“I Never Did Like Politics”

“I Never Did Like Politics”: How Fiorello La Guardia Became America’s Mayor, and Why He Still Matters

Terry Golway literally wrote the book on Tammany Hall, the Irish-dominated political machine that changed American politics – for better and worse.

His 2014 study Machine Made: Tammany Hall and the Creation of American Politics is the acknowledged authoritative history of the Irish immigrants who lied, cheated, and stole – but who also fed the hungry, hired the poor, and laid the groundwork for Franklin D. Roosevelt’s celebrated New Deal.

So it’s fitting that Golway’s latest book is a study of a colorful character who may have been Tammany’s greatest enemy – longtime New York City mayor Fiorello LaGuardia.

The son of Italian immigrants, LaGuardia was a walking melting pot, who actually worked at Ellis Island, as a translator. He was also a maverick politician – even though, as Golway explains, he didn’t like being called a politician.

Hence the title of Golway’s new book: “I Never Did Like Politics.”

Whatever you call him, according to Golway, LaGuardia is as important in the 21st Century as he was in the 1930s and 1940s. Americans may be polarized to the extreme, these days, but the one thing on which they seem to agree is the low quality of current public figures.

In this new interview, Golway says liberals and conservatives should take a look at LaGuardia’s life and times.

Golway also talks to Irish America about his position as a board member at the revamped American Irish Historical Society, which has endured controversy in recent years. Golway says new leadership in place at the AIHS – and its famously gorgeous offices on Fifth Avenue – are ready to embark on a new mission of encouraging and promoting Irish arts, history, and culture.