5 comments about Boss of Bosses: The FBI and Paul Castellano.

1. From the start the 2 FBI agents,both of whom authored this book,seem to be apologetic towards Castellano about having to bug this criminal's house.When I read this I knew there was going to be some really gushy stuff and was I right (for once).The book has alot of info on Castellano's personal life.No body's in suitcases,nothing like that but more on the level of Hannah Arendt's "Banality of Evil".
   His life as the "top dog" of the Mafia pyramid,revolves around confusion over how to properly slice some loins of roast beef.As if this isn't crisis enough,then having to inflate himself while chasing a "golddigging" hispanic maid around his mansion,"Oh No Meester Paul".There is little in this book about Mafia goings on because Meester Paul is a few layers beyond where the bodies (and drug money) are flying.Castellano is enjoying his icing at the top with deep layers of deniability.If you're looking for a "Big Eddie sleeps with the fishes" you're in for a big dissappointment.More like a "Hey this damn#!&$# implant isn't working right".The FBI did a good job of making Castellano seem ridiculous,I can understand why they were so tongue in cheek apologetic.



2. This book covers the story of Paul Castellano, a weak boss of a very strong family. It shows a guy who shouldn't have been a boss, leading a group of killers who wanted to be boss. Also, it is a prime example of the cops abusing their eavesdropping privilages. I know the guy was a mob boss but they got all up in the man's business. I could have done without knowing so much about the live-in mistress. But this guy made a lot of bad moves toward the end of his reign.



3. This book purports to be the story behind the FBI's take down of big-time Gambino crime boss Paul Castellano. The authors, two ex-agents set themselves up as the heroes in this cops-and-robbers tale.
   
   It's too bad that the story ends up being an almost complete fabrication, because there's some truly entertaining "tales" told in this book. Forced to resign from the FBI, O'Brien and Kurins probably made more money from this sham of a book then they did in their crime fighting careers.
   
   Maybe they learned from the criminals they watched for so many years, eh?



4. I would've liked more behind the scenes mob information. The book focused too much from an FBI perspective. Also, I got a little tired of the agents giving the mob boss, Paul Castellano, so much respect and sympathy! At times it was like they felt sorry for the guy because they have to do their job and arrest him. Hello! The guy is a leader of the mob! These people lie, cheat, steal and kill for a living!!!



5. First off, I'd like to say that I appreciate the way the authors were to Paul Castellano. They weren't necessarily sympathetic, but they were respectful. Some people ask why respect a killer, many people kill for many different reasons, currently, many people are killing other people under the guise of war. They respected him as a human being, a flawed person like the rest of us and saw no need in treating him poorly which is bad tact for anyone of any stature. With all that aside, this is a great book into the inner workings of Cosa Nostra, it aptly shows the older members of the old ways and the ways in which they dealt with the world around them. It is very true that those ways are essentially gone. The book overall shows a human being that had risen to power and slowly loses his grasp on all that he obtained. It also shows the death of the old ways and a birth to a newer and less successful new age of Cosa Nostra. Salud, to the agents that showed genuine respect to another human being, regardless of his standing in life.

5 comments about Bound by Honor: A Mafioso's Story.

1. This is a well written, interesting read. If you are looking for the typical "mafia" book full of violence and the stereotypical, almost mythical, portrayal of mob leaders, this book is probably not for you. This book provides one man's insight (a man who writes from an insider perspective) into many important events in our recent history, including the JFK assassination.
   
   One of the other reviewers mentioned that a true "man of honor" is one "who goes to work everyday" and that Bonanno was not a man of honor. In response to that I would only say that there are many lawful jobs that are not honorable. Is it honorable to work for a big corporation that exploits men and women for cheap labor? The second point is that the Italians (along with other immigrants) suffered discrimination when they arrived to the U.S. and had to provide sustenance for their families in any way they could. Furthermore, they certainly did not have a monopoly on organized crime as other immigrant groups were also forced into that lifestyle in order to survive economically.
   
   Overall, I would say this is a very interesting read and is one of the more well written books on the subject of the mafia in general and the Bonanno family in particular.
   
   It would be naive to assume that Bonanno does not present events in a light that is favorable to his family, but everyone engages in this sort of thing. Moreover, anti-mafia books have also engaged in this sort of hyperbole, presenting mobsters as demons who are not even human and enjoy violence for its own sake. I'm sure the truth lies somewhere in the middle. One thing is certain, the mafia cannot be understood outside of the historical and cultural context that spawned it.



2. I'll keep it simple. The Bonnanos are the worst liars I've ever seen. Bill and Joe are trying to rewrite history, and it's getting pretty pathetic.



