Looking for Jimmy: A Search for Irish America [Hardcover]

Peter Quinn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2007

"Paddy"--the caricature of the heavy-drinking, hardbrawling Irishman born in Vaudeville acts and nativist cartoons-- remains, unfortunately, a vivid feature of the American national imagination. But as this stereotype fades into the past, what image does America have of the millions of Irish-Catholic immigrants who have played such a central role in our history?

In this remarkable collection of writings chronicling the author's exploration of his own past--and the lives of the hundreds of thousands of nameless immigrants that struggled alongside his own ancestors--Peter Quinn paints a brilliant new portrait of the Irish-American men and women whose culture and values now play such a central role in all of our identities as Americans. In Quinn's hands, "Paddy" gives way to an image of "Jimmy"--an archetypal Irish-American (a composite of Jimmy Cagney and Jimmy Walker) who comes to life as the fast-talking, tough-yet-refined urban American who redefined American politics, street culture, religion, and moral imagination. Addressing subjects ranging from the impact of decades of immigration on Western Ireland to the long legacy of Irish-American Archbishop John Hughes, Quinn's vibrant prose weaves together the story of a people that has made an immeasurable contribution to American history and culture.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Quinn, author of the acclaimed The Banished Children of Eve, has combined 22 (some never before published) essays in this entertaining and informative volume. The "Jimmy" in the title is actual plural: James Cagney, the swaggering Irish-American actor, and James J. Walker, the Jazz Age mayor of New York who was born with a song in his heart and larceny in his soul. The two Jimmys came to symbolize the aspirations of the Irish-Catholic American community as it fought to climb socially and economically in America. Quinn has a firm grip on history as he traces the Irish in New York back to before the famine. In a chapter named "City of God, City of Man," Quinn examines the parallel lives of Edgar Allan Poe and Archbishop "Dagger John" Hughes, both of whom came to New York City in the 1830s. The colorful Hughes, the man who built St. Patrick's Cathedral and the supporting Catholic system of hospitals, schools and orphanages, comes across as a no-nonsense man of action with the clout and savvy—and ruthlessness—reminiscent of Irish revolutionary Michael Collins. There are portraits of the Irish as politician, cop, priest, teacher, writer. In this deft examination of America's Irish, Quinn adds color and nostalgia with his tales of growing up and working in the Bronx of another time. (Feb.)
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From the Publisher

A penetrating exploration of Irish-American identity from the acclaimed author of The Hour of the Cat and The Banished Children of Eve

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Overlook Hardcover (February 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585678708
• ISBN-13: 978-1585678709
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,139,412 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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Peter Quinn joined Time Inc. as the chief speechwriter in 1985 and retired as corporate editorial director for Time Warner at the end of 2007. He received a B.A. from Manhattan College in 1969, an M.A. in history from Fordham University in 1974 and completed all the requirements for a doctorate except the dissertation. He was awarded a Ph.D., honoris causa, by Manhattan College in 2002.

In 1979, Quinn was appointed to the staff of Governor Hugh Carey as chief speechwriter. He continued in that role under Governor Mario Cuomo, helping craft the Governor's 1984 Democratic Convention speech and his address on religion and politics at Notre Dame University.

His 1994 novel "Banished Children of Eve" (Viking/Penguin) won a 1995 American Book Award. His second novel, "Hour of the Cat" (Overlook), set in Berlin and New York on the eve of WWII, was published in June 2005. "Looking for Jimmy: In Search of Irish America" (Overlook), a collection of non-fiction pieces, was published in February 2007. All three books are in print. His third novel, The Man Who Never Returned," which is based on the still-unsolved 1930 disappearance of NYS Supreme Court Justice Joseph Force Crater, was published in 2010.

Quinn co-wrote the script for the 1987 television documentary "McSorley's New York," which was awarded a New York-area Emmy for "Outstanding Historical Programming." He has participated as a guest commentator in several PBS documentaries, including "The Irish in America;" "New York: A Documentary Film;" "The Life and Times of Stephen Foster," as well as the Academy Award-nominated film, "The Passion of Sister Rose." He was an advisor on Martin Scorcese's film "Gangs of New York." He helped conceive and script the six-part documentary "The Road to the White House," which aired on TG4, in Ireland, in 2009.

