Wolfe's History: A Family Story

Wolfe's History: A Family StoryWolfes History, by the author of Finding Bix (2017), wraps its arms around a single, sprawling Irish and American family. In an opening essay, Wolfe introduces a cast of larger than life charactersfrom an Old West barkeep and a Gold Rush pharmacist to an IRA fugitive and a British recruit whose loyalties are tested during the Easter Rising. Together these fast talking, writerly cousins live intricate lives that move quickly between past and

WolfeÕs History, by the author of Finding Bix (2017), wraps its arms around a single, sprawling Irish and American family. In an opening essay, Wolfe introduces a cast of larger-than-life charactersÑfrom an Old West barkeep and a Gold Rush pharmacist to an IRA fugitive and a British recruit whose loyalties are tested during the Easter Rising. Together these fast-talking, writerly cousins live intricate lives that move quickly between past and presentÑcomplete with periodic and sudden outbursts of violence. A man is set ablaze on the prairie. A Jesuit is tortured in Dublin Castle. In the authorÕs sure hands, their stories are converted into something broader and more searching than just a single familyÕs journey. He wonders what binds the Wolfes together in the first place and whether the experiences of his own immediate family subvert the connections he feels with his ancestors. A biographical dictionary and fifty pages of family trees complete this impressive volume.