3. I have read nearly every book written about the Mafia, both good and bad. Let me say this: Bill Bonanno's book goes beyond bad. It's absolutely awful.
   
   The title itself, "Bound by Honor", is soaked in irony. Where is the honor in breaking the law, going to prison, living a lifestyle that includes trampling on the rights and lifestyles of other people?
   
   My own father truly was a Man of Honor. He got up everyday and went to work and made an honest living. He may not have gotten rich, but he never served a day in prison or lied to save his own skin. But Bonanno has done both. Where is the honor in that?
   
   As I read one of the book's passages about a gunfight that Bonnano was in, it struck me that his vision of that shootout was rooted more in stupidity than in danger.
   
   While Mafia books do interest me, the lifestyle itself disgusts me and makes me glad that I live a clean life.
   
   My biggest regret concerning Bonanno's book is that I spent money on it- even if it was on sale. It was a waste of money written by a blowhard who wasted a college education and probably put a good wife through hell. Some Man of Honor, that Bill Bonanno.
   
   So the bottom line is this: don't waste your money. His story isn't worth reading, he isn't worth respecting, and there isn't one scintilla of honor to be found in the activities of his family.



4. The book as such is an easy read and has some amusing stories, it is, however, filled with appearent contradictions and self promoting spins on most of the events.
   The writer is clearly unable to put is own life into perspective and believes he has done no wrong........but that the government is at fault for hunting down organised crime, mostly himself and his father (who is depicted as the role model mobster).
   The book is worth reading if the subject itself is of interest to you. For most readers it will become clear that the writer is a complete and total loser.



5. This book isn't about crime; it's about a broken heart. Like Michael Corleone, what Bonanno did to preserve his family destroyed it; like Corleone, once he got involved, he couldn't get out. This explains his fatalistic feeling that his role in life was preordained at birth.

   Contrary to other reviews here, Bonanno DOES give new details, like why Bugsy Seigal was killed and who the second shooter was in Dallas. His explanation of who killed the Kennedys and why is worth the price of the book. He shouldn't be expected to give details about his own capers, not only because this would be self-incriminating, but because he was a strategist, not a soldier or capo. He's a policy wonk of crime.

   He says the U.S. Government is the biggest mob around. If true, this not only justifies why Sicilians are as they are, but burdens the rest of us with a warning. Even if false, it indavertently supports his point that "the life" came to an end when those practicing it entered into a war of attrition with a foe more capable of maintaining it. Maybe greed wasn't to blame; maybe it was hubris.

   Even if the book is self-serving or written for profit, that it exists is omerta's epitaph. It demonstrates that action for its own sake can be as addictive as heroin and harder to shake. It restates two great truths--"whatever is taken by force must be maintained by force" and "force feeds on force." It also proves that two cultures can't exist in the same place at the same time; one absorbs the other or eliminates it. A war between the Mafia and America could end in only one way. Bonanno says that his father knew this; I believe him.

5 comments about The Baby Thief: The Untold Story of Georgia Tann, the Baby Seller Who Corrupted Adoption.

1. Georgia Tann ran an adoption agency from the 1920s until the 1950s. Supported by a corrupt government, she stole children from poor Memphians and sold them across the country to wealthy families. She ignored background checks and rated people by the amount of money they could pay her. As a result, children were torn from their mothers arms, sometimes right after their births, and many were placed in abusive families. Some tricked mothers never saw their children again. Raymond has a personal interest in the story as an adoptive mother herself, and her enthusiasm makes for a quick read. Her interviews with people who knew Tann and the people affected by her shady practices are excellent additions.
   
   Raymond does a good job of getting at as much information as she can, and this book is well researched. However, I would have liked to know a bit more about the celebrity cases involved. Christina Crawford is perhaps the most famous Georgia Tann adoptee; why wasn't she discussed? Was she stolen from her birth parents? Pamela Powell is also mentioned; Dick Powell threatened to fight if her birth parents tried to reclaim her. Whatever happened to that case?
   
   Overall, this is a good read and not just for people with a specific interest in adoption.