Along with his book writing, Quinn was the editor of The Recorder: The Journal of the American Irish Historical Society from 1986 to 1993. He has published articles and reviews in The New York Times, Commonweal, America, American Heritage, The Catholic Historical Review, The Philadelphia Enquirer, The L.A. Times, Eiré-Ireland, and in numerous other newspapers and journals.

At present, Quinn is on the advisory boards of the American Irish Historical Society, NYU's Glucksman Ireland House, the Tenement Museum and the New York City Landmark Conservancy. He is president and co-founder of Irish American Writers & Artists.

Married to Kathleen Burbank Quinn, he and his wife are the parents of Genevieve Barry Quinn and Daniel Ryan Quinn. They reside in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York.

His website can be found at www.newyorkpaddy.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for anyone who wants to better understand America., October 1, 2007

By 

Renee Topper (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Looking for Jimmy: A Search for Irish America (Hardcover)

A big fan of Quinn's historical fiction novels "Banished Children of

Eve" and "Hour of the Cat," I knew I was in the hands of an expert

author and historian in "Looking for Jimmy." Quinn gets personal in

this collection of essays about the Irish in America. As he shares

stories of his family, I'm reminded of my own, or the lack thereof.

The older generations didn't speak much about Ireland or the trials

and harsh tales of their immigration and integration into the new

world. Quinn notes the silence and dearth of artifacts. The phrase

"Watch the quiet ones" comes to mind. May as well say, watch the

Irish ones. Thankfully, Quinn is not quiet. He watches them all,

researches, studies and considers, takes account and conveys the story

and motivation of a people across generations.

It's all too common for modern society to neglect its ancestry. The

melting pot warrants, yet makes it harder to figure identity. Quinn

bravely and enthusiastically explores one important and special

ingredient in that pot, the Irish. He takes us to the movies with

James Cagney, to the legendary story of hero Michael Corcoran, to many

places the Irish permeated and permeate. What it means to be

American, has a lot to do with what it means to be every other

culture. Quinn's "Looking For Jimmy" helps us find him and appreciate

the Irish element in the fabric of America. If we're lucky, there's a

little bit of Jimmy in all of us.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No Plastic Paddy Here...., March 11, 2007

By 

Fenian Ram (Long Island) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Looking for Jimmy: A Search for Irish America (Hardcover)

This book answers the question once and for all; Are all the NY Irish dead and buried in Calvary Cemetary??? Not so.....Quinn's book riveted me from the first word written. So many of the reflections were identical to my own family and their experience in New York. The silence of our past, the quest for respectability, the fierce fidelity to the faith. I was torn between laughing and crying at the similarities.

Besides the magnificent analysis and brilliant prose, I appreciate Quinn's indebtedness to the parochial school system; I too am a product of a Christian Brothers high school, then Fordham (much to the dismay of my high school teachers, no Manhattan College in my future...my father had the Jesuits at Xavier and Georgetown)

If you are a New Yorker of Irish descent, this is a must read. Too few of my generation appreciate the sufferings and sacrifices of our ancestors; we have succeeded upon their shoulders. This book crystalizes that fact, and challenges us to keep faith with that past as we look to the future

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Required Reading for Irish Americans, February 27, 2007

By 

James B. Dougherty "Jim D" (Greenwich, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Looking for Jimmy: A Search for Irish America (Hardcover)

This book should be required reading for all Irish-Americans or those who are interested in Irish-Americans and how we got to be who and what we are. Peter is a walking encyclopedia of all things Irish and Irish-American but has a very readable, down to earth, style of writing. Anyone with a drop of Irish blood in his or her veins will be able to identify with something in this wonderful book. The essays in this book will make you laugh and make you cry but will always leave you better informed. Do yourself a favor and read this book as soon as possible.