Book Description
This new paperback edition of THE IRISH FACE IN AMERICA will be out just in time for St. Patricks Day promotion in 2006. The book profiles a vibrant cross section of Irish Americans and their contributions to every aspect of society. Several well-known figures are included: film stars Martin Sheen, Ed Burns, and Bridget Moynahan; Riverdance founder Michael Flatley; television personality and producer Merv Griffin; and pro golfer Mark OMeara among them. The stories span all ages and walks of life, and capture the richness and heritage of the Irish-American experience in cities as diverse as Boston, Massachusetts; New Orleans, Louisiana; South Bend, Indiana; and Oahu, Hawaii. Also featured are writers, firefighters, college students, performers, politicians, astronauts, and athletes. Providing a framework for these portraits of Irish-American life are longer essays by mystery writers Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark, T. J. Golway (coauthor of The Irish in America), Patricia Harty (editor of Irish America magazine), and former Coca-Cola president Don Keough. These insightful essays explore the question of what it is to be an Irish Americana subculture with enormous pride in its heritage, deeply rooted in tradition and culture yet utterly modern and ever changing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

GREAT book!!
This book is really amazing. I'm a 'star' in the book on page 44. I'm very proud to be part of something so unique. The book is enjoyable to anyone who reads it, and I highly suggest getting it as a present for others, or yourself!

May the wind always be at your back.
I just bought Julia McNamara's book for the O'Hagen coffee table.I spent the first few times with the book just looking at the pictures until I had a chunk of time to really sit down with the text. It is rare for a book of this nature to cover in such depth the Irish American experience.The stories are moving, uplifting and enlightening.Look at it.......but also READ it.

The Heart of the Matter
A wonderful book.I initially bought a couple copies as Cristmas gifts for family members (the cover girl compelled me.)As I began to read the essays, I was so taken with the stories of these remarkable individuals that I found myself purchasing additional copies - for myself, friends and my local library.The essays bring the lives of average Americans, captains of industry and celebrities into a cohesive focus that is difficult to put down.I love it.

Compelling stories straight from the heart
I bought this book as a Christmas gift for all my Irish friends. The stories are so compelling - they celebrate the specialness of being Irish in America with more nuance than most authors and with a grace that captures each person's perspective and joy. Color me...impressed!

Irish Echo
Saw the ad for this book in the Irish Echo with the great picture of the piper. Knew it would be worth a look. Read Pete Hamill's introduction. Then read Patricia Harty's facinating pages of Irish history I never knew. Flipped pages to view the great faces that come right to you and bought it. Worth every penny and family loved it. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description
ARTnews, the oldest art magazine in America and the most widely circulated art magazine in the world, is celebrating its one-hundredth anniversary in 2002. This attractive book celebrates and commemorates this milestone event, presenting one hundred of the best photographic portraits commissioned by and reproduced in the magazine since its origin. These fascinating photographs chronicle the history of the magazine and present a "who's who" of people who have shaped the art world over the last century.

Portrait of the Art World includes photographs of many of the great European and American artists of the twentieth century, including George Bellows, Francis Bacon, Pablo Picasso, Piet Mondrian, Jackson Pollock,Alexander Calder, and Alice Neel. The photographers-often as fascinating as their subjects-range from Zaida Ben-Yusuf, Alice Boughton (early members of Alfred Stieglitz's circle), and Jessie Tarbox Beals (perhaps the first woman photojournalist) to Stieglitz himself, Man Ray, and Cecil Beaton. Contemporary photographers featured in the book include Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, Arnold Newman, Richard Avedon, and Robert Mapplethorpe.The book also presents an essay by William F. Stapp exploring the historical context of portrait photography in ARTnews; an essay on the history of ARTnews by Pete Hamill; and an essay by Milton Esterow, the current editor and publisher of ARTnews, discussing his personal view of the magazine.

