In 1845, a disaster struck Ireland. Overnight, a mysterious blight attacked the potato crops, turning the potatoes black and destroying the only real food of nearly six million people. Over the next five years, the blight attacked again and again. These years are known today as the Great Irish Famine, a time when one million people died from starvation and disease and two million more fled their homeland. Black Potatoes is the compelling story of men, women, and children who defied landlords and searched empty fields for scraps of harvested vegetables and edible weeds to eat, who walked several miles each day to hard-labor jobs for meager wages and to reach soup kitchens, and who committed crimes just to be sent to jail, where they were assured of a meal. It’s the story of children and adults who suffered from starvation, disease, and the loss of family and friends, as well as those who died. Illustrated with black and white engravings, it’s also the story of the heroes among the Irish people and how they held on to hope.


1845 年，愛爾蘭發生了一場浩劫。一夜間，馬鈴薯作物受到某種未知疫病的侵襲發黑腐壞，讓近 600 萬人民頓失唯一能賴以維生的糧食。隨後的 5 年間，此疫病仍不斷來襲。這段時期就是今日大家所知的愛爾蘭大饑荒，導致 100 萬人死於飢餓和疾病，另外更有 200 萬人逃離家園。本書內容扣人心弦，講述當時愛爾蘭不分男女老幼群起反抗地主，在荒蕪的田地中尋找採收後任何蔬菜的殘株剩葉、及野草。很多人更要每天到好幾英里外的地方，從事薪資極為微薄的苦力工作，或到施粥廚房吃一餐。有些人甚至選擇犯罪，進監獄只圖溫飽。本書圖片以黑白風格呈現，述說大人和小孩受盡飢餓和疾病之苦、喪親之痛、以及那些亡者的故事，也述說著愛爾蘭人民始終不肯放棄希望的英勇故事。