2. Excellent recollection of a horrible, horrible time in our so-called Democratic Society. I appreciate the efforts of the author and all who helped her. I wish Steven Speilberg would turn this into one of his epics. His Holocaust movie set in motion positive reactions, respect and awareness. Let's hope he can bring this to fruition. But more importantly-the research presented here and the stories told should affect our Elected Officials and our Supreme Court....they should OPEN ALL THE RECORDS sealed because of the manipulation of a criminal, evil woman and her corrupt support system. As an adoptee I want to know who I am-it is my constitutional right to know. To quote Alex Haley:"In all of us there is a hunger, marrow deep, to know our heritage, to know who we are, and where we have come from. Without this enriching knowledge, there is a hollow yearning; no matter what our attainments in life, there is the most disquieting loneliness." Alex Haley Thank you again Barbara-Bravo



3. A couple of years ago I watched a docudrama on A & E starring Mary Tyler Moore as the depraved monster Georgia Tann. When I searched for a book written about Georgia Tann and the Tennessee Children's Home Society, I found this one and read it in two days. It was riveting, thought-provoking, and heartbreaking. What a shame that her lies were not exposed years earlier when more of her victims may have had the opportunity to reunite with their loved ones. She and her cronies destroyed countless lives with their deceitful practices, and I hope that this book will create an awareness of people who prey on others so that history can never repeat itself in this way.



4. This book is a great read. It was very sad and tragic to read how one woman corrupted adoption which is the only means some people have of having a child of their own. It was also refreshing to see that some of the children who were illegally separated from their parents were later reunited with their families. This is a great non-fiction account of one aspect of corruption that sadly occured in our past and unfortunately still occurs.



5. In the beginning of her tale of *the Baby Thief: the Untold Story of Georgia Tann, the Baby Seller Who Corrupted Adoption,* author Barbara Bisantz Raymond concludes that 'Georgia Tann had won. And Tennesseans had helped her. The facts are depressing, and shortly after beginning my research, I became depressed too."
   Readers will likewise be very depressed, and then, hopefully, very angry. Angry enough to join BN (no - not that "other" Bookseller, I'm talking about B (rhymes with custard, and I'm pretty sure if I try to type it here, Amazon's censors will "gong" it) Nation (see their website) in the fight for basic civil and human rights of adult citizens who were adopted as children.
   Bisantz-Raymond's book details how and why, as a cover for her schemes and scams and crimes during her 26 year (1924- 1950) reign as North American impresario of Black market babies, Georgia Tann and her powerful cohorts and co-conspirators convinced other Powers That Be that these pilfered children, and all other legally or illegally adopted children, should forevermore be barred from accessing the simple facts that most people take for granted: "Who am I?" "Where did I come from?" "What is my family's medical history?" "Am I a walking/talking genetic time bomb?"
   The GT hang-over hangs on in the laws of almost every state in the United States.
   This reviewer frequently reviews books in the True Crime genre. This book is sickeningly and shockingly true, and recounts horrendous crimes of continuing victimization. Take some chill pills, read it, then write your legislators! /TundraVision, Amazon Reviewer.

5 comments about Bust: How I Gambled and Lost a Fortune, Brought Down a Bank--and Lived to Pay for It.

1. What an amazing story! This is one of those books you can't put down. Even if you don't gamble will find the book very interesting! When your setting in Jail I guess you can put A lot of effort into writing A great Book!



2. This book really captured my attention. I spent most of my time reading it with my mouth agape wondering what could possibly happen next. Adam's gambling exploits are so adroitly captured between these pages.
   
   It is really a study of how an addiction really gets you in its grip and doesn't let go. I applaud Adam's wife Meredith for sticking with him all this time. I find it hard to believe he had fooled her so completely.
   
   Adam finally hits bottom towards the end of the book after many narrow escapes along the way. I found myself rooting Adam on while at the same time hoping he gets what is coming to him for all his deceit.
   
   The sacrifice his wife Meredith makes at the end of the book ripped my heart out.
   
   This is a sensational book and I highly reccommend it to any and all inveterate gamblers out there.



3. I picked up this book after hearing about it on the radio of all places! The Talk Show host talked about the book with a sense of awe that anyone could do the things that Resnick did to feed his gambling habit. It is the sense of someone who is liable to the flash and celebrity associated with addition rather than the realities of broken families and broken lives.
   
   Bust is a good story and while the people are real, I would suggest that readers look at this as a piece of fiction -- really a tribute to the incredible hubris of a person who is addicted to the action. The books prose works at a quick clip, the stories are almost too cute and perfect for the subject.
   
   Resnick is an addict and in the book you get the sense that he has mentally internalized his problem, yet psychically he has not. In that regard it is a somewhat tragic tale until you realize that may be exactly what Resnick wants you to think.
   
   Recommended as a first person study of the destructive effect of addition and the fact that it is always there even when you recognize you have a problem.



4. This book is a very well-written book that provides good entertaining reading while attempting to at the same time to reach out to people and family members in the need of help (to show them how ugly things can get when gambling takes over your life).
   
