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Here is a selection of New England Books, DVD’s and interesting stuff! |
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Books & DVD’s & Stuff! |
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True Crime Authors: Black Mass With Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill: TRUE CRIME AUTHORS goes between the lines with the men and women who have written the definitive accounts of some of the most infamous crimes in American history. Each episode features surprising revelations, insights that did not make it into print, and a revealing look at what it takes to bring a balanced story to an eager publican the '80s, South Boston was the domain of James "Whitey" Bulger, an Irish gangster who had the Midas touch when it came to avoiding the law. He literally got away with murder for years, until two enterprising reporters, Gerard O'Neill and Dick Lehr, uncovered the reason for his charmed criminal existence: he had a protector in the FBI, a young agent named John Connolly who shared Bulger's "Southie" roots and put loyalty to his old neighborhood before his oath to enforce the law. Their investigations led to a series of award-winning reports for The Boston Globe and the unforgettable book Black Mass. Here, Lehr and O'Neill reflect on a journey that began in the blood-soaked back alleys of South Boston and led to one of the most shameful scandals in FBI history |
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The Boston Irish: A Political History The first Irish to arrive in Boston, in the early 18th century, were Protestants from Ulster and were thought of by the local gentry as "members of a barbaric, inferior, and unmanageable race." By the time of the potato famine of the 1840s, these Protestant Irish had assimilated into the population and thought much the same about the new Irish, overwhelmingly Catholic, who emigrated to avoid starvation. In 1847 alone, Boston was inundated with 37,000 immigrants and the locals were appalled by the newcomers' unsanitary practices, indolence and propensity for drink. Like California's recent Proposition 187, the prejudice shibboleth of that time read, "No Irish Need Apply," and in 1854, the Know-Nothing Party of Massachusetts promised to eliminate "Rome, Rum, and Robbery." But with the urging of Boston Bishop Fitzpatrick, Irish Catholics learned to fight bigotry with the ballot. We are introduced to the featured players: Hugh O'Brien, the first Irish-born mayor of Boston; John F. Fitzgerald and Patrick J. Kennedy, ward bosses and the grandfathers of JFK; James Michael Curley, mayor, congressman, governor and prominent rogue; and John F. Kennedy, who completed the cycle of Irish political hegemony when he defeated Brahmin Henry Cabot Lodge for senator in 1952. Viewing the Irish from the coffin ships of the famine years to the lace-curtain attitudes of today, O'Connor (South Boston, My Home Town) has written a scholarly yet colorful account of a breed he convinces us is vanishing. |
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All Souls: A Family Story from Southie All Souls is the written equivalent of an Irish wake.... The book leavens tragedy with dashes of humor but preserves the heartbreaking details. |
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Out of Ireland The enormous story of Irish emigration is well told in this documentary that mixes an adept historical overview and deeply touching personal stories with well-chosen archival material and gorgeously filmed modern footage. The troubled history of Ireland is covered by way of explaining why millions fled their homeland, and deserved attention is given to the uprising of 1798 and the Great Famine of the 1840s. The flood of poor Irish to the New World and their struggles to assimilate and eventually triumph is told with excerpts of letters, some of which are beautifully read by the noted playwright John B. Keane. Musician and folklorist Mick Moloney appears frequently to offer apt anecdotes and appropriate snatches of song, and historians provide perspective on the poverty and political repression at home that forced the Irish to cross a dangerous ocean to find a better life. Representative 19th-century Irish immigrants who found new lives in places as diverse as Massachusetts and North Dakota are profiled, and the contributions made in American society by the descendants of the millions who left Ireland are noted. As a striking blend of solid history and resonant personalities, Out of Ireland is a thoughtful presentation that also happens to be a pleasure to watch. -- |
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The Wind That Shakes the Barley Winner of the Palme d'Or at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, this gripping drama by Ken Loach (Raining Stones) is set during the early days of the Irish Republican Army, when British occupation of the Irish radicalized many a citizen and caused some to take up arms. Cillian Murphy plays Damien, a medical student on his way to London when he witnesses a couple of atrocities committed by British troops. Instead of becoming a doctor, he turns into a leading and respected figure in an IRA division led by his brother, Teddy (Padraic Delaney). The film provides some fascinating historical insight into the nascent resistance movement as it was in 1920, and Loach brilliantly conveys the profound emotional transition young men had to make to become saboteurs and killers. Loach's realistic style is absolutely mesmerizing, with many scenes built around the dynamics of large groups: contentious meetings, torture sessions, battles, celebrations, and the like. One has the sense of history as a pool of energy, and one also develops a kind of Renoiresque appreciation for the fact that different people on opposing sides of a life-or-death issue have their reasons for believing what they believe. As the story moves along, subtle shifts in the perspectives of men and women who had once agreed to be absolute in their fight for freedom results in a tragic yet understandable schism among Irish patriots. The final half-hour of The Wind That Shakes the Barley says a lot about how the Irish, including people who had known one another all their lives, turned their wrath on one another for so many decades. This is an outstanding film, featuring the best performance yet by Murphy (Red Eye). |
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Boston's North End (MA) (Images of America) A panoramic view of the North End from the top of the Lincoln Wharf Power House chimney at the turn of the century shows the densely settled neighborhood around the Old North Church on Salem Street |
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Boston's Back Bay in the Victorian Era (MA) (Images of America) The Back Bay was one of Boston’s premier residential neighborhoods between 1837 and 1901. From its quagmire beginnings and with the creation of the Boston Public Garden in the 1830s, the Back Bay was envisioned as an urbane and sophisticated streetscape of stone and brick row houses. The major center of the neighborhood became Art Square, now known as Copley Square, which was surrounded by Trinity Church, New Old South Church, Second Church of Boston, the Boston Public Library, and S.S. Pierce and Company. With images of swan boats and architectural delights, Boston’s Back Bay in the Victorian Era illuminates a particularly vibrant period in this intriguing and relatively new neighborhoods past. |
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The North End Italian Cookbook, 5th (Paperback) Boston's North End is legendary for its Italian-American neighborhood. This cookbook celebrates the delicious fare--from antipasto through dessert--that is served in the restaurants and homes of this area. With many recipes from her own family, Marguerite DiMino Buonopane captures old-world cooking as well as the present-day traditions of the North End.
A Personal Favorite! |
