Looking for Jimmy: A Search For Irish America

by Peter Quinn

Overview

In this stunning work chronicling the author’s exploration of his own past—and the lives of many hundreds of thousands of nameless immigrants who struggled alongside his own ancestors—Peter Quinn paints a brilliant new portrait of the Irish-American men and women whose evolving culture and values continue to play such a central role in all of our identities as Americans. In Quinn’s hands, the Irish stereotype of “Paddy” gives way to an image of “Jimmy”—an archetypal Irish-American. From Irish immigration to modern politics, Quinn vibrantly weaves together the story of a remarkable people and their immeasurable contribution to American history and culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823299478
Publisher:	New York Relit
Publication date:	03/22/2022
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	1,075,308
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Peter Quinn is a novelist, political historian, and foremost chronicler of New York City. He is the author of Banished Children of Eve and a trilogy of historical detective novels—Hour of the Cat, The Man Who Never Returned, and Dry Bones.

Table of Contents

Foreword 11

I Family and Memory

Looking For Jimmy 19

In Search of the Banished Children 43

The Skillins 57

The Perils of Pat 67

Stones of Memory 74

II Politics and Place

Plunkitt of Tammany Hall 87

Local Politics, Irish-American Style 101

Life of the Party 112

Civil Service 122

The Bronx is Burning 127

Cast a Cold Eye: William Kennedy's Albany 138

III Faith and Imagination

Confessions of a Bronx Irish-Catholic 155

Sic Transit 164

The Catholic Imagination 172

Holy Orders 188

City of God, City of Man 193

IV Silence and History

The Triumph of Bridget Such-a-One 211

An Interpretation of Silences 231

Closets Full of Bones 246

Lost and Found 257

A Famine Remembrance 267

Conclusion

Irish America at the Millennium: How the Irish Stayed Irish 273

Editorial Reviews

An exceptionally thoughtful and interesting inquiry into Irish America.

The Washington Post

The Irish American story—a 150-year saga—is a fascinating one, and Quinn tells it superbly. A charming, informative, and memorable book.

America Magazine

You don't have to be Irish or Irish-American to love this book. Whoever you are, you are in it. This is the kind of book you will want to bestow on anyone with, or without, a hyphen in their history.—Frank McCourt

From the Publisher

Charming... A timely reminder that controversy over immigration exists as very much part of a continuum.

The New York Times

A sweeping tale of disaster, survival, and triumph.

San Francisco Chronicle