   Hey "EyeInTheSky"? Do you have a life? Or do you just visit these postings daily and try to ridicule them out of angst, bitterness, and jealousy? You ridiculed Mr. Sanjay about being honest and telling it like it is; why don't you stop hiding behind your post-name and reveal your real name and insecurity as to your knowledge/involvement in Mr. Resnick's downfall?



5. This is supposed to be a self help book or a "cautionary tale" for gamblers and addicts looking to break the pattern. This book barely discusses the underlying causes for addiction and it reads (in my opinion) as a self serving and vile vehicle for the author, Adam Resnick to brag about his exploits (business, sexual, social) while offering no redeeming value to people with real problems. I would argue that this book makes James Frey's novel (which is clearly Mr. Resnick's model for this novel) look like a masterpiece in its' factual content.
   
   Mr. Resnick seems to have delusions of grandeur and used gambling to obtain friends, fame and wealth. All he really is is a simple conman that got caught trying to complete his latest scheme. This book is a continuance of that life long need for self importance exploiting peoples' lives to sell a few books in hopes of paying back an enormous debt to the innocent customers of a small community bank. I hope Mr. Resnick takes his long days ahead of him to think about what he's done to those that care about him because writing a book like this shows he still has not learned his lesson.

5 comments about A Criminal and An Irishman: The Inside Story of the Boston Mob - IRA Connection.

1. A Criminal and an Irishman is a terrific read, particularly for anyone interested in American connections to the defiance of British rule and oppression in Northern Ireland. Highly informative and entertaining, the novel also provides a great deal of excitement in its recounting of its anti-hero's adventures as a criminal and a gun runner for Irish freedom fighters. Pleasantly, it avoids glorifying crime, yet it does provide insight into why Pat Nee made the choices he did, as both a criminal and an Irishman. Further, it provides facts too often ignored in the US press about Britain's continuing atrocities against Nationalists and Catholics in Northern Ireland. Anyone who wants to know the truth about what goes on in that enemy-occupied country would do well to read this book.



2. This is the best book in its class. Nee is everything that Mac, Weeks, Shea aren't. He is truthful and honest. Nee's story puts it all into perspective and negates all the other fiction. Nee's story is the one that you want to hear about. Recounting the events of his life, that he remembers. The South Boston gang war chapter is outstanding, and the valhalla chapter is almost a "how to smuggle" for those of you interested. Nee's story is both moving and compelling, with his sentiment towards his brother and his belief in the IRA as opressed people. Nee's image of Whitey Bulger is outstanding. This is a definite good read. buy it.



3. This is a solidly wriiten book on criminal activity in Boston and arms smuggling to Ireland. The author pulls no punches about what he did and offers no apologies to the lifestyle he choose. You can either love or hate him but he seems to be a respectable guy from this book. The co-authors do a pretty good job putting his voice into a readable manner.



4. I had high hopes for this one, in light of the pros working with Nee. It just seemed to degenerate into a political polemic, however, about half way through; almost like two mini-books with stange pacing by the editor. Without trying to, I found myself mentally substituting "Al Qaeda" for IRA, trying unsuccessfully to differentiate in my mind why these guys were substantially different from middle eastern "freedom fighters". Left unexamined was the tragic way his family started him on his path in life, making him a really angry guy in general. Despite service in the USMC, he doesn't refer to himself as an American throughout most of the book. I really wish I could have liked this one more but I know plenty of guys like Nee who made better life choices.



5. You don't have to approve of the lifestyle choices of this thug to enjoy what is a great story. This is not really a morality tale per se although from the writer's warped perspective there is the redeeming aspect of the the whole in that Nee's passion was supporting the IRA terrorists by buying and shipping a huge magnitude of firearms for the "soldiers" to use to fight for their freedom. ( Great pains are taken to keep the arms dry so they are outfitted with plastic bags that the IRA soldiers store in the bogs ) A million dollars worth are shipped "free of charge" by the Boston irish patriots-I won't spoil all the fun for you readers. Whitey is only a supporting player in this particular shenanigans , but he does get artfully dissed which is a small pleasure... The bottom line is that all that honor and bravery aside,
   there was no small amount of criminal shake downs, thefts, and all sorts of nefarious doings that supported the criminals self and family , but then again- he never said he was a "good guy" !

5 comments about Bonnie and Clyde: A Twenty-First-Century Update.

1. I was a bit disappointed in this book, I have to admit. I was hoping to learn more about Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, who they were, what circumstances led them to life of crime, and so forth... I was expecting maybe some new never-before-seen photographs in this book, but I guess that's a lot to ask for people who lived 80 years ago. I am very interested in the Bonnie and Clyde story, and I have to rate this book good, but not great.



