Customer Reviews

Looking for Jimmy: A Search for Irish America

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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.

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

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.

I like Banished Children of Eve, so I thought I'd give this a try.

This book is wonderful and every essay is better than the one before.

He paints a realistic picture of Irish Americans in this country after the Famine and before Kennedy and reminds us of both their warts and their virutues. I've already convinced my sister to read this after me.

Side note, my father was a Jimmy from NY (morningside heights & then the bronx) so I could hear him talking on many pages.

The only drawback to this book is that Mr. Quinn names other books as sources. So now, I have to spend more money. ;)

Good job.

So, I went "Looking for Jimmy"and found Peter, Donald, James, Vincent, John, Lawrence and all manner of assorted exported Cavanaughs, Catholic and Protestant, dead and alive. Even all four. Peter Quinn presents us with an extraordinarily wonderful compilation. I'm giving it a sixth star right here!

Great book! Well-written tales of growing up Irish American; NYC based, but rang lots of Boston bells too.

Peter Quinn is a master storyteller and with his prose he tries to keep alive the enduring and rich legacy of Irish-American contributions to the history and foundations of American life.