I am back with another book review. My most recent read is a more niche genre then I typically grab for. I love true crime but I don’t think I’ve read anything about organized crime yet. But I stumbled across this gem at a public library book sale. For $1, I couldn’t resist. As someone who used to scrawl ‘Irish Pride’ and shamrocks in the margins of their notebook, I clearly have a predisposition for things geared towards my heritage. While I am a little less nerdy about it now, I still do enjoy reading historical non-fiction. Paddy Whacked: The Untold Story of the Irish American Gangster fit the bill.
If you like historical non-fiction at all then I think you will enjoy this book. It starts at the very beginning of the Irish wave of immigration to the US due to the potato famine and how they almost immediately started creating neighborhood gangs for survival. It goes chronologically through time but hops around from city to city. So you hear about the gangs, mob and big players in each city from New York to New Orleans to Boston. Did you know the Irish mob was in New Orleans?! Me neither!
There is a good section dedicated to the Kennedys. Who doesn’t love the Kennedys?! Only psychopaths, that’s who. There was some fascinating information that I had zero idea about involving the Kennedys and the Irish mob. The author, T. J. English, even connects how members of the Irish mob intersect with infamous members of the Italian mob, like Al Capone. He also gets into the deep roots the Irish mob has in politics and police.
While this is a historical non-fiction book it is extremely engaging. The author has a wonderful way with words. He keeps it all incredibly fascinating. This book is a real eye opener. My only complaint is that there are so many names, places, dates, etc. Sometimes (particularly in the beginning) it is slightly difficult to muddle through. But this is a very minor complaint. And I truly believe all the names, places and dates are a necessary evil for this wonderful book. I give this book a 4/5 stars. If you’ve read this book I’d love to know your thoughts in the comments!
Now it is time to dig into my LONG ‘To-Be-Read’ list for my next book. What are you reading now? Let me know in the comments. If you need a recommendation check out past book clubs here, here and here.
