• The Graves Are Walking

  • The Great Famine and the Saga of the Irish People
  • By: John Kelly
  • Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
  • Length: 13 hrs and 50 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (418 ratings)

Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.
The Graves Are Walking  By  cover art

The Graves Are Walking

By: John Kelly
Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $17.62

Buy for $17.62

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

It started in 1845 and lasted six years. Before it was over, more than one million men, women, and children starved to death and another million fled the country. Measured in terms of mortality, the Great Irish Potato Famine was one of the worst disasters in the 19th century-it claimed twice as many lives as the American Civil War. A perfect storm of bacterial infection, political greed, and religious intolerance sparked this catastrophe. But even more extraordinary than its scope were its political underpinnings, and The Graves Are Walking provides fresh material and analysis on the role that nineteenth-century evangelical Protestantism played in shaping British policies and on Britain's attempt to use the famine to reshape Irish society and character.

Perhaps most important, this is ultimately a story of triumph over perceived destiny: for 50 million Americans of Irish heritage, the saga of a broken people fleeing crushing starvation and remaking themselves in a new land is an inspiring story of exoneration.

Based on extensive research and written with novelistic flair, The Graves Are Walking draws a portrait that is both intimate and panoramic, that captures the drama of individual lives caught up in an unimaginable tragedy, while imparting a new understanding of the famine's causes and consequences.

©2012 John Kelly (P)2012 Tantor
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

Critic reviews

"[Kelly's] exhaustive research covers every aspect, threading the gruesome events into a huge panoramic tapestry that reveals political greed lurking behind the pestilence." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about The Graves Are Walking

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    168
  • 4 Stars
    141
  • 3 Stars
    76
  • 2 Stars
    21
  • 1 Stars
    12
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    184
  • 4 Stars
    106
  • 3 Stars
    61
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    10
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    157
  • 4 Stars
    122
  • 3 Stars
    62
  • 2 Stars
    17
  • 1 Stars
    10

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Well done but so heartbreaking!

I learned so much from this book and was really grateful it was in an audiobook format. The narrator did a great job! I highly suggest this if you are a descendant of Irish lineage. Please be prepared to pause at times because this is a heartbreaking history and the realities of what happened were very tough to hear. I am glad it was suggested to me.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Boring

This book could have been done in half the time. Way too many details which took away from the storyline. The narrator had an accent which at times was difficult to understand. I enjoyed the history but not the book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!