Unprecedented in its scope, Rainbow's End provides a bold new analysis of the emergence, growth, and decline of six classic Irish-American political machines in New York, Jersey City, Chicago, San Francisco, Pittsburgh and Albany. Combining the approaches of political economy and historical sociology, Erie examines a wide range of issues, including the relationship between city and state politics, the manner in which machines shaped ethnic and working-class politics, and the reasons why centralized party organizations failed to emerge in Boston and Philadelphia despite their large Irish populations. The book ends with a thorough discussion of the significance of machine politics for today's urban minorities.

Steven P. Erie is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of California, San Diego.

Robert Park Award, Section of Community and Urban Sociology of the American Sociological Associatio

Best book on urban politics 1988, Urban Politics and Policy section of the American Political Science Association