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Lucky Luciano: The Man Who Organized Crime in America 5 reviews
Hickman Powell
Barricade Books, 2000
A Wonderful Piece of History
+ A Noted Secondary Source
OK, some of you may be misled by the title, expecting an in-depth "biog" as one self-styled "Prince" put it, but what we have here is a wonderful contemporary view of Luciano's trial and his history and the 20s and 30s racket scene as it was viewed by his contemporary New Yorkers. Of course there's ...
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Legs 12 reviews
William J. Kennedy
Penguin (Non-Classics), 1983
Prose reads like Chandler in the shower...
+ "All life is 9 : 5 against."
+ Better than Puzo
+ An amusing glimpse into the gangser-lifestyle.
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Mafia Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the Gambino Crime Family 38 reviews
John H. Davis
HarperTorch, 1994
A work Italian -Americans can be proud of.
+ John Gotti
+ Informative View of NYC Mob
+ pretty good
+ Gambino Crime Family - Explained!
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Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga (Modern Library)113 reviews
Hunter S. Thompson
Modern Library, 1999
Hells Angels: a hard to find modern classic.
+ Hunter at his best
+ One of the greatest writers of all time
+ Top Notch
+ Gripping portrait of the counter-counterculture
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Goombata: The Improbable Rise and Fall of John Gotti and His Gang7 reviews
John Cummings, Ernest Volkman
Avon, 1992
goombata
not the best book i have read but not the worst.despite the book being flawed because it finishes before the final prossecution. it does offer a few good chapters and also throws down some opinions that s contradicted by other sources.like who did whack his body gaurd near the end of the book.some ...
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Underboss: Sammy the Bull Gravano's Story of Life in the Mafia 126 reviews
Peter Maas, 1999
Classic "Gangland" expose.
+ ANOTHER MOB HIT...
+ HELL , WOULDN'T YOU RAT!?
+ Great for Mafia fans
+ the bull
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Tongs, Gangs, and Triads: Chinese Crime Groups in North America5 reviews
Peter L Huston
AuthorHouse, 2001
A Reader
+ Author's Comments
+ In depth study of Chinese gang activity in North America
A fine tome and welcome addition to a poorly researched field. I have personally met one fellow who was once part of a Chinese criminal gang, and Huston's book meshes well with that account. The book does primarily focus upon the history and orientation of the regional concept (organized ...
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Hollywood's Celebrity Gangster: The Incredible Life and Times of Mickey Cohen 7 reviews
Brad Lewis
Enigma Books, 2007
Terrific book on the life of Mickey Cohen
+ A Neon Life
+ HOLLYWOOD'S -REAL LITTLE CAESAR!
+ Mickey Cohen the Gangster
+ Couldn't Put It Down - Real Page Turner
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The Valachi Papers19 reviews
Peter Maas
Harper Paperbacks, 2003
BADABING...BADABOOM...
+ Small time Joe tells a big time story.
+ Great Reading, Mafia Buff!!
+ History at its best
+ THE CURTAIN RISES
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Capone10 reviews
John Kobler
Da Capo Press, 1992
THIS BOOK WAS GREAT!!!!!
+ Delivers with the Punch of a Machine Gun!
+ Alphose Capone
+ The definitive Capone
+ Big Al was the MAN!
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The Man Who Invented Las Vegas6 reviews
III, W. R. Wilkerson
Ciro's Books, 2000
A fascinating blend of Las Vegas history and biography.
+ Great Book! Vegas History from a New Point of View
+ A GAMBLER GONE GOOD...FINALLY
+ A Top Notch Read
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Meyer Lansky: The Shadowy Exploits Of New York's Master Manipulator (Amazing Stories)2 reviews
Art Montague
Altitude Publishing (Canada), 2005
The Godfather of the Lottery
+ Nice Job
Meyer Lansky was a genius who happened to be a criminal. He is the inventor of the forerunner to today's lottery. He was declared a criminal and we use the same system today claiming that it helps pay for education. Personally, I find his greed refreshing.
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Inside the Crips: Life Inside L.A.'s Most Notorious Gang23 reviews
Colton Simpson, Ann Pearlman
St. Martin's Griffin, 2006
Outside looking in!
+ Inside The Crips
+ Inside The Crips
I read "Inside the Crips" when it was released and am ordering another copy because I keep sharing the one I have. Not to be compared with "Monster" in any way, it stands alone. The finale of the book includes the scene at Inglewood Cemetery. As it draws to a close, you are present with the ...
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Rothstein : The Life, Times, and Murder of the Criminal Genius Who Fixed the 1919 World Series (1919 World)11 reviews
David Pietrusza, 2004
Fantastic, historical read!
+ Goes beyond "the fix"
+ The man behind an empire!
+ Enigmatic man
+ Solid work on an amazing man
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Tough Guys Don't Dance 18 reviews
Norman Mailer
Ballantine Books, 1985
Tough Guys Don't Dance
+ Mailer's genre novel
+ Mailer's Brilliant Pot Boiler
"Tough Guys Don't Dance" is a haunting, brooding tour de force. Mailer's observational skills and psychological depth are hard to match. Tim Madden is equal parts anti-hero and anti-protagonist. Fitting in with Mailer's niche as journalism as fiction( i.e. "Armies of the Night"), Madden is ...
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The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight: A Novel6 reviews
Jimmy Breslin
Back Bay Books, 1997
Funny Because It's So True - Breslin's Comic Masterpeice
+ Esmo the driver, who was driving...
+ If Fredo Corleone Headed His Own Family....
+ Funny and insightful as hell
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The Last Godfather: The Rise and Fall of Joey Massino (Berkley True Crime)15 reviews
Simon Crittle
Berkley, 2006
book to read
+ BYE BYE JOEY
+ Excellent reading
+ The Boss sings an encore and brings the house down
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Wiseguy106 reviews
Nicholas Pileggi
Pocket, 1990
An Engrossing Book About a Despicable Mobster
+ MOVIE STRIAGHT FROM BOOK
+ Awesome
+ Filling out the GoodFellas story
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The Purple Gang: Organized Crime in Detroit 1910-1945 (Gangsters and Rum Runners)14 reviews
Paul Kavieff
Barricade Books, 2000
The Purple Gang of Detroit
+ Purple Gang
+ And purple they were...
As another reviewer pointed out, this is an important book because it is the only book on the Purple Gang. How this gang has escaped serious study is beyond me. Growing up in the Detroit area their name has popped up over the years many many times, as some oldtimer recollects or a house that once ...
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Murder, Inc.: The Story Of The Syndicate21 reviews
Burton B. Turkus, Sid Feder
Da Capo Press, 2003
The Canary That Couldn't Fly
+ A fine collection of crime stories
+ Good reading.
+ One of the first
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