Book Reviews

Harold Griffin This fascinating novel, based on a true story, tells the story of 14 year old Francis Carroll, who overhears a violent confrontation between two farmers – Connors and Ferrigan – that ends in one of them being murdered with an ax.  The setting for the novel is a close-knit Canadian-Irish farming settlement north…

Micky Ward In putting down on paper the story of his hardscrabble life, Lowell boxer Micky Ward tells a tale of glorious victories punctuated by heart-breaking defeats, both in and out of the ring. It’s a story that could have ended badly, but it did not, thanks to the tremendous courage and character that is…

Chris Matthews Political pundit and talk show host Chris Matthews has written an engaging biography of John F. Kennedy. Widely known as a gabber, Matthew is also a gifted writer and story-teller, perhaps inspired by his old boss, Tip O’Neill. Matthew traces JFK’s ability to judge character and to make tough decisions, even when it…

Foreword by Caroline Kennedy Within months of President John F. Kennedy death, Robert F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy agreed to proceed with a scheduled oral history project to give future generations a glimpse of President Kennedy and his White House years. The seven interviews with Mrs. Kennedy, which began in March 1964, were conducted by…

David McCullough American historian David McCullough has written a compelling story about Americans who moved to Paris, France in the 19th century, seeking inspiration and experience in one of the world’s great cities.  They included Oliver Wendell Holmes, Charles Sumner and Harriet Beecher Stowe. McCullourh profiles two artists with Boston Irish roots – painter George…

Webb Garrison When the Civil War erupted in 1861, Matthew Brady, already an acclaimed New York photographer, wrote to President Abraham Lincoln and received permission to photograph the entire war. Along with his assistants Timothy O’Sullivan, Alexander Gardner, and others, Brady spent four years in the rough and ready camps and battlegrounds, documenting the fighting…