This handsomely illustrated book is the catalogue for an exhibition at the New-York Historical Society from September 27, 2002, to January 5, 2003, which will then travel to Washington, Chicago, and San Francisco (venues to be announced). ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Letras Libres, published by Editorial Vuelta, S.A. de C.V. on September 1, 2002. The length of the article is 4062 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Triste mundo nuevo: columnista del New York Daily News y autor de una veintena de libros, Pete Hamill recupera en este texto, en exclusiva para Letras Libres, la épica de la ciudad que fue víctima de los ataques del 11 de Septiembre, un Nueva York vivido con intensidad, cuyos vacíos son tan importantes como sus legendarias construcciones.(TT: Sad new world: Peter Hamill, columnist for the New York Daily News and author f about 20 books, he recovers in this article, exclusively for Letras Libres, the epic that the city suffered in September 11, a New york living with intensity.)
Author: Pete Hamill
Publication: Letras Libres (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 1, 2002
Publisher: Editorial Vuelta, S.A. de C.V.
Volume: 4Issue: 45Page: 12(5)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Book Description
Word count: 3841. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Letras Libres, published by Thomson Gale on October 1, 2004. The length of the article is 4377 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: La conjura de los palurdos: n la Convención Republicana los residentes neoyorquinos, cuya mayoría es demócrata? Pete Hamill, periodista emblemático de esa ciudad, hace la crónica de esos días de efervescencia preelectoral.
Author: Pete Hamill
Publication: Letras Libres (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 1, 2004
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 6Issue: 70Page: 18(5)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Great stories from a perceptive storyteller
I read this book while living in Japan, and thought it was very good.I recently reread it and it was as good as I remembered it.

As in "the Invisible City," Hamill writes about the small glories and tragedies of ordinary people, and does it in succinct and understated fashion.

His characters, while sometimes a little odd, are always believable.This is a feat considering that he is writing about a foreign country.Part of this is because the protagonists are often expatriates.He is very good at characterising the sort of people who are drawn the japan and japanese culture.His japanese characters are also believable, particularly the title character in "A Blues for Yukiko."

excellent
I read this book a long time ago, and my memory's not so great, but this is just a concurring opinion to the above.Also, I've lent/given this book to other people and they tell me they've enjoyed it.

Tokyo Sketches Is For Lovers Of Japanese Culture
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.The references to both American and Japanese culture were quite refreshing, and amusing to those who know background information on Asian culture.I, having grown up Asian-American, giggled at many of the references, understanding what was meant.The stories are short enough to make you want to read them and not be worried about not being able to finish, yet long enough to delve deep into the lives of the characters.Great details and description draw readers in.The endings make you wish for more and wonder if there was some mistake -- if a page was left out at the end.Some personal favorites of mine were The 48th Ronin, It's Only Rock 'n' Roll, and The Magic Word.Every story is truly a masterpiece.I couldn't put the book down even if I had to! ... Read more

Book Description

Product Description
In this bullet-swift thriller, the first of a new series, former crack columnist for a New York City paper, Sam Brisco gets a terrified phone call from an old flame. Before he can get to her, she is murdered and Sam is plunged into a strange case involving a couple of corpses, a guy who stole a bank and a surprising pay-off.... (from the back cover) ... Read more

Product Description
In Forever, Pete Hamill's paean to his hometown, the main character, one Cormac O'Connor, receives the gift of immortality with one condition: he must spend all his days on the island of Manhattan. This Whitmanesque dream, enacted in 1741, makes O'Connor a sort of undying resident muse of this ever-bulging metropolis. After September 11th, it is reassuring to read this novel as veteran New Yorker Hamill's lovestruck tribute to our most cosmopolitan city. ... Read more

Book Description
Jack London cut a mythic figure across the American landscape of the early twentieth century. But throughout his colorful life–from his teenage years as an oyster pirate to his various incarnations as a well-traveled seaman, Yukon gold prospector, waterfront brawler, unemployed vagrant, impassioned socialist, and celebrated writer–he retained a predilection for drinking on a prodigious scale. London’s classic "alcoholic memoirs"–the closest thing to an autobiography he ever wrote–are a startlingly honest and vivid account of his life not only as a drinker, but also as a storied adventurer. Richly anecdotal and beautifully written, John Barleycorn stands as the earliest intelligent treatment of alcohol in American literature, and as an intensely moving document of one of America’s finest writers. This Modern Library Paperback Classic includes illustrations from the original edition.Download Description
It all came to me one election day. It was on a warm California afternoon, and I had ridden down into the Valley of the Moon from the ranch to the little village to vote Yes and No to a host of proposed amendments to the Constitution of the State of California. Because of the warmth of the day I had had several drinks before casting my ballot, and divers drinks after casting it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

beautiful prose
Jack London is the author that I admire the most among the American authors and this memoir, like his other works I read, gave me great reading pleasure. His life started in poverty, he lived a life of struggle and adventure, alcohol was always present as he grew up, and he felt obliged to drink to fit in the macho social environment, eventually developing a heavy drinking habit. In John Barleycorn he tells his story honestly, he describes the surroundings and characters around him beautifully, and especially his psychological descriptions are superb. In one part, while he was drunk and going by himself on a sloop at night, he falls in the water and he describes how all of a sudden he found himself thinking about committing suicide:

"Thoughts of suicide had never entered my head. And now that they entered, I thought it fine, a splendid culmination, a perfect rounding off of my short but exciting career. I, who had never known a girl's love, nor woman's love, nor the love of children; who had never played in the wide joy-fields of art, nor climbed the star-cool heights of philosophy, nor seen with my eyes more than a pin-point's surface of the gorgeous world; I decided that this was all, that I had seen all, lived all, been all, that was worth while, and that now was the time to cease.....The water was delicious. It was a man's way to die. It was a hero's death, and by the hero's own hand and will."

Such is the depth of his character descriptions, such is the way he reflects the mood beautifully. A "must read".

Pleasantly Jingled
`John Barleycorn' is the so-called "Alcoholic memoirs" of American literary icon Jack London. John Barleycorn was London's nickname for booze, and his relationship with Mr. Barleycorn is one of love/hate. In spite of the sub-title, London persists throughout this drunken autobiography that he is not an alcoholic. Nevertheless, he eloquently chronicles his tumultuous drinking career with the goal of demonstrating the enormous toll that alcohol can take on the mind, body, and spirit. At times, he glorifies his drinking, but for the most part he seems to resent this seductive destroyer of men, and claims that the only reason he drinks so much is because it is everywhere. He sees drinking as sort of a social obligation, a manly thing to do around other men. Not only does he resent it, but he concludes that prohibition is the only way to stop the destructive force of alcohol.

`John Barleycorn' is not only a story about the effects of alcohol on one man's life, but it is also an adventurous tale of one of America's first celebrities rise from rags to riches. The narrative begins with London's poverty-stricken childhood in San Francisco, continues through his teenage years as a brawling oyster pirate, and on into his adult years as a celebrated writer and passionate socialist. The prose is magnificent, and although `John Barleycorn" was highly entertaining, there is also a sense of sadness for me because I know first-hand how agonizing this type of life can be. With that said, this is a fantastic piece of American literature.

Drinking and the author's life
I was tempted into reading this book after finishing London's "Martin Eden", a somewhat autobiographical work of fiction. "John Barleycorn" purports to be more a striaght autobiography that focuses on the role of alcohol in London's life from his first tentative introduction at the age of five to his millde-career as a celebrity author.

Since it is autobiographical and there is no "plot", per se, it was a bit less interesting than "Martin Eden", in that I wasn't quite compelled to turn the page to see what happened next. However, he end of the book makes the intial effort worthwhile. London confronts "death" as a character, having philosophocal discussions with it. These conversations are dark and intellectauly compelling. Turns out that, for London, alcohol was a force promoting death and the contemplation of death.

If you're interested in getting inside the head of one of America's classic authors, John barleycorn is your ticket there.

Jack London's "Alcoholic Memoirs".
_John Barleycorn_ by American writer Jack London is a semi-autobiographical novel which deals with Jack London's experiences with alcohol, nicknamed "John Barleycorn" throughout this novel.Jack London was a rugged adventurer who was born into poverty and only became wealthy after his success as a novelist.His early experiences, which he writes about in this novel, were particularly important in the shaping of his thought and writings.London was a very thoughtful writer and all of his writings are philosophical in nature.Philosophically London was influenced by such thinkers as Charles Darwin (and his notion of the "survival of the fittest"), Friedrich Nietzsche (whose superman ideal is seen in London's ultra-masculine heroic characters), and William James (whose psychological theories regarding religion play an important part in the writing of this book).London was a devout socialist (he had been born into poverty and witnessed firsthand the oppression of the working class and the poor by the capitalists); however, his socialism is highly idiosyncratic in that all of his heroes are rugged individualists.London also recognized the harm that alcohol had done to himself and to youth of his generation which led him to believe that Prohibition was necessary (although he continued to drink).While London insists that he is not an alcoholic or dipsomaniac, his experiences with alcohol show the harmful effects that it had upon him.

