From Paddy to Studs

?The nine essays (including editor Meagher's introduction and conclusion) in this collaborative volume are meant to test William Shannon's hypothesis that the late-19th century American Irish had reached a watershed: absorption into Anglo-America at the one hand and the self-absorbing ethnic ghetto at the other. Variously narrative, biographical, and demographic, the articles examine Irish communities in Lowell, Worcester, Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louis, and San Francisco. The essays range from the useful to the insightful; the best--like Timothy Sarbaugh's treatment of San Francisco--offer argument as well as evidence. As Meagher properly concludes, the essays demonstrate considerable regional variety in the experience of the turn-of-the-century American Irish. They also show that the peaks and valleys of American enthusiasm for Irish nationalism are especially traceable to local conditions, and that it was in the period from 1880 to 1920 that Catholicism became central to--and perhaps even predominant in--the identity of Irish-Americans. ... A useful contribution. Suitable for upper-division undergraduates and above.?-Choice