The Next One Is for You
A True Story of Guns, Country, and the IRA's Secret American Army
Ali Watkins
- From
- New
- York
- Times
- reporter
- and
- Pulitzer
- finalist
- Ali
- Watkins,
- the
- long-buried
- story
- of
- how
- a
- group
- of
- Philadelphia
- gunrunners
- armed
- the
- IRA
- at
- the
- height
- of
- the
- Troubles—a
- true-crime
- saga
- that
- illuminates
- Irish
- America’s
- central
- role
- in
- the
- conflict
- and
- its
- legacy.Northern
- Ireland,
- 1975.
- Violence
- has
- erupted
- on
- the
- streets
- of
- Belfast.
- After
- years
- as
- a
- sleepy,
- guerilla
- army,
- the
- IRA
- is
- clashing
- with
- Loyalist
- gangs
- and
- heavily
- armed
- British
- soldiers.
- But
- the
- Troubles
- have
- spilled
- beyond
- the
- small
- island:
- An
- ocean
- away,
- in
- the
- heart
- of
- Philadelphia’s
- Irish
- enclave,
- a
- teenage
- girl
- finds
- a
- letter
- in
- her
- mailbox.
- Inside
- is
- a
- bullet,
- and
- the
- message
- is
- clear:
- The
- next
- one
- is
- for
- you
- or
- your
- family.As
- celebrated
- New
- York
- Times
- reporter
- Ali
- Watkins
- reveals
- in
- this
- exquisitely
- reported
- nonfiction
- thriller,
- the
- conflict
- in
- Northern
- Ireland
- might
- have
- gone
- very
- differently
- had
- it
- not
- been
- for
- a
- small,
- ragtag
- band
- of
- carpenters,
- family
- men,
- and
- fugitives
- in
- the
- United
- States.
- The
- Philadelphia
- Five,
- as
- they
- came
- to
- be
- known,
- supplied
- the
- Irish
- Republican
- Army
- at
- its
- moment
- of
- greatest
- need,
- bolstering
- the
- fight
- for
- a
- united
- Ireland
- but
- fueling
- the
- Troubles
- at
- an
- untold
- cost.
- This
- small
- group
- of
- Irish
- nationalists
- smuggled
- hundreds
- of
- rifles,
- rocket
- launchers,
- explosives,
- and
- armor-piercing
- bullets
- across
- the
- Atlantic
- Ocean
- and
- into
- Northern
- Ireland.
- Whether
- they
- were
- skimming
- money
- from
- innocuous-seeming
- charities,
- coolly
- slipping
- weapons
- into
- hidden
- compartments
- of
- vans
- and
- houses,
- or
- scouring
- local
- graveyards
- for
- the
- names
- of
- dead
- Irishmen
- to
- use
- on
- federal
- firearm
- forms,
- the
- gunrunners
- approached
- their
- mission—to
- unite
- Ireland
- under
- one
- flag,
- by
- any
- means
- necessary—with
- ruthless
- poise,
- even
- as
- European
- and
- American
- investigators
- closed
- in,
- members
- of
- their
- own
- movement
- began
- to
- turn
- on
- them,
- and
- bodies
- stacked
- up
- on
- all
- sides.A
- gripping
- tale
- of
- crime,
- rebellion,
- and
- the
- hazy
- line
- between
- them,
- The
- Next
- One
- Is
- for
- You
- is
- the
- definitive
- account
- of
- America’s
- hand
- in
- the
- Troubles—a
- conflict
- whose
- resonance
- is
- still
- felt
- today,
- in
- the
- United
- States
- and
- Ireland alike.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
