the right balance of facts and the saddening consequences of these catastrophes.
An interesting book looking at 3 famines (Irish, Bengal and Ethiopian) describing the extenuating circumstances which caused each. Well written and emotionally stirring the author hits the right balance of facts and the saddening consequences of these catastrophes.
December 25, 2024
Great book comparing three major famines. Informative and compassionate.
March 16, 2024
This is a historical look at the similarities that famines produce. The mix of natural disaster and politics. Having some background in the Irish famine of the 1840’s, I knew that while the Irish were starving, they were forced to export all their grain by the British. My dad was also a witness to the Bengal famine being in India during WWII. Having lived through the depression, his own experience made him a great admirer of the Indian people. Good and quick read.
December 8, 2011
I was really looking forward to this one, and wanted to learn more about the topic. However, I found Keneally's very awkward prose style unbearable. I tried to soldier on for a while but it got to the point that I was getting distracted ("that's the fifth time he's begun a sentence with 'nor' in the past 3 pages!"), and I abandoned the effort.
Additionally, while the parallel structure was an interesting idea, it didn't seem to bear out well in practice. Keneally would observe that there was such-and-such a commonality among the 3 famines, discuss it with reference to one or two of the famines, with a varying degree of detail, then note that while there's no evidence on the third case no doubt the same would have held true there. He surmised that prostitution increased during the Irish famine, based principally, it seems, on that having been an element of the plot in a play about the famine written a century later. Thus, while an interesting topic, something about the execution seemed to be lacking.
Additionally, while the parallel structure was an interesting idea, it didn't seem to bear out well in practice. Keneally would observe that there was such-and-such a commonality among the 3 famines, discuss it with reference to one or two of the famines, with a varying degree of detail, then note that while there's no evidence on the third case no doubt the same would have held true there. He surmised that prostitution increased during the Irish famine, based principally, it seems, on that having been an element of the plot in a play about the famine written a century later. Thus, while an interesting topic, something about the execution seemed to be lacking.
October 14, 2011
"There is no end to politicians who pursue, at the cost of all compassion and paying the price of human flesh, their denials, dogmas and ideologies. ... In Ethiopia and in many food crises of the present and recent past, it is oppression, war and 'civic mayhem' that have been the main reasons for famine mortality."
This book is rather confusingly organized and poorly written, and missing most citations that would give the author a lot more credibility, but still gives a good look at the politics of famine and the government policy-induced things that elevate a food shortage or drought to famine proportions. A good reminder that just pouring money or food into a starving country isn't necessarily an effective solution to a problem that is much broader than poor crop yield.
This book is rather confusingly organized and poorly written, and missing most citations that would give the author a lot more credibility, but still gives a good look at the politics of famine and the government policy-induced things that elevate a food shortage or drought to famine proportions. A good reminder that just pouring money or food into a starving country isn't necessarily an effective solution to a problem that is much broader than poor crop yield.
August 24, 2011
Thomas Keneally is an australian writer and researcher, most famous for the story of Schindler's Ark (which achieved world wide fame as Schindler's list) has written a critically important analysis of three horrendous famines in human history (Irish, Bengal and Ethiopian). The book explores the ways famine is the same regardless of where and when it takes place and what role culture might play in making a famine distinct. It is a sobering and absorbing account of human misery and the role human action and human inaction play in accentuating the misery.
July 3, 2014
I was drawn to the book to learn more about Ireland's an Gorta Mor, but I most appreciated learning about the created famines in Ethiopia and Eritrea. I remember the images on TV when I was a kid, but they were subsumed in my pre-teen mind as equating Africa. As a youngster my ignorance could be excused, but Keneally, lays out what most of the world should have seen clearly: the poor were the victims of cold war politics, a stalinist styled dictator (Mengistu), and the compliance of Western aid agencies.
October 7, 2011
Keneally's observations about the role politics played/plays in famine are important. I only wish he had chosen a different structure for this book. Entwining discussion of three famines simultaneously leant an air of contrivance to the book. Structuring his argument sequentially, in my opinion, would have made for a much better book where the author's striving for transition and clever connection would distract less.
September 19, 2011
A fascinating approach to history comparing and contrasting the natural and human-made causes of three catastrophic famines--Ireland in the 1840s, Bengal in the 1940s, and Ethiopia in the 1980s--and their horrific by-products. I've already read a good bit about the Irish famine but even found sone of Keneally said about it enlightening.
November 7, 2015
While the book Three Famines was interesting and informative, I did wonder how Tom Keneally chose the famines he did, especially when the famine in India that lasted for much of the last quarter of the 19th century should have been mentioned. Not that I am saying the three chosen were not worthy of mention but that famine must have been devastating.
August 10, 2013
An interesting read. Keneally sketches three famines and finds common threads between the three. This comparative analysis is the most interesting element of this exercise. It's a somewhat old fashioned objective overview. A sobering and worthwhile book.
November 1, 2011
A highly readable examination of the political impact on three modern famine: the Irish potato famine of the 1840's, the Bengali famine of 1943, and the Ethiopian famines of the 1970's and 1980's.
July 19, 2012
An eye-opening read that adds to his previous work on the Irish Potato Famine.
November 20, 2012
Well-structured and easy to read and understand.
May 21, 2013
Three Famines felt like an uncompleted draft. Great potential, unfulfilled.
May 22, 2013
Hard going. An essay style book on an interesting yet sickening subject. Humans can be cruel and stupid, making similar mistakes over and over again.
May 30, 2013
A good piece of journalism - adds insight to the famines in 19th C. Ireland, 20th Bengal, and Ethiopia, with all angles covered.
February 15, 2014
One of what we consider the worst natural disasters is always man-made.
April 19, 2015
I was expecting more from the writer of Schindler's list, but then again I just watched the movie.
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