1847: a Chronicle of Genius, Generosity and Savagery Free
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FREE 1847: A CHRONICLE OF GENIUS, GENEROSITY AND SAVAGERY PDF Turtle Bunbury | 384 pages | 09 Sep 2016 | Gill | 9780717168347 | English | Dublin, Ireland A Chronicle of Genius, Generosity & Savagery by Turtle Bunbury Engraving depicting the devastation of the Irish famine, showing a scene outside a workhouse, Ireland, circa Photograph: Kate Geraghty. We are fast approaching the th anniversary of Big deal, says you. Or, put it another way, two year-olds. It continually astounded us how many of them revealed that their grandparents had been children, if not teenagers, at the time of the Great Famine. The song was written by his brother Luka Bloom, who gallantly launched at the chq Building in Dublin on September 29th, with a beautiful rendition of his song. The first verse begins:. As I dove into the history books in Scotland to learn more, I was staggered by the impact of the Famine. The statistics are almost impossible to comprehend. In alone, somemen, women and children are believed to have died through disease or starvation, and nearlyfled, primarily to Britain and North America. Such a mass exodus inevitably shaped the contours of foreign lands. The population of Toronto, for instance, trebled to 60, over the course ofwith Generosity and Savagery newcomers almost exclusively from Ireland. The Famine, or the Great Starvation as 1847: A Chronicle of Genius call it, still makes people deeply upset. Understandably so, because Generosity and Savagery happened during that time was shocking, heart-breaking and almost entirely indefensible. However, the purpose of my book is not to rake over the coals of that appalling era. Indeed, I think our energies would surely be better channelled into helping the 30 million people presently on the cusp of famine in Yemen and the Horn of Africa. Remarkable people brought help to Ireland from the seas, not least Rodney Baxter, a grizzled seadog from Cape Cod who sailed a small schooner into Sligo laden with supplies. In Forbes persuaded the US government to loan him a warship 1847: A Chronicle of Genius Irish emigrant stevedores in Boston then stuffed to the gills with food supplies. The opium magnate personally sailed the ship into Cobh, unloaded its gratefully received cargo and then embarked on a grand tour of famine-ravaged County Cork with no less a guide than Fr Theobald Mathew, the Apostle of Temperance. I chose to write for a number of reasons, many personal. Lisnavagh, my family home in Co Carlow, was built in So too was Glenalmond, the school I went to in Scotland. I looked at my family tree; three of my direct ancestors were born in I poured a Carlsberg and noted the brewery was established in The crunch point came in Mexico City when I found myself standing on the very spot where the San Patricios had been executed in This was a battalion of mostly Irish soldiers who had fought for the Mexican army against the US during a brutal war that raged across Mexico that year. I determined to stop the clock and write a book about the world in As a travel writer who had lived in places such as Hong Kong, Australia and the USA, I felt this broader picture might somehow assist our understanding of what happened in Ireland in As such, is not just about Ireland, or the Irish. The year simply provides the backdrop for 36 stories that took place all across the planet that year and, specifically, on the dramatis personae who were embroiled in these occurrences. The world was every bit as small in When the Cunard liner, Cambria, left Liverpool for New York that spring, its passengers included the iconic circus showman PT Barnum and his diminutive cousin, a two-foot high performer called General Tom Thumb. The American duo had made a fortune in Europe when the Generosity and Savagery entertained over 5 million people. The next time Cambria sailed from Liverpool, she carried the abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglass. The world of classical music, represented in these pages by Felix Mendelssohn, Franz Liszt and the soprano Jenny Lind, must have been startled by the innovative strumming of guitar and banjo strings 1847: A Chronicle of Genius was carried on the air from the American West. Another nautical loop involves the 1847: A Chronicle of Genius of Henry Kellett, a naval officer from Fethard, Co. Tipperary, who was dispatched to survey the west coast of the Americas inhoming in on the Galapagos islands and Mexican California where a maverick priest from Co Clare had been trying to establish a colony called New Ireland. Franklin and men had sailed from England in but had not been seen since. Kellett could not find Franklin but it would 1847: A Chronicle of Genius that the explorer and his crew had been trapped in the