Despite Timothy "Big Tim" Sullivan's having been a lifelong power broker in the rough-and-tumble world of working-class politics, historians of New York City often overlook his career. In the first book-length study of Sullivan, Welch (C.W. Post College) ably demonstrates the significance of this politician who grew up on the Lower East Side and came to prominence with the help of Tammany Hall (an organization with strong ties to the Democratic Party). From neighborhood barrooms and storefronts, the populist leader staged a successful bid for a seat in the U.S. Congress. In 1909, he was elected to serve in the New York State Senate and quickly undermined the opposition by taking up the reform mantle, supporting efforts to improve working conditions and sponsoring the Sullivan Law, which required gun owners to carry permits. In this well-written political biography, Welch details Sullivan's rise to power and fall into obscurity. Based on newspaper articles, secondary sources, and reminiscences from Columbia University's Oral History Collection, the book provides historians a window onto the day-to-day world of one working-class hero who devoted his life to serving his people, his political party, and his city.
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