The Reversal
Michael Connelly
Here’s my crime fiction trifecta: Los Angeles, murder and an Irish Catholic writer. There’s something about the City of Angels and writers raised in such self-identified ethnic homes that makes for an entertaining read.
At least for me and at least when the writer is James M. Cain.
The Irish Catholic Diaspora in America
Lawrence J. McCaffrey
“The central conservative truth is that it is culture, not politics, that determines the success of a society. The central liberal truth is that politics can change a culture and save it from itself.” Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Ever the outsider, I’m a poor example of an Irish Catholic American. No less an example of the breed than my mother regularly lamented my lack of respect for our heritage. She’d be appalled to know that after D. P. Moynihan the person I think has the best insight into the Irish problem is Dennis Leary. I have an excuse: my heritage is as much Czech as Irish. (As was mom’s.)
But this isn’t about me, it’s about Professor McCaffery‘s look at just what happened to my forebears as they made their way to and in Continue reading
An Honest Con 