Review of the latest Irish non-fiction books

The leading champion of the canal was New York governor DeWitt Clinton, the product of a famous Scotch Irish political dynasty.  For a while, as the canal project dragged on, it was called “Clinton’s folly.” But once completed, commercial activity exploded, helping make young America a powerful nation. 

($28 / 480 pages / DaCapo)

 

Hooliganism

Chicago Tribune Magazine writer Mike Houlihan has released a collection of his work from the magazine, as well as work which has appeared in The Irish American News and on Chicago Public Radio. 

The product of a large Irish Catholic family from Chicago’s south side, Houlihan is perhaps best known for the “Hooliganism” column he wrote for The Irish American News.  These yarns, all gathered in this collection (fittingly titled “Hooliganism”), venture from Houlihan’s days as an actor and bar owner in Rockaway Beach, New York, to his experiences as a father and husband.

Filled with his trademark wit, “Hooliganism” is a fine collection from a classic Irish-American raconteur.

($25 / 216 pages / Dog Ear Publishing)

 

Closing Time

Joe Queenan’s at times hilarious, at times wrenching memoir
“Closing Time” explores his painful Irish Catholic upbringing in Philadelphia, during which his father often abused young Joe and his siblings so severely they eventually wanted him to die. 

Queenan also explores how he gravitated to the writer’s life, in this memoir, which deftly balances life’s beauty and horror. 

($26.95 / 352 pages / Viking)

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Nster.com