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How the Irish Became White (Routledge Classics) 1st Edition

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Noel Ignatiev (Author)
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Noel Ignatiev (Author)
3.1 out of 5 stars 60 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-0415963091
ISBN-10: 0415963095
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Product Details

  • Series: Routledge Classics
  • Paperback: 272 pages
  • Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (September 11, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0415963095
  • ISBN-13: 978-0415963091
  • Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.6 x 7.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #96,462 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsWhy shoot the messenger?
By A Customer on July 8, 2004
Format: Paperback
Wow. When the best argument your reviewers can come up with for disliking your book are "[the author] is a Jew" and "blacks weren't discriminated against [even at the time covered in the book, during which black people could legally be bought and sold in the South, disenfranchised and barred from most jobs in the North; apparently being legally defined as property doesn't qualify as discrimination], the Irish just worked harder," you know you've struck a nerve.
As a Canadian of Scots-Irish ancestry, I found this book fascinating. The history of the Irish in Canada is a bit different from the history of the American Irish; overall I'd say it's less painful. This book shed a lot of light on issues that I didn't expect it to touch, like black-white relations, abolitionism, and the contrast between the antebellum North and South (now I understand a little better why Southerners say they have been unfairly demonized; the Philadelphia and Boston described in the book were hardly freemen's paradise).
When the author says he wants to get rid of the "white race," he doesn't mean that he wants to get rid of white PEOPLE; he means that he wants to get rid of the category, "white," which is neither traditional nor especially meaningful. (I note that the reviewer below refers to the pale-skinned author of the book as "a Jew" rather than as "white" - demonstrating the author's point about race quite handily. "White" clearly refers to something beyond skin colour.Read more ›
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4.0 out of 5 starsA difficult work
By Mickey Callaghan on January 15, 2009
Format: Paperback
This was a difficult book for me. The author says much the same thing in the Introduction; yet, as an American whose grandparents came from Ireland in the 60s to escape crushing poverty, it had a personal sting.

Nobody likes to hear criticism of his own race or people, which is why we all, whether Irish, black, Jewish, Italian, etc., react strongly to critiques of our peoples, and try to point out the minute flaws in critics' reasoning, or justify these flaws in light of oppression suffered. I certainly don't believe Ignatiev to be an anti-Irish bigot, especially as such bigotry now rarely exists outside the UK.

Yet we Irish-Americans need to face up to the facts. We, like any other group, are far from perfect, and, sad as it is to say, many of our blood perpetuated the crimes against us by becoming cruel toward other peoples whom we could, unconsciously or not, trample to step higher. It is understandable that Irishmen would do so, in light of the circumstances, but that does not make it excusable. Ignatiev presents a solid case, showing how this process worked historically.

[One sentence in the conclusion struck me in particular. The author notes that in his research, he realised that "nobody gave a damn for the Irish," observing that even slaves had abolitionists and religious groups caring for them. Though I, like most of Irish decent, do not care much for self-pity, it has irked me somewhat that almost nothing is taught of the plight of Irishmen in Ireland and abroad; perhaps a sentence or two on the "famine"--which was, of course, closer to a genocide than a famine--and that's that.Read more ›
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4.0 out of 5 starsA challenging but worthwhile read
By Raven on October 25, 2007
Format: Paperback
This is a hard book to read, not because of any overdose of erudition or inaccessibility of the text, but due to the emotional reaction it can evoke from the reader. (This is easily demonstrated by a look at the other reviews.) If one has Irish ancestry, it's hard not to take personally. However, a historical retrospective of the social perceptions of Irish-Americans over the last 150 years is well worth reading. The shift in Irish-American image over time is fascinating; it's pleasing to see a group pull themselves out of disfavor and disturbing to see it happen at the expense of others in similar disfavor. Ignatiev illustrates the context of this perception shift well, with illustrative examples from events and news sources of the time. The book is moderately well documented, allowing the reader to search out further references at will. While there are a few points where the author oversimplifies for length and cohesiveness of narrative, overall it's an interesting read, and a reasonable treatment of a painful and complicated issue.
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5.0 out of 5 starsDr. Saul missed the point...
By A Customer on December 9, 2002
Format: Paperback
Unlike the other reviewer who apparently missed the entire point of the book, I found this book powerful and enlightening. The opening pages of the book delineate the plight of the Irish in their homeland and uses this as a basis for their evolution as citizens in the US. What is more, they are not the only ones who go through this evolutionary process of "becoming white", the Poles, Italians, Jews and others after them would have their own journey to assimilation into US culture as well. As this book clearly describes, immigrants had the possibility to become white, African Americans did not. Further, the Irish had to choose: conform to the native-born culture or be forever shut out of opportunity just like the Blacks. It is an illuminating look at our society and one which truly does help us understand today. I read this book as part of a 13-book cirriculum for a graduate history seminar whose topic was the history of Racism in the US after 1870. It was one of the best-written texts and provided an excellent foundation for cultural studies. I highly reccomend it to anyone who seeks a better understanding of social history and today's US culture. Rather than placing blame, the author provides the facts and understanding of what happened, good and bad, so that we see the complexity and ultimately, the uselessness of blame. It is only with this understanding that we can start to make changes.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 starsI do not recommend this book

I do not recommend this book by such a hateful person such as Noel Ignatiev. He said, "If you are a white male, you don’t deserve to live. Read more

Published 3 months ago by 2012
4.0 out of 5 starsA good book of history that uses theoretical framework of race not...

It seems that even when people make the choice to read a book about race and construction of it, they still don't like to read anything that might contradict their deeply held... Read more

Published 3 months ago by RLM
1.0 out of 5 starsDon't bother.

Garbage. A total waste of my time. Ignatiev lacks the credentials to deal with any period of history.

Published 3 months ago by Henry Ford
1.0 out of 5 starsan Indo-European language like English, Italian

A silly title and a silly thesis: as though someone's identity is solely a function of culture. It's tantamount to saying that all white people (like Rachel Dolezal) who claim they... Read more

Published 4 months ago by Tikrai
3.0 out of 5 starsNeat topic.

Kinda boring. More of an academic paper than an entertaining book. I'd buy it again though. I learned a lot.

Published 5 months ago by Victor1212
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat read. Strongly recommended

Great read. Strongly recommended!

Published 8 months ago by Oliver J Dilworth
4.0 out of 5 starsLearning an alternative approach to race.

This is not new, but very well researched and fascinating.

Published 8 months ago by Mary M
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

great

Published 9 months ago by Conrad Quintyn
5.0 out of 5 starsA brilliant academic history

This is a brilliant academic analysis of the history of Irish immigrants in America.

Published 10 months ago by Anne-Marie
5.0 out of 5 starsBook - Race

Everyone should read this book

Published 10 months ago by James E. and Joanne Diffenbaugh

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