Mass immigration to the United States was nowhere more apparent than in the immigration of the Irish between 1815 and the failure of the potato crop in 1845/1846, during which time a million Irish men and women crossed the seas to take up permanent residence in America. Adams provides a detailed account of the economic, social, and political factors underlying the early migrations; an examination of the emigrant trade and its links with American shipping interests; and a history of government policy regarding assisted and unassisted emigration. An exhaustive and engaging book.