Rating: 
Summary: Excellent glimpse into the life of a politician
Review: Farrell's biography on Tip O'Neill brought back many memories of a Democratic politician who grew up during the Great Depression and never forgot from whense he came, even during the era of greed of the Reagan Administration. Most of the book was either reserved or showed praise toward O'Neill, but there were some passages that were objective toward the former Speaker. In all, I thought it was a fair assessment of the man who served the longest continuous tenure as Speaker of the House.
Rating:
Summary: A great political biography
Review: I finished reading this book a few weeks ago and wanted to let it rest in my mind before I was sure that it was as good as it seemed when I finished it. Weeks later, I'm sure it is -- TIP O'NEILL is one of the best poltical biographies I have ever read. Farrell does a great job of capturing O'Neill's personality, political style, and world view. O'Neill had a full life, so despite the length, TIP O'NEILL rolls along swiftly. Farrell also succeeds in capturing both the Washington and Cambridge cultures, which are radically different. The Washington part is typical, the Cambridge part is not -- filled with long-forgotten back-home intrigue, door-to-door campaign stories, and great characters.Massachusetts politics produces many interesting characters, and it just so happens that many of the more recent good biographies I've read are about them, including Adam Clymer's EDWARD M. KENNEDY and William Bulger's autobiography, WHILE THE MUSIC LASTS. TIP O'NEILL is best of all.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent political biography
Review: I had read (on 7 Jan 1996) Tip O'Neill's memoir, Man of the House: The Life and Political Memoirs of Speaker Tip O'Neill and had greatly enjoyed it and when I saw this book I wondered whether it was necessary I read it--there is so much I want to read and I am not getting any younger. But I am very glad that I decided to read it. It is a great and balanced account of a fascinating life. No one interested in the polical history of the past half-century should fail to read this. I found that I could read with undivided attention even tho the TV was on! It simply caught me up, and there was never a dull page. One has to be bothered by some of the political practices which Tip indulged in but on the other hand I am sure that an honest portrayal of his opponents would indicate that they were no more scrupulous in regard to choice of tactics. This is a great, great read, and not while one gets a favorable impression of Tip this book is not hagiographical. So don't not read it because Tip was a great Democrat.
Rating:
Summary: Manual for Political Wannabes
Review: I really enjoyed Mr. Farrell's book about Congressman Tip O'Neill. It was good to see a book that told not just Tip's story, but told it in the context of the other great politicians who were his contemporaries. It is full of the anecdotes that made him famous, and paints a very unbiased portrait of a politician who might have been the last of his kind. Mr. Farrell writes like a novelist, and, as stated by one reviewer, paints as gripping a portrait of Boston as Dennis Lehane. Read this book, for it is the 'Master of the Senate' for the House of Representatives.
Rating:
Summary: wonderful, evocative portrait of a major political figure
Review: John A. Farrell's "Tip O'Neill and the Democratic Century" earns a place with the finest works of journalism and political history - first because the author sets himself two lofty goals, and second because he accomplishes both of them in grand fashion. First, Farrell's book is a wonderful portrait of a preeminent New Deal politician - a man who not only came of age in the Great Depression, but who also found his political moorings there. The central goal of Tip O'Neill's political philosophy was aiding his constituents, block-by-block and neighborhood-by-neighborhood. Farrell makes clear that the former Speaker had an intimate connection with the folks who elected him, and that, however high he rose, O'Neill was always eminently down-to-earth and approachable. In reading this book against the backdrop of a political culture has been overtaken by endless polling, focus groups and televised spinmeisters, it's reaffirming to know that there was a time not so long ago when a major politician chatted up voters in a local barbershop, or steadfastly bought his suits at the same haberdasher decade after decade. A second, but no less significant achievement of Farrell's book, is as a detailed political history of the last century. If one only considers the two political figures that bookended O'Neill's career - at the start, Boston Mayor and flamboyant rogue James Michael Curley and at the end President Ronald Reagan - that gives a strong sense of just how much politics and public life changed over that 50 or so years. O'Neill began his career in a time when concern about the size of government was subsidiary to the goals it was intended to accomplish; a time when politicians and the public were trained on eradicating societal ills such as poverty, homelessness, joblessness, illiteracy and so on. By the time O'Neill left public life, the size and efficiency of government, particularly spending on domestic social programs, was a drum for self-proclaimed fiscal hawks to bang. Speaker O'Neill left public life in a time when Social Darwinism and exploitation of the "alienated voter" defined political discourse; a time when selfishness, greed, retrenchment from public life, and resentment of the veterans, the poor, the sick, and the mentally ill were rampant. So thoroughly denuded were the ideals of O'Neill's earlier career that President Reagan could connect with a wide swath of voters by repeatedly telling a false story about a Chicago "welfare queen" who rode around in a limousine and who ate lobster for dinner every night. Farrell shows O'Neill as someone who railed publicly against Reagan and his ilk, and who considered the President, "an Irishman who forgot where he came from." Indeed, Farrell includes wonderful color about O'Neill and his wildly divergent private and public relationships with Reagan. In the end, Farrell's book succeeds because it brings its subject into full bloom; he paints pictures not only of O'Neill, but also of the times in which he lived and politicked. And that is what lifts this biography to the level of greatness.
