This biographical study of Irish-American Maurice J. Tobin discusses his development from parochial to international stature during the New Deal and Fair Deal eras. Focusing on Tobin's dedication to improving the lot of the less fortunate, it chronicles his movement from the politics of the ward to the visionary who was dedicated to the common good. Tobin set a precedent for a new generation of Irish Catholics who later occupied even higher public positions.
"The Boston Irish have produced a number of major political figures from the roguish James Michael Curley to the almost regal John Kennedy; the key to understanding the path from Curley to Kennedy lies in the career of Maurice Tobin. He provides a linking bridge between two eras and two styles of American politics. Vincent Lapomarda's study of Tobin opens his career and place in American politics to thoughtful scrutiny for the first time, providing a key to a whole era in American political history." (John B. Anderson, College of the Holy Cross)
"Vincent Lapomarda's study of Maurice Tobin fills a scholarly void. Boston's first 'fusion' Mayor, wartime Mayor and Governor of Massachusetts, and Secretary of Labor, Tobin deserves the careful analysis Lapomarda gives him in this necessary book." (Jack Beatty, Author of 'The Rascal King: The Life and Times of James Michael Curley (1874-1958)'
"Professor Lapomarda offers a much needed new look at the somewhat neglected career of Massachusetts politician and Truman Secretary of Labor, Maurice J. Tobin, and at the same time provides fresh insights into the New and Fair Deals." (Joseph J. Holmes) "...a worthy, fluid, meticulously documented, long-overdue, and seemingly definitive work." (George E. Ryan, The Pilot)
"Lapomarda's biography does an admirable job of delineating Tobin's impressive public career." (The New England Quarterly)
"Vincent Lapomarda's study of Maurice Tobin fills a scholarly void. Boston's first 'fusion' Mayor, wartime Mayor and Governor of Massachusetts, and Secretary of Labor, Tobin deserves the careful analysis Lapomarda gives him in this necessary book." (Jack Beatty, Author of 'The Rascal King: The Life and Times of James Michael Curley (1874-1958)'
"Professor Lapomarda offers a much needed new look at the somewhat neglected career of Massachusetts politician and Truman Secretary of Labor, Maurice J. Tobin, and at the same time provides fresh insights into the New and Fair Deals." (Joseph J. Holmes) "...a worthy, fluid, meticulously documented, long-overdue, and seemingly definitive work." (George E. Ryan, The Pilot)
"Lapomarda's biography does an admirable job of delineating Tobin's impressive public career." (The New England Quarterly)