2. This is a nice condenced overview of Bonnie and Clyde. If you want a crash course or are just interested in the true story- start here.



3. This book has a lot of interesting information and tons of pictures. If you want to know anything about Bonnie and Clyde, it's all in this book.



4. I first became aware of Bonnie and Clyde after a frigid night's motorcycle ride to see Arthur Penn's 1967 movie. Except for buying a DVD thirty years later, I seldom thought of them. Then, last November, my wife and I visited Dexter and Stuart, Iowa. In April of 1934, a month before their deaths, Bonnie and Clyde, along with Henry Methvin, robbed the bank in Stuart. Ten months before, the Barrows had shot it out with a posse at Dexfield Park, north of Dexter. The site of an abandoned amusement park, Dexfield offered Bonnie and Clyde, along with the severely wounded Buck Barrow and his wife Blanche, temporary sanctuary following a shootout in Platte City, Missouri. Penn's movie placed the shootout in Platte City, Iowa, which doesn't exist, ignoring the long ride from the Kansas City area to western Iowa. It also ignored the fact that Buck lived several days after his head wound and actually died of pneumonia. Penn's characterization of Blanche as a screaming ninny isn't accurate, either, and it got him sued.
   
   Penn wasn't after history, but sensationalism. James R. Knight is after history. He is one of those wonderful people who recognize that everything is coming together and seizes the moment. Penn's movie was only the latest in a thirty-year sequence of stylized and mostly inaccurate portrayals of the lovers and their companions. It perhaps began with Jan Fortune's Fugitives, published a scant few months after the fatal ambush in Louisiana. It continued through books by several members of the posse who killed Bonnie and Clyde, and by former criminal companions. As many of the principals, including members of the Barrow and Parker families, aged, other writers began to interview them before it was too late. Given the opportunity to pull together their work with original research, James Knight acted.
   
   This book is the result.
   
   Perhaps only a person who doesn't depend on writing for his income could have done it. Knight, after all, is a pilot for Federal Express who just happens to be an excellent historian. His book shows meticulous patience, coupled with a desire to be what Fox news isn't, fair and balanced. For instance, he gives Fortune's oft-maligned piece credit for what it got right. Though he depends heavily (for the first few chapters) on the recollections of Marie Barrow Scoma, a teenager at the time of her brother's death, Knight sometimes argues, appropriately, with her recollections. After all, she could not have known all that her adult brother was up to. Knight understands that the Barrow and Parker families were far more complex, and far more involved in supporting their wayward kin, than has heretofore been obvious. The evidence has always been there, but Knight uses it broadly and well.
   
   The author is so careful to remain balanced, and to avoid the hysterical tone of previous books, that his prose sometimes seems bloodless. Nowhere is this more evident than in chapters 36 and 37. There, he recounts events around the May, 1934, ambush that killed Bonnie and Clyde. He is meticulous in describing the location and sequence of the wounds each received, the damage to their stolen Ford, and the behavior of members of the posse. It's important, though, because the ambush has so often been misinterpreted. I hope that in a future work Knight will greatly expand these chapters, taking a closer look at everything and everyone who contributed to the ambush and at the questions that still remain. Still, Knight corrects several misconceptions and downright errors fostered by the movie and by previous books. You won't know it, though, unless you read the extensive footnotes.
   
   Which brings me to the subject of how most to benefit from reading this 2003 work. I read it twice. The first time, I had a bookmark in the footnotes and flipped back and forth frequently. The second time, the bookmark was located in the first appendix. This allowed me to review a full history of each character as s/he surfaced in the text. As a result, I have a far better idea of "the story of Bonnie and Clyde" (to borrow the popular title of Bonnie's second poem) than I received on that winter night in 1967.
   
   For all of that, Knight neither whitewashes nor condemns Bonnie and Clyde. Rather, he recognizes the essential tragedy of their story. They lived on their own terms, but everyone paid a price. That they paid with their lives does not obscure the suffering inflicted on their families and on families left fatherless. At the same time, Clyde might have remained a relatively small-time crook (or made changes in his life similar to those accomplished by Ralph Fults) were it not for the brutality he experienced in the Texas prison system. The story of Bonnie and Clyde, then, is in some sense the story of human beings interacting with our surroundings--for good and for ill. I am writing this review two days after a confused and angry teenager murdered people in an Omaha mall. He did it with an assault rifle, at a time when gross inequalities again exist between Americans. Clyde used a 1930's version of that rifle, at a similar time. When will the American people demand gun control? And when will we insist on an end to national policies that lead to the creation of millions of poor people?



