"A well-written, fascinating political history."

-- Margaret Truman

"A truly moving story of a life-long duel between father and son, Mysteries

of My Father is also one of the most uniquely American memoirs I have ever

read."

--Dennis Smith, author of Report from Engine Co. 82 and Report from Ground

Zero

"A poignant recollection of family, politics, and power that combines the

pains of memory to reach the passions of perception. A superb narrative,

an absorbing read."

-- John Patrick Diggins, Distinguished Professor of History, Graduate

Center, CUNY

"Thomas Fleming's richly-recalled, compelling, multi-generational family

chronicle---including the story of his stormy but loving relationship with

a colorful father---is as poignant and beguiling as a superb novel."

-- Neil Hickey, Contributing Editor, Columbia Journalism Review

The brutally honest, touchingly told story of one American family. The

Fleming clan was filled with colorful, complicated characters who lived

their disparate lives with great and often tragic intensity."

- Charles Bracelen Flood, New York Times bestselling historian, biographer

and novelist.

 "A classic memoir: The story of one family, set during Frank Hague's

ruthless political fiefdom in Jersey City. Thomas Fleming writes about his

parents' unraveling marriage with tenderness and with fierce honesty."

- William Zinsser, author of Writing About Your Life

"Thomas Fleming gives us an unforgettable story about an immigrant family

-- his family -- as it struggles to find a place in the American century.

He shares with us the dreams and heartaches of his parents, and, in the

end, he reminds us of the mysterious and forgiving power of love."

--Terry Golway, author The Irish In America

"With Memories of My Father Tom Fleming cinches for himself the undisputed

title of Historian-as-Storyteller Extraordinaire. This book is not only a

history of three generations of an Irish-American family, it is a story of

fathers and sons, the Irish in America, World War I, and the Jersey City of

political boss Frank Hague. Fleming tells it like it was – unvarnished

accounts of two-fisted politics, the complex influence of the Catholic

Church, resentment against the WASP establishment for past discrimination,

and how the Irish came to rule a city and a state -- with a vengeance."

-- David S. Cohen, Ph.D., Director, Ethnic History Program, New Jersey

Historical Commission

"Tom Fleming’s moving memoir of his father, Teddy, stands alone as a

portrait of a man seeking the path to the American dream in the midst of

the big city politics of the first half of the twentieth century. Fiercely

loyal to Boss Frank Hague, Teddy is confronted along the way with the loss

of his wife’s love, and the danger of losing the affection of his sons as

well. No storybook ending here, only understanding. The writing is so

true to life that I came away having felt part of this story."

-- Lloyd Gardner, Rutgers University, author of The Case That Never Dies:

The Lindbergh Kidnapping

"If you care about what it means to be an Irish-American, or about New

Jersey political history, or about the relationships between fathers and

sons, or about wonderful writing, run -- don't walk -- out to buy Tom

Fleming's Mysteries of My Father."

--Nick Acocella, publisher of Politifax

"With a historian's fidelity and a poet's empathy, Tom Fleming has created

a textured study of three generations of Irish Americans ... a brisk and

moving memoir. An American classic."

--- Sidney Offit, author of Memoir of the Bookie's Son