George Marlin and Brad Miner in Sons of St. Patrick: A History of the Archbishops of New York from Dagger John to Timmytown have produced an engaging narrative that is informative, easy to read, and representative of a high level of research and scholarship. In an introduction and eleven chapters, the authors have achieved their mission, telling the story of the ten Archbishops of New York, all sons of St. Patrick from their Irish roots. The monograph is a scholarly and engaging chronicle that adds significantly to the literature of American Catholic history.

The authors organized this monograph in four sections, chronicling in each the significant accomplishments and challenges of the bishops and archbishops who served from 1808, when the Diocese of New York was established. Section 1, “Before the Beginning,” provides information and a rich context to the three initial bishops, Richard Concanen, John Connolly, and John Dubois. Beginning in Section 2, “The Rise to Power,” however, the authors present the first five archbishops. New York's' first archbishop, “Dagger John” Hughes, his nickname drawn from his streetfighter personality, encountered several challenges, but none greater than his fight against anti-Catholicism and his promotion of Catholic schools. John McCloskey is referred to as “the first,” as he was the first native New Yorker to be ordained a priest, the first American-born man to become archbishop of New York, and the first American to receive the red hat. The administration of Michael Corrigan was dominated by the Americanism crisis. Standing on the conservative side, his stance cost him favored status. Still, he must be credited as the founder of St. Joseph's Seminary at Dunwoodie. John Farley was tasked with bringing healing to the many rifts within the clergy that existed from the Corrigan years. Farley was archbishop when the archdiocese celebrated its centennial; he was privileged to dedicate St. Patrick's Cathedral, an edifice started by Hughes and completed by McCloskey. Manhattan-born Patrick Hayes, who closes this section of the narrative, was a man who shunned the spotlight, but when necessary he acted, including his total rejection of Margaret Sanger's birth control agenda. He was responsible for a significant building program, opening sixty-five new parishes and forty new schools. Just prior to his assumption of the role of New York's local ordinary, Hayes became ordinary for the military, a role in which he and his successors through John O'Connor would serve.

Section 3, “The City in the World,” narrates the last three archbishops of the twentieth century. Francis Spellman, a native of Massachusetts, is described as the most influential cleric, both nationally and internationally, in United States history. A man who made friends in high places wherever he went, Spellman served for twenty-eight years as archbishop during a time of great prosperity for the church in the United States. Spellman's close friendship with Eugenio Pacelli, the Cardinal Secretary of State, proved extremely advantageous when the latter was elected Pope Pius X in 1939. Spellman took his job as ordinary for the military extremely seriously, including a six-month, forty-nation tour of troops in 1943. He was known as a strong promoter of charities and labor unions while abhorring strikes, leading to a confrontation with gravediggers at the diocesan cemeteries in 1949. He was an ambitious builder of parishes and schools, meeting the post–World War II Catholic surge. Terence Cooke took the reins of power after Spellman died in December 1967. Serving in the wake of the tumultuous 1960s, the fallout from Vatican II, and, as described by the authors, New York City's loss of its social fabric, Cooke sought a more amicable relationship with his priests than his predecessor. He strongly upheld Church teaching on the moral issues of the day, especially abortion and homosexual lifestyle. John O'Connor was labeled by his priests “The Boss” or “The Admiral,” the latter a legacy from his career as a Navy chaplain. O'Connor's leadership style was to delegate, but he had high expectations of his staff. He often tangled with New York Governor Mario Cuomo over abortion and other political issues. His reticence toward fundraising made it more difficult to finance archdiocesan projects.

Section 4, “The Church in Crisis,” narrates the ministry of the first two archbishops of the twenty-first century. Edward Egan had served as bishop of Bridgeport, Connecticut, before coming to New York in June 2000. An extremely capable administrator, he was able to erase a $300 billion debt in eight years. While he found it necessary to consolidate schools, 15,000 students were nevertheless added to school rolls. The first archbishop of New York to retire due to the new regulations, he was succeeded by Timothy Dolan in April 2009. Like O'Connor, Dolan wrestled with the governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo. As President of the USCCB, Dolan fought hard against mandates of the Affordable Care Act that were prejudicial against Catholics. Out of necessity, he merged parishes throughout the archdiocese.

Sons of St. Patrick is an exhaustively researched monograph that is richly contextualized and presents a well-organized narrative, but not without a few drawbacks. The detailed description of Richard Concanen, who never actually served as bishop, seems excessive. The authors' conclusion that Americanism and Modernism are equated can be historically debated. Most obviously, the narrative is somewhat bias in its commentary. Brusque statements, such as referring to Al Sharpton as “the noted huckster,” (316) and stating that “contraception dehumanizes its users,” (389) could be eliminated.

This well-written, historically accurate, and engaging monograph would be attractive to many groups and individuals. Scholars of American Catholic history, New Yorkers, and those who find interest in the intersection of American history and the Catholic Church will benefit greatly from this volume. Marlin and Miner have produced a noteworthy monograph that has contributed significantly to the advancement of American Catholic history.