Like most Irish Americans I often think of the history of the Irish in the US beginning with the Irish potato famine of the 1840ies. Surprisingly, Dolan traces this history back much further. As far back as 1700. And then continues right up to the 21st century. Personally, reading these early chapters I felt overly bogged down with too many unfamiliar names, facts, figures, and dates. I did gain some interesting new knowledge but it was work doing so. And somewhat tedious work at that.
Interestingly, during the last part of the book (1960-2000) I had no such problem. The names and dates were quite familiar and I was able to really enjoy Dolan's take on these historical facts and figures and I absolutely loved the message Dolan conveyed in the final two chapters. ( )

I learned that irish catholic had a hard time until Kennedy was president. I learned that scotch irish used that title to differentiate themselves from the catholics. I learned that the church was very important in helping to teach the immigrants.

If you are looking for a fairly comprehensive look at the contributions of the Irish to American politics and public life, then this is the book for you. A detailed study of the history of prominant Irish Americans, this book is a must-read for any Irish American.

The book does read a lot like a college textbook, and I can easily see it being used as such. Despite my high level of interest in the topic, the book was hard to sink into, and certainly required breaks to cleanse the palette. There is a certain amount of repetition which detracted from the reading experience, and I would have appreciated a less dry tone throughout much of the text. Regardless, the book was an excellent effort to record the historical contributions of a powerful minority population in the US, and I would recommend this book to others interested in this history. ( )