June 21, 2014
A Review by Anthony T. Riggio of James Carroll’s book “An American Requiem, (God, My Father and the War that came between us).
This book was originally published in 1996 and it was obtained through an Amazon, reseller as a used book. I was interested in this book because the author was known to me indirectly through his brother Brian Carroll and having read “Prince of Peace” and the “Sword of Constantine” I enjoyed the author’s style of writing and since this book appeared to me to be a memoir or auto biographical work of his experiences as the son of an Air Force Lieutenant General. A General who was also former FBI Agent and was a close associate of J. Edgar Hoover, I believed it was a story I could relate with, especially since I worked with his brother Brian while we were both FBI Agents. In fact, Brian was very proud of his brother James when he gave me a copy of his “Prince of Peace” novel about spiritual and political conflicts during the period of the Vietnam War.
I was aware that James was a former Paulist priest who had left both his Order and the Priesthood. I was hoping that this book would give me greater insight as to the reasons he gave up his calling as a Priest.
This book did give me tremendous insight into the inner struggles one goes through in abandoning a calling from the priesthood or as Catholic knows this as Holy Orders, a very sacred sacrament.
The story is a very familiar story of the struggles between a son and his father. Carroll’s father was your classic over achiever who fought his way out of the neighborhoods of Chicago and the Seminary. This is a central theme between his son James and the father. After completing Law School Joe Carroll (the father of James), he joins the FBI and becomes a close confidant of J. Edgar Hoover. When the President of the United States wants an FBI Agent to head the new AOSI (Air Force Office of Security Investigations), Hoover volunteers Joe Carroll. Often the sons of fathers who are dedicated to their jobs feel both the admiration and the absence of their hard working fathers.
Because of the experiences James Carroll had as a child growing up in the Air Force; his travels and his experiences were probably atypical for a boy at that time. Having grown up in the Bronx, living in a small apartment, I would have given my “eye” teeth to have had half the experiences James Carroll had. Still, there were some experiences that imprinted on his character development. I believe it was mostly his Mother’s devotion that led James to the priesthood notwithstanding his own father, Joe Carroll’s, experience of leaving the seminary when he was a young man.
James Carroll was a sort of rebel early on in his growing up but when he commenced his studies at the seminary, he branched off both politically and socially which were indeed the antitheses of his Father’s driving ambitions. He was even arrested as a result of his participations in demonstrations. He was also a friend of the Berrigen brothers who were also priests though much more rebellious during the Vietnam War than James Carroll. I suspect his Father approval was always a factor in many of his life decisions.
I rated this book very high (5 stars) because I truly enjoyed Carroll's writing style and the raw emotion felt while feel while reading this book. I gave it five stars and had bought this book through an Amazon.
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