For those seeking an academic read, "New Directions in Irish American History" includes insightful essays by Tyler Anbinder, Mary P. Corcoran, Mary E. Daly, Catherine M. Eagan, Ruth-Ann M. Harris, Patricia Kelleher, Lam Kennedy, Fionnghuala Sweeney and other scholars. Edited by Kevin Kenny, an Irish Studies professor at Boston College, the stand-out essays in this book are "Five Points and the Irish Conquest of New York Politics," "Irish Women in America Write Home," and "The Experiences of Returning Irish Emigrants." ($19.95 / 334 pages / University of Wisconsin Press)