Rating:
Summary: The Last Democratic Titan
Review: John Farrell's biography of Tip O'Neill will stand as the definative book on the legendary Speaker of the House for years to come. The Tip O'Neill that emerges from these pages is a very complex man. Farrell does not needlessly canonize O'Neill or portray him as the caricature that many of his fans and detractors have painted him as. Instead, Farrell let's O'Neill's words and actions speak for themselves - and what a narrative it is! The striking thing about Tip O'Neill that comes through in the book is how authentic he was to himself, to others, and to his principles. In one of the Democratic Party's darkest hours - the beginning of the Reagan Revolution - Tip O'Neill stood as the last Democratic titan, one who was willing to take on the slings and arrows of his critics in order to preserve all that he, and his party, worked and stood for. Regardless of your political persuasion, O'Neill's courage and loyalty are worthy of admiration. Unfortunately, they simply don't make leaders like that anymore. As a fan of political biogrpahies, I found 'Tip O'Neill and the Democratic Century' to be fair, balanced, highly readable, entertaining, inspiring, and compelling. This book is the best political biography I have read in years and I highly recommend it to all.
Rating:
Summary: The Last Democratic Titan
Review: John Farrell's biography of Tip O'Neill will stand as the definative book on the legendary Speaker of the House for years to come. The Tip O'Neill that emerges from these pages is a very complex man. Farrell does not needlessly canonize O'Neill or portray him as the caricature that many of his fans and detractors have painted him as. Instead, Farrell let's O'Neill's words and actions speak for themselves - and what a narrative it is! The striking thing about Tip O'Neill that comes through in the book is how authentic he was to himself, to others, and to his principles. In one of the Democratic Party's darkest hours - the beginning of the Reagan Revolution - Tip O'Neill stood as the last Democratic titan, one who was willing to take on the slings and arrows of his critics in order to preserve all that he, and his party, worked and stood for. Regardless of your political persuasion, O'Neill's courage and loyalty are worthy of admiration. Unfortunately, they simply don't make leaders like that anymore. As a fan of political biogrpahies, I found 'Tip O'Neill and the Democratic Century' to be fair, balanced, highly readable, entertaining, inspiring, and compelling. This book is the best political biography I have read in years and I highly recommend it to all.
Rating: 
Summary: Tip O'Neill-A Leader Ahead and Behind His Times
Review: Let's get one thing straight right now: It is impossible to write a book about an important contemporary political figure and not let your personal bias show through. And John Farrell in Tip O'Neill and the Democratic Century is no different. Throughout, even when chronicling some of the less than honorable dealings of the former Speaker, Ferrell's personal belief in the ideals and goals of Tip O'Neill show through. For instance, the book accepts the O'Neill mantra that the middle class was somehow created by the Democratic Party. But that doesn't make it any less enjoyable to read. O'Neill is presented as he actually was. A man ahead of his time, part of his time, and ultimately, a dinosaur given one last chance to shine in the Reagan years. By far, the most enjoyable part of the book is the telling of Tip's early years. While some may find it hard to believe Tip's home state of Massachusetts was ever Republican, O'Neill was the first Democratic Speaker of the Massachusetts house in history. As he climbed his way up the U.S. House leadership, O'Neill was an ardent anti-Communist who was one of the key members to finally tire of U.S. involvement in Vietnam and switch to oppose the war. Farrell also clearly outlines the lost opportunities of the Carter years. Initially, the House leadership was eager to work with a Democratic president after 8 years of Nixon and Ford. The honeymoon didn't last long as the "Georgia Boys" and old mules on the Hill quickly found themselves involved in time-wasting power struggles. There are some drawbacks. Aside from the author's bias that is easy enough to discern, the book glosses over some important events of the 1980's. For instance, the S&L mess, which O'Neill bears a large part of responsibility for, is covered in less than one paragraph. But overall, it is a quick read, despite it heft, and you'll be wishing for more by the time you turn the last page.
Rating:
Summary: HERE'S A TIP: READ "TIP"!
Review: Much like its subject, this book is large, heavy, and packed with Irish blarney and great stories. The career of Speaker O'Neill spanned the New Deal, World War II, the Vietnam War, the great movements of the 60's, the crises of the 70's, and the Reagan Revolution of the 80's. Farrell covers it all in just under 700 pages, but you won't mind or notice because the prose flows effortlessly. It's all here: the personalities, the egos, the sleight of hand, the clashes, the politics of O'Neill and the other colorful, larger than life, forceful, and flawed people who made up Congress in the tumultuous years of the 20th century. The chapters on how O'Neill came to oppose the Vietnam War and favor Nixon's impeachment are especially good. The final chapters on how he put off retirement to be the Democratic Party's national voice against the Reagan Administration after the disastrous 1980 election are poignant without being mawkish. But even though Farrell clearly likes his subject (what's not to like?) this is not simply a political book or Democratic party propoganda. When O'Neill behaves ruthlessly, opportunistically, trims on principle (not very frequently), or takes a casual view of campaign finance ethics (very frequently), Farrell takes it all down faithfully. What emerges is a full portrait of a very human politician--his family, his friends and enemies, his finances, his values, and even his diets! Unlike most political books, this one is worth getting, even in hardcover.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful in every way, but you need a good memory for names
Review: The publisher and author clearly cared about this book. The first sign of this is that the font is beautiful. The sans serif on the dust jacket is gorgeous. Then the serifed font in the body of the book is beautiful, and the italics are incredibly elegant. Even the paper on which the book is printed is soft and beautiful; it's a joy to turn the page in this book. Those are the first signs. The content of the book is equally wonderful. If you love politics, you'll love this book. Farrell manages to avoid worshipping his subject: O'Neill was a politician who did his share of ethically questionable acts. I never felt like Farrell either loved O'Neill or hated him; he's as impartial a biographer as I've encountered. Three cheers and five stars for a book that is beautiful in every way.
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