ice and died in There is much to chew on in but I 1847: A Chronicle of Genius that this chronicle of famine, warfare, scandal and gumdrops will provide a little insight into the minds 1847: A Chronicle of Genius some of those who walked this earth in To comment you must now be an Irish Times subscriber. Please subscribe to sign in to comment. Turtle Bunbury on a chronicle of genius, generosity and savagery is forever associated with Famine but my book is not just about Ireland. The year simply provides the backdrop for 36 stories that took place all 1847: A Chronicle of Genius the planet that year Tue, Oct 11, Turtle Bunbury. More from The Irish Times Books. Sponsored Affordable homecare? Employers can ease employee concerns by prioritising their wellbeing. Think Generosity and Savagery when you think digital transformation. Commenting on The Irish Times has changed. The account details entered are not currently associated with an Irish Times subscription. You should receive instructions for resetting your password. Please choose a screen name. This name will appear beside any comments you post. Your screen name should follow the standards set out in our community standards. Screen Name Selection. Only letters, numbers, periods and hyphens are allowed in screen names. Please 1847: A Chronicle of Genius your email address so we can send you a link to reset your password. Your Comments. Sign In Sign Out. We reserve the right to remove any content at any time from this Community, including without limitation if it violates the Community Standards. We ask that you report content that you in good faith believe violates the above rules by clicking the Flag link next to the offending 1847: A Chronicle of Genius or by filling out this form. New comments are only accepted for 3 days from the date of publication. Subscriber Only. Realist versus sceptic: Two takes on the climate crisis. The Book Club Weekly See a sample. Sign up to Generosity and Savagery Irish Times books newsletter for features, podcasts and more. Sign up. Fighting Words Roddy Doyle introduces head-turning young Irish writing. Most Read in Culture. Short stories. The Cage, a short story by Tony Wright. Viscera, a new short story by Dearbhaile Houston. Book reviews. War: A wide-ranging, readable history of armed conflict. New poetry. Poetry: The Flourishing Shrub. Women writers Putting Irish women writers back in the picture. Brought to Book. Sign In. Don't have an account? Forgot Password? Not an Irish Times subscriber? A Chronicle of Genius, Generosity & Savagery - Turtle Bunbury - Google Books Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Want to Read saving…. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. Other editions. Enlarge cover. Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Details if other :. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. Preview — by Turtle Bunbury. Determined to understand its zeitgeist, he has assembled 38 remarkable stories that took place across the planet during those twelve tumultuous months. With his penchant for the quirky, Bunbury confronts all manner of human enterprise to reveal a world of nobility and generosity, of bold genius and fearsome savagery, embracing everything from the salty seadogs who explored the Pacific and Arctic oceans to show-stopping entertainers like Lola Montez and General Tom Thumb - the intrepid pioneers who stumbled through the mountains and prairies of the Americas to the ground-breaking inventors of the doughnut, the gumball and the Christmas cracker - the famine-starved Irish and persecuted German emigrants to the Vietnamese emperor's war with the French - the ivory-tinkling genius of Liszt and Mendelssohn to the horse-bound Comanche warriors who dominated Texas - the American opium magnates who ran roughshod over China to the Irish soldiers who fought for Mexico. Get A Copy. Kindle Editionpages. More Details Other Editions 1. Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions aboutplease sign up. What was your favourite chapter of ? Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 4. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Dec 19, Edoardo Albert rated it really liked it. Has there ever been a better name bestowed upon a writer? We aver that there has not. It is the juxtaposition of dissimilarity that makes it so unique, the elision of armoured testudo with cricketing rabbits, the juxtaposition 1847: A Chronicle of Genius slow, considered movement with the sparkle of celebrity sport. Surely such a name tells 1847: A Chronicle of Genius parental genius. The question arises though: can the writer live up to his name? The title tells the tale. Not perhaps the most obvious time to start such a project, as Ireland was in the midst of the Great Famine that saw a million people die and a million more emigrate.