I first encountered Thomas Cahill in the reading requirements for ninth grade history, where Mr. Dachille’s designation of Cahill’s book The Gifts of the Jews as a substitute for the dry textbooks to which I was accustomed instantly granted him canonical stature in my mind. And for good reason: Cahill’s accessible and fascinating takes on the histories of the Irish, the Jews, … [Read more...] about Thomas Cahill: Civilization on Trial
Kara Rota
Coco Rocha Rocks the Runway
She looks, if possible, even more modelesque in person, although this might have something to do with the high-heeled lace-up Balenciaga boots she’s wearing (along with an Urban Outfitters top, Marni belt, vintage gold lamé purse and a skort that once belonged to her mother). When I sit down with Irish Canadian Coco Rocha, who has taken the fashion world by storm before turning … [Read more...] about Coco Rocha Rocks the Runway
Those We Lost
George Carlin 1937-2008 George Carlin, whose father was born in Donegal in 1888, died of heart failure on June 22. Born and raised in Manhattan, Carlin served in the Air Force before embarking on his comedy career as a radio DJ. In the 1960s he appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show and was a regular on Johnny Carson and other talk shows. In the 70’s he was arrested for his “Seven … [Read more...] about Those We Lost
Murder She Wrote: Martina Cole
Martina Cole is famous, and quite pleased about it. Her books are notorious for being the most requested in the prison libraries in the UK, and she is consistently referred to as England’s bestselling adult fiction writer. “When I wrote Dangerous Lady, the first book,” she says in a voice that is as full of grit and glamour as her epic six-hundred-page crime dramas, “I never … [Read more...] about Murder She Wrote: Martina Cole
Stalking Irish Madness: Patrick Tracey
Patrick Tracey’s first book, Stalking Irish Madness: Searching for the Roots of My Family’s Schizophrenia, is a memoir, a research document, a medical ethnography, and certainly a page-turner. As Tracey says, “There’s many, many ways to write a book about schizophrenia. But I had my story to tell and to tell it this certain way.” The story Tracey has to tell is one that begins … [Read more...] about Stalking Irish Madness: Patrick Tracey