5. "Here they come down that dusty road, and muddy bend; Man and woman welded in crime, together they lived and together...they died. Who else could it be?; But good ol' Bonnie and Clyde!"
   
   The book entitled, "Bonnie and Clyde A Twenty-First-Century Update" by James R.Knight (with Jonahtan Davis )is... "A killer of a book!"
   
   This is a superbly written and researched book. James R. Knight is too young to have ridden along with them, at least in this life. However, his knowledge and interest in this gun toting couple makes me wonder, where he may have been in his last life time?
   
   His writing is informative, easy to read and follow, and...extremely descriptive. In addition, the book is a photographic library in itself!
   
   Sometimes, I could almost hear the heavy "barking" of Clyde's "BAR" and watch the black exhaust clouds rise from the tail pipe of his get-away, 1934 Ford sedan.
   
   Frank Hamer does not appear to be as powerful a figure as he was portrayed in the 1967 movie with Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty. Although, a central figure in orchestrating the couple's final demise, the initial credit seems to flow toward a little known figure of the ambush group listed as, Officer Prentis Oakley.
   
   Author, James Knight also gives the reader what Paul Harvey used to say on his radio program: "and now you know ... the rest of the story."
   Knight follows through with information on the fate of each actor who ever played any part on the stage of "Bonnie and Clyde."
   
   A great job Mr. Knight(and Mr. Davis)! When can we expect another publication???

5 comments about Confessions of a Yakuza: A Life in Japan's Underworld.

1. There is much to like about this book - it simply taking place in Japan, a culture so different than the United States, makes it interesting; another layer of interest is in the time frame, which begins in the early 1900s; and, of course, the most obvious twist of all is in its exploration of the organized crime syndicate, the Yakuza. It is important to have an account of the sort of life one would live under these circumstances in that far from the Hollywood presentation we've grown accustomed to, this tells the story very honestly and without much glamor. On the other hand, it is told in a retrospective, anecdotal fashion; as this is not a Yakuza boss's memoir but the story of a Yakuza boss's life as narrated to another, recorded on tape and transcribed to text, it loses much of the emotion and immediacy that it would have if told in the moment. Its being narrated to another presents us only with pieces of a larger picture, as well - Eiji's prison terms, military conscription and time spent as a night boatman, transporting people through the darkness, hidden from the eyes of the corrupt police force, for example, could have multiple chapters devoted to them, but instead we only get one or two of the most interesting anecdotes of each. The darker parts of the biography detailing murders and men selling their wives so as to keep up their gambling habits are disturbing but detached; one chapter ends with the sentence "It's pretty frightening, really, when you think about it...." which I think sums up the feeling pretty well - we shake our heads but do not feel truly disturbed, as we might if the story were presented in a different voice. Though the editor's note explains that he removed some of the more confusing and tedious parts, I doubt that this would alter the feeling that we are simply getting a few glimpses at a much larger picture. Another gripe is that some of the humor gets lost in translation, and when someone tries to make a joke, simply the way it is phrased ruins it. For example, the gambler Tsukada Saburo tells him, "Well, making things is just my line - I can even make babies with other men's wives! - and this was a cinch for me." I'm sure that you get the idea. But that is a small flaw, and the book as a whole, while not being entirely enveloping or emotionally gripping, is still very interesting and enjoyable, and worth a read for sure.



2. A great way to look into the yakuza world and not have Hollywood mucking it up. I recently did some research on the yakuza and out of all the books I read, this one was by far one of the best. Even though he's kind of recounting tales to this doctor, the story is still very involved and engrossing. A great read!



3. it is a great book that combines history and the orginazied crime family that played a large part of many people's lives. It is an insider view of a world that very few knows exists.



4. Somehow, I thought this would be some blood drenched melodrama, and along the way I would learn a thing or two about the Yakuza way.
   
   But this book was far more subtle and deeply real. It is clear that in the old days, a good Yakuza boss keep a low profile and maintained good connections with his community. All of this is very subtly and carefully portrayed. Many times, it is his careful and diplomatic efforts that yield some of the best results.
   
   And yet, his story is underscored by how he lived outside of society often times. On top of all this, it conveys a time in Japan long ago, and did so very graphically.
   
   All in all, an very good book.