_John Barleycorn_ began as a suggestion from London's second wife, Charmian, that he write about his experiences with alcohol.London, who had originally opposed woman's suffrage, had just voted for a bill that would give women the vote because he believed that women would vote for Prohibition.Indeed, the novel _John Barleycorn_ became popular with the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and the Prohibition Party which actively campaigned for Prohibition.While London could not have foreseen some of the more disastrous consequences of Prohibition, such as the formation of the mob and organized crime, he certainly understood the dangers that alcohol posed because he had experienced them firsthand.

_John Barleycorn_ relates the adventures of the young Jack London beginning with his earliest experiences with alcohol as a young lad of only five years old.London had been born into poverty and forced to work in a cannery.London, being an adventurous sort with an active mind, grew dissatisfied with his life of toil, and eventually became an oyster pirate.It was at this point where his first real encounters with alcohol and saloon life began.London describes his adventures as an oyster pirate along with his experiences at the saloons and the subtle rules that accompanied the drinking game.Eventually London returned to steady work; however, he quickly experienced the immoralities of the capitalist system when he was asked to shovel coal and made to work the job of two men.London relates further adventures in which he became an unemployed vagrant and was arrested for vagrancy and a gold prospector in the Yukon.London also shows how "John Barleycorn" came to play an important role in his life, as a means for easing social relationships.London also describes his experiences with school and how he attained his education (including a year at the university level) through extreme efforts.London makes use of Viking imagery throughout many of his descriptive passages showing his love for adventure and Nordic folklore.Eventually London was to make his way in the world as an author and he became very wealthy doing so.Later when London had achieved both wealth and fame he was to take a series of voyages to Hawaii, the Tropics, and the South Seas which served as an impetus for new stories.During this time, London became "sun sick" and took to drink to ease his troubles brought on by the tropical climate and the diseases that accompanied it.When London returned home he continued drinking heavily.London describes his encounters with "the White Logic", a gloomy depression brought on by drink, his alcoholic reveries and philosophical musings, and his encounters with death ("the Noseless One").Indeed, the thought of suicide was to plague London for much of his life.At one point London decided that he would stop drinking; however, he eventually realized that he was unable to do so and decides that he will continue to drink in moderation.However, he came to believe that Prohibition was necessary to prevent the harmful effects of alcohol on the youth.While London argues that he is not an alcoholic, it is clear however that alcohol has had a profound effect on his constitution and mind.

_John Barleycorn_ is a fascinating adventure novel which traces Jack London's life from the time he was a young boy into his adult years as a famous writer.The novel also shows the harmful effects of alcohol on London and shows the need for restraint.Like a great deal of London's work, this novel reveals London's defining social conscience which framed so much of his thinking.In addition, it provides for a fascinating read and is a great source of entertainment.

London's White Logic
With all the gushy, cliche-ridden, Recovery oriented self-help books teeming in the bookstores these days, it's always refreshing to find a well-written, lyrical account of of an author's love/hate affair with alcohol.This said, the book hardly seems one to be recommended by AA or the temperance movement.Although, as pointed out by another reviewer, the author equivocates in usually one or two line disclaimers after long passages in which he narrates an alcoholic episode, the overall effect almost amounts to an apotheosis of alcohol and its effects.Indeed, it is personified in the book by what London calls "The White logic," and the most moving, lyrical and philosophical passages are given to this "character" in the book.

Consider the following quotes about "him" and his effects:

"He is the august companion with whom one walks with the gods."

"And every thought was a vision, bright-imaged, sharp-cut, unmistakable.My brain was illuminated by the clear, white light of alcohol."

Most importantly consider what "he" says:

"Let the doctors of all schools condemn me....What of it?I am truth.You know it....Life lies in order to live.Life is a perpetual lie-telling process.Life is a mad dance in the domain of flux, wherein appearances in mighty tides ebb and flow...You are such an appearance, composed of countless appearances out of the past. All an appearance can know is mirage."

I don't think so great a poet as Shelley could have put this ghastly vision of life more powerfully in prose form, though he does in verse, in his last, ironically titled poem, The Triumph Of Life.

I don't know whom London thought he might be fooling here with his mild calls for Prohibition pitted against the Romance and lyricism he associates with his drinking episodes and, above all, the profoundly counterbalancing effect of "the White Logic."The book is ultimately an autobiography of this voice within him. ... Read more

Book Description
It's a story about coming-of-age and sexual awakening in the mean streets of 1910s Chicago. It's the beginning of a trilogy that will follow Studs Lonigan throughout adolescence. And, claims Arthur Schlesinger, Jr, it reveals "his vision of the truth-the truth about people, the truth about writing, the truth about America." ... Read more