Description: "Francis O'Neill was Chicago's larger-than-life police chief, starting in 1901- and he was an Irish immigrant with an intense interest in his home country's music. In documenting and publishing his understanding of Irish musical folkways, O'Neill became the foremost shaper of what "Irish music" meant. He favored specific rural forms and styles, and as Michael O'Malley shows, he was the "beat cop" -actively using his police powers and skills to acquire knowledge about Irish music and to enforce a nostalgic vision of it"--
Brief description:
Michael O'Malley is professor of US history at George Mason University. He is the author of multiple books, most recently Face Value and The Beat Cop, published by the University of Chicago Press.
Review Quotes: "What O'Malley accomplishes in The Beat Cop is a highly readable, lush, adventurous examination of Chief O'Neill as a whole person, not just as the collector for the Irish musicians' Bible. The stories of O'Neill's adventures are entertaining and enjoyable, and O'Malley's writing is welcoming to both informed insiders and newcomers."-- "Sean Williams, coauthor of Bright Star of the West: Joe Heaney, Irish Song-Man"