5. It may sound odd that I use the word honor in the context of a gangster which is exactly what the yakuza were and are, but the man profiled here is completely old school in all its best connotations. Essentially, the background concerns a very old man about to die who tells his story to the random doctor who happens to examine him. The interviews are conducted over a series of weeks and they occur at the yakuza's home. To say that he lived in interesting times is definitely an understatement. Most of the action occurs before World War II, and, in those days, being a yakuza meant only running gambling houses. To do anything else was beneath them. One can see why the police were rather tolerant in regards to their general operations in light of this eventuality. The man described here eventually became the head of a local branch of the brotherhood, but the stories of his rise and his ever-so-complicated interactions with women were what most impressed this reviewer. This was a pretty fantastic read, and its value is all the greater should you be rather ignorant about Japan (as was the case with this reviewer).

5 comments about Street Soldier: My Life as an Enforcer for Whitey Bulger and the Boston Irish Mob.

1. There are far too many ways that our world produces guys like Eddie Mackenzie. Born to parents who were too young, wild and restless to be good caregivers, he was thrust into foster home, where abuse and neglect were more the rule than the exception. It was all but inevitable that he would grow up seething with rage and a thirst for revenge. Mackenzie's Southie upbringing brought him into contact with the kill-or-be-killed mentality that propelled him toward brawling and martial arts -- used for self-protection as well as for unleashing his inner demons -- then into crime and drugs and finally into the icy grip of killer Whitey Bulger.
   
   Mackenzie's story is fascinating and horrifying. Every page brims over with tales of fights, beatings, narrow escapes and strategic surrenders. The picture Mackenzie paints of the hyper-tough poverty-stricken neighborhoods of Southie are repulsively fascinating. The nuances and subtleties of the code of "honor" -- rat to save your skin, but never on your friends -- is worthy of a Shakespearean plot.
   
   Mackenzie's story overlaps with that of the MacDonald family, unforgettably penned by Michael Patrick MacDonald in "All Souls." No surprise: Mackenzie and the MacDonalds were pals during the same volatile period. In fact, readers of both books will recognize a few of the same incidents. But while MacDonald's family was decimated by the drugs and violence Bulger brought to the neighborhood, Mackenzie thrived -- selling drugs, doing enforcement duty for Whitey and reaping the rewards (booze, girls and respect) that flowed from his ties to the mobster.
   
   "Street Soldier" is a quick, exciting and full of violent action. Sometimes, it seems that "Eddie Mack" revels too much, even in hindsight, in the mayhem he created. The almost sexual pleasure he gets from feeling a bone break under his hands is disturbing. For those with lesser reservoirs of hatred and rage than the author, we will be glad we were not born into his cauldron of barely civilized violence. Mackenzie's book is also an act of courage. He names many, many names and ties Bulger and his associates to innumerable murders, tortures and drug deals. His motive, as the reader will quickly discover, is revenge over the discovery that Bulger, the ultimate enforcer of the neighborhood code of silence, himself broke it repeatedly to save his own skin.
   
   Mackenzie is a tough and scary guy, though with a soft side. He dearly loves his daughters and tries hard to elevate himself from his hoodlum past. His book is at once a memoir of a life gone terribly awry, a documentary of the criminal behavior (his own and others) that afflicted Southie in the last 30 years, and an indictment of the authorities, notably the FBI, that for their own reasons allowed the killing, drugging and violence to continue without letup. An honest, eye-opening and disturbing book.



2. I might be wrong but John "red" Shea lasted 12 years without saying a word. The guy who wrote this book sold out and ratted. Can someone correct me if im wrong, I read Rat Bastards by Shea twice.



3. I'm an Irish-Catholic guy in his 40's who grew up in Boston in the late 60's and 70's. I've read Streeet Soldier and Brutal several times each, and I personally believe much more of what Eddie Mac has to say about the "real" Whitey, as opposed to the relatively reverant tone in which Weeks still speaks of Whitey. Sure, Eddie Mac and Weeks are both equally dangerous sociopaths, and will surely go to Hell (assuming it exists) for all the evil they inflicted on their fellow human beings over the years. Having said that, Weeks still seems to be loyal to Whitey, and probably knows exactly where he is hiding out these days. For that reason, I don't believe a word he says when he defends Whitey against allegations that he was a rapist, a child molester, etc. Eddie Mac definitely gives the reader more insight into what Whitey was really like...and isn't that why we all read these books, anyway?



4. Better than the Kevin Weeks expose, and far grittier than the journalistic looks at the Bulger gang, this one takes the cake for depravity with readable writing to make it go down like acid. As Mob tales go, the Boston version is more blue collar, but every bit as riveting as insider looks at the best of the New York gangs. The early section on the author's depraved and deprived childhood is particularly chilling. If only these guys had been so literary back when they were actually gangsters, maybe they wouldn't have gotten into so much trouble.



