While the Music Lasts

By turns passionate and hilarious, this memoir recounts the colorful life of one of America's truly original public figures. For more than a generation William M. Bulger has dominated state politics in Massachusetts, probably the most political state in the Union. In the process he has become nationally famous for his candor and wit, and for his outspoken defense of the traditional values of his neighbors and constituents.

While the Music Lasts takes us into the heart of legendary "Southie," Boston's heavily Irish enclave where William Bulger grew up, and introduces us to a cast of characters not previously seen outside the pages of fiction. It recalls the world of The Last Hurrah, where loyalties and grudges are never forgotten, but where the bitterest fights are leavened by laughter.

William Bulger describes growing up poor, struggling to get an education, taking the plunge into electoral politics. Proudly and unequivocally, he explains his controversial leadership when Boston became America's focal point during the fierce school busing crisis. He describes the fine points of power-brokering in one of the most independent and feisty legislative bodies in the nation. He affectingly makes the case for the importance of preserving local culture in a rootless age.