The Immortal Irishman: The Irish Revolutionary Who Became an American Hero

by Timothy Egan

Overview

From the National Book Award–winning and best-selling author Timothy Egan comes the epic story of one of the most fascinating and colorful Irishman in nineteenth-century America.  

The Irish-American story, with all its twists and triumphs, is told through the improbable life of one man. A dashing young orator during the Great Famine of the 1840s, in which a million of his Irish countrymen died, Thomas Francis Meagher led a failed uprising against British rule, for which he was banished to a Tasmanian prison colony. He escaped and six months later was heralded in the streets of New York — the revolutionary hero, back from the dead, at the dawn of the great Irish immigration to America. 
 
Meagher’s rebirth in America included his leading the newly formed Irish Brigade from New York in many of the fiercest battles of the Civil War — Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg. Twice shot from his horse while leading charges, left for dead in the Virginia mud, Meagher’s dream was that Irish-American troops, seasoned by war, would return to Ireland and liberate their homeland from British rule.  
 
The hero's last chapter, as territorial governor of Montana, was a romantic quest for a true home in the far frontier. His death has long been a mystery to which Egan brings haunting, colorful new evidence.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780544272477
Publication date:	03/01/2016
Sold by:	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Format:	eBook
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	2,618
File size:	15 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Timothy Egan is a Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter, a New York Times columnist, a winner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal for excellence in non-fiction, and the author of seven books, most recently Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher. His previous books include The Worst Hard Time, which won a National Book Award, and the national bestseller The Big Burn. A third-generation westerner, he lives in Seattle.

Hometown:

Seattle, Washington

Date of Birth:

November 8, 1954

Editorial Reviews

2/23/2016
There is only one rule when it comes to history: you will never know everything. Try as you might, there will always be huge swaths of unexplored territory and unmet figures who are mysteries to you. The trick to dealing with this inevitability is to accept it, and view it as an opportunity. The undiscovered country of history also means there will always be books out there that can offer you hours of entertainment and education. Timothy Egan’s The Immortal Irishman: The Irish Revolutionary Who Became an American Hero is one of those books. Read More

B&N Reads

“Without a shadow of doubt this is one of the finest Irish-American books ever written….What Egan has done is restore the reputation and uncovered a host of details on a man I would venture to say had no peer in our history of Irish America….Egan’s take on Irish-American history gives this book a breadth and significance that would be very hard to match.” —Niall O’Dowd, Irish America

"This is marvelous stuff. Thomas F. Meagher strides onto Egan's beautifully wrought pages just as he lived—powerfully larger than life. A fascinating account of an extraordinary life." —Daniel James Brown, author of The Boys in the Boat, Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Olympics

"A fascinating, well-told story by an author fully committed to his subject. Egan's impeccable research, uncomplicated readability, and flowing narrative reflect his deep knowledge of a difficult and complex man." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"As history, Egan’s book is solid; as storytelling, it’s captivating . . . An impressive biography." —Publishers Weekly

"Meagher lived life full-tilt, with old-fashioned honor as well as courage and dash, so inspiring Egan that the prose flashes and flares . . . " —Booklist, starred review
 
"Just in time for St. Paddy's Day comes this sensational bio."—AARP The Magazine

“Thomas Meagher’s is an irresistible story, irresistibly retold by the virtuosic Timothy Egan . . . The author tells Meagher’s exhilarating story with an Irishman’s flair for the tragic, poetic and dramatic . . . A gripping, novelistic page-turner…. Imperfect but irresistible, Meagher has long deserved a revival and reappraisal. For sure, he has a rousing one now.” -- The Wall Street Journal

“Stirring and magnificent . . . Egan combines deep reporting with masterful storytelling to chronicle this bigger-than-life figure.” -- Dallas Morning News

"Exhilarating . . . a rollicking, historical adventure story . . . You may not have heard the name Meagher, but after reading Egan’s excellent biography, you’ll never forget it." -- San Antonio Express News



"An old-fashioned tale of tall talk, high ideals, and irresistible appeal . . .You will not read a historical thriller like this all year… [Egan] is a master storyteller.” -- The Boston Globe

From the Publisher