5. After reading this you get a sence that these guys have more brains then LA gang memebers.
   Who are basically just playing the roll.
   Street soilder is exactly what he says he is.
   Solider in a street of reality.
   Ups and Downs from childhood to grownup.
   Much better then anything you can pick up on California gang culture.

5 comments about Mob Star: The Story of John Gotti.

1. This book was accurate and for someone who is intrested and enjoys reading about John Gotti this is a great book for you to read. A little dragged out in some areas such as the Trials but very interesting. I enjoyed reading this book very much, as i believe you will as well



2. When I picked this book up I thought I would get a nice history of Gotti. That was true to some extent but the majority of the book was devoted to the trials. If you are a lawyer or someone who is interested in that sort of thing then this book is for you. If you want a good read then pick up the Capeci book on Gotti,that is top of the line! You can also read this if you are having problems sleeping....



3. John Gotti started out as a nobody from Queens,New York, who would later become the biggest know name in the mafia today. After he assassinated Paul Castellano, the boss of the Gambino family John started to climb his way up in the mafia life.Through out the book the authors go into great detail about John and the family. John was always a fan of the press and media, he wanted his name to be know to all. That was also exactly what happend. John was the most feared man in New York for most of the 80's and the early 90's. After gettin extreamly popular the FBI and RICO started to fallow him and bug his hidouts and homes. In the mid 90's John and his two main men Sammy and Frankie were arrested and sentenced to life in prison.After that the Gambino family fell apart.

   The book Mob Star was thrilling and exciting. After reading the first chapter it was hard not to put this book down. The way the authors go into great detail about what is going on and how it happens, you feel like you were in the same room with john at every moment.Mob Star is a very fast reading book,only because you can not wait to see what John Gotti gets into next.I would recomend this book to anyone who likes the Mafia or just wants to read an excilent book.




4. John Gotti started out as a nobody from Queens,New York, who would later become the biggest know name in the mafia today. After he assassinated Paul Castellano, the boss of the Gambino family John started to climb his way up in the mafia life.Through out the book the authors go into great detail about John and the family. John was always a fan of the press and media, he wanted his name to be know to all. That was also exactly what happend. John was the most feared man in New York for most of the 80's and the early 90's. After gettin extreamly popular the FBI and RICO started to fallow him and bug his hidouts and homes. In the mid 90's John and his two main men Sammy and Frankie were arrested and sentenced to life in prison.After that the Gambino family fell apart.

   The book Mob Star was thrillin and exciting. After reading the first chapter it was hard not to put this book down. The way the authors go into great detail about what is going on and how it happens, you feel like you were in the same room with john at every moment.Mob Star is a very fast reading book,only because you can not wait to see what John Gotti gets into next.I would recomend this book to anyone who likes the Mafia or just wants to read an excilent book.




5. The book is a one sided story told by a man who is "obsessed" with John Gotti. Full of news reports that could be fact or fiction. This author has made a ton of money off the Gotti name and continues to do so. He will not let go, we know $$$ motivates him, we know the name GOTTI sells/promotes his web site, articles, and books, but could there be more to the relentless vendetta he has against JOHN GOTTI or is it in Italians themsleves. A dirty little secret?? The rumor is Jerry Capeci uses a pen name, and in fact he is of "irish" ethincity by birth. Could he have a hiddin agenda which motivates his writings of Italian Americans negative light????? Let us know Mr.Capeci!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5 comments about Boss Tweed: The Rise and Fall of the Corrupt Pol Who Conceived the Soul of Modern New York.

1. William M. Tweed didn't exactly invent voter fraud, patronage jobs, and grafting, but he made those shameful New York mainstays yield greater gains than ever before. In "Boss Tweed: The Rise and Fall of the Corrupt Pol Who Conceived the Soul of Modern New York", Kenneth Ackerman revisits the dark side of the Gilded Age, a time when robber barons and shady financiers like Jim Fisk and Jay Gould hatched plots that nearly demolished the U.S. economy, such as Black Friday 1869.
   
   `Boss' Tweed's own underhanded bill-padding nearly bankrupted the city of New York, but unlike Fisk or Gould, he served the public while stealing from it. Recognizing that the influx of Irish and other European immigrants represented a tidal wave of voters, Tweed championed the working class and the poor, and turned Tammany into a semi-official welfare organization. He succeeded in accomplishing home rule for the City of New York and backed the development of Central Park and other beautification projects. But this appealing veneer was a smokescreen for his abuse of public funds, vendettas against political rivals, and gratuitous awarding of expensive `no show' jobs to friends. One especially flagrant abuse was the construction of the `Tweed Courthouