The Rascal King: The Life and Times of James Michael Curley 1874-1958 [Paperback]

Jack Beatty (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1993

Long before his life became fiction in Edwin O'Conner's The Last Hurrah, James Michael Curley was the stuff of legend. As mayor of Boston, as congre ssman, as governor of Massachussetts, Curley's rise from the Irish slums is recounted in this nationally-acclaimed, award-winning biography. B&W photos.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This delightful biography presents the notorious governor, congressman and four-term mayor of Boston as a devout Catholic, devoted husband and father of nine children, while describing how his constituents supported his politics of ethnic and religious polarization and winked at his graft.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Curley is now known principally through Edwin O'Connor's novel, The Last Hurrah (1956). Atlantic editor Beatty writes the first biography in 43 years of a man who over the course of a half-century in politics was four times mayor of Boston, once governor of Massachusetts, twice a congressional representative, and twice a prisoner in jail. Much of this portrait, developed in part through interviews with Curley's son, is familiar in legend: Beatty details Curley's political genius, compassion, verbal gifts, and ability to touch his people, Boston's Irish. Beatty also describes Curley's megalomania, his role in the city's economic decline, and "the labyrinthine ingenuity of his graft." Indicting Curley here, praising him there, Beatty's assessment is fair-minded, his research solid, his asides on today's political parallels enlightening, and his style appropriate to a flamboyant subject. For all Boston-area libraries and for libraries whose patrons are interested in politics, cities, or Irish Americans.
-Robert F. Nardini, North Chichester, N.H.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 592 pages
• Publisher: Perseus Books; Reprint edition (September 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201626179
• ISBN-13: 978-0201626179
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,289,690 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The subject is great but the book isn't, February 26, 2002

By 

"dcdre" (Medford, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rascal King: The Life And Times Of James Michael Curley (1874-1958) (Paperback)

I read "The Rascal King" after reading Edwin O'Connor's great "The Last Hurrah," a barely fictional account of Curley's reign over Boston. I have to say that O'Connor achieved with fiction what Beatty failed to do with biography... paint a realistic picture of the fascinating life and times of James M. Curley.

Beatty's work, while greatly researched, was extremely choppy and amateurishly written. His timeline is vague and, at points, difficult to follow. He feels it necessary to interject into Curley's story several times with poorly made comparisons to present day political situations, as well very annoying literary references. (He consistently refers to Curley's arrogance of power as Massachusetts governor as a "Xanadu complex." Why not just call him arrogant?). Overall, it felt like Beatty was trying too hard.

Structural and literay problems aside, James Curley has one of the most interesting stories in 20th century American history. His use of "race baiting" against Boston's old Yankee elite (although "nationality baiting" may be more appropriate a term), his questionable campaign tactics, his dubious financial activities as an elected official, and his compassion and kindnes towards the forgotten common man make him one of the great populist leaders of our history. He was the quintessential campaigner and politician. It's too bad Beatty couldn't do him justice.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book depicting Boston politics and immigrants, October 20, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Rascal King: The Life and Times of James Michael Curley 1874-1958 (Paperback)

The Rascal King was a great book about the politics played throughout the country. It is an excellent look at Old Boy's Clubs and it depicts early immigrant life in Boston. My family was involved with politics at the same time, and knew Curley. This is why I read the book. It is great if you have time to sit down and read it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Urban Politics: Larceny from the Womb to the Tomb, March 21, 2008

By 

Borowy26 "Hank" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Rascal King: The Life And Times Of James Michael Curley (1874-1958) (Paperback)

As the first full length biography of James Michael Curley, a long term fixture in Boston Democratic politics who served as mayor, governor and congressman, in between two brief prison terms, to be published in almost forty-five years, this book was a most welcome addition to library bookshelves.

Curley possessed great personal charisma and wit, so much so that he makes Chicago's long term mayor, Richard J. Daley, look like a dullard by comparison. Throughout his public life, Curley seemed to be a cat with nine lives.

The book is enjoyable, but somewhat uneven. The concluding chapters seem hurried. Occasionally, the author mixes in (then) contemporary comments about the 1988 presidential race that have nothing to do with Curley whatsoever. I rate the biography as a near miss owing to its minor defects.

The novel and the motion picture "The Last Hurrah" which are loosely based upon Curley are deservedly well known, but the truth is oftentimes more entertaining than fiction.