This book is a behind-the-scenes portrait of the Irish power brokers who forged and fractured twentieth-century Boston. It tells the hidden story of Boston politics, the cold blooded ward bosses, the smoke-filled rooms, the larger-than-life pols who became national figures. It includes Honey Fitz, the crafty stage Irishman and grandfather to a president; the pugilistic Rascal King, Michael Curley; the hectored Kevin White who tried to hold the city...

"A revealing memoir by Boston's beloved five-term mayor, explaining the power behind Boston's success and lessons for Washington power brokers. After twenty years of service, Mayor Thomas Menino is stepping down from his office as one of the longest-serving major-city mayors in United States history--and one of the most popular politicians in modern memory. His political career has stretched from the busing crisis of the 1970s to the city's extraordinary...

The violence that erupted in Boston when its schools were integrated under the forced-busing edict of a federal court is examined in light of Mayor Kevin White's administration and background and the ethnic history of the city.