Acclaimed historian Edward T. O'Donnell goes from the Ice Age to Michael Phelan (The Father of American Billiards) in his breezy history "1001 Things Everyone Should Know About Irish American History." O'Donnell, professor of American History at Holy Cross College, covers topics ranging from Ireland Before 1850, Religion, Sports, and Coming to America.

Though some entries are a bit brief, the book is thorough and enlightening. Consider the entry on Castle Garden (in the Coming to America section): "When Americans think of immigration, two images immediately spring to mind: the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

Yet for the great majority of the millions of Irish who came to America, neither Lady Liberty nor Ellis Island played a role in their experience. Most Irish immigrants arrived before the statue (1886) and Ellis (1892) were built.

" At Castle Garden, which opened as an immigration station in 1855, nearly 2 million Irish were checked into America. O'Donnell's book has (literally) hundreds of other such revelations. ($15.95, 288 pages, Broadway Books)