Philly Tales, 1940s-1970s is the printed and eBook version of forty-six real-life short stories about my experiences growing up in the Kensington section of Philadelphia during the 1940s to the 1970s. This book includes links to an exclusive photo gallery on the Mercy Row website, as well as links to various Philadelphia historical groups on Facebook.

"Over the last seven years, I have written over one hundred stories about my childhood living in Kensington. I chose what I believe are the 46 best for this book. I realize that many older folks, such as me, may not be comfortable using Facebook or the internet. This book will give them access to these stories and hopefully bring back their memories of those youthful days.

I look forward to sharing this book with my children and granddaughter, so they have an opportunity to see what “the old man” I experienced as a child. Don’t worry. They are all grown now, so they won’t get and behavioral ideas from my stories. 😊"
-Harry Hallman

The Potato Thief is a prequel to the Mercy Row. The book can be read as part of the series or as a stand-alone novel.

It's 1881 and eighteen-year-old Irishman George Graham steals a bag of potatoes to feed his starving family. This simple act of desperation sets him on an epic journey to lands he never knew existed. George endures the sweltering Jungles of Indochina, faces bloodthirsty pirates in the South Atlantic, fights a war in Cuba, and finally makes it to the land of milk and honey, America. After he lands on the gritty streets of Kensington, the Irish section of Philadelphia, he finds the milk spoiled and the honey not so sweet. Prejudice and hatred for all immigrants, especially Irish Catholics, still thrives in the hearts of the rich and ruling class. To survive and prosper George and three other Irish immigrants join forces to supply weapons to both Irish and Cuban rebels.

Teenager Charlie Byrne joins them, and together they build the beginnings of what one day will be one of the most successful Irish criminal organization in the City of Brotherly Love the K&A gang.

Mercy Row  is book one in the Byrne family saga. The book can be read as part of the series or as a stand-alone novel.

Mercy Row is a novel set in 1920s and ’30s Philadelphia. It is the story of the rise of a North Philadelphia crime family that was also responsible for building the homes and factories that make up this blue-collar area of the city. Despite the violent trials and tribulations caused by rival gangs from South Philadelphia and Chicago, Jacob Byrne and Franklin Garrett, with the help of the Irish immigrants who settled the Kensington area, build a formidable Irish mob.

This legal and criminal enterprise kept North Philadelphia free from the mafia for two generations. Jacob's and Franklin's organization was built on the blood of those who opposed them, the sweat of the laborers who built North Philly and the tears of the wives and mothers whose loved ones were lost in the struggle.

Mercy Row Retribution is book three in the Byrne family saga. The book can be read as part of the series or as a stand-alone novel.

While serving as a pilot during the Vietnam War, Gerry Amato - the grandson of Jacob Byrne, the head of a powerful North Philadelphia Irish crime family - seizes the opportunity to create a lucrative marijuana smuggling operation. It's 1967, and under the secrecy of a classified military operation, and with the assistance of a Marseille mob that owns plantations in Cambodia, he is able to send tens of thousands of pounds of marijuana to Philadelphia every month. His grandfather's criminal enterprise distributes the drug to a population that has developed an insatiable appetite for the marijuana. A rival Paris gang tries to force Amato to buy their product, which triggers war between the Byrne family and the Paris mob. From the steamy jungles of Vietnam and Cambodia to the streets of Saigon, Paris and Philadelphia, the ruthless actions of the Paris mob threaten to destroy the Byrne family. Gerry Amato orchestrates a merciless campaign of retribution against his foes in order to save himself and his family.

Mercy Row Retribution- the third book in the Byrne family saga - it is April 1975, and South Vietnam is about to fall to the North Vietnamese communists. Gerry Amato fears that the communists will take revenge on the population, especially the children - many of whom are Amerasian - at an orphanage he supported and volunteered at during his time as a pilot. He orchestrates a rescue mission to retrieve the children and bring them to the United States. This takes him and his team into harm's way in Thailand, across Cambodia and into war-torn Vietnam and back. The fates of 75 children and 30 adults rest squarely on Gerry's shoulders.

Bonus Section
Mercy Row Retribution</i> includes a bonus section of short, true stories of the author and his friends' experiences growing up in North Philly in the 1940s and '50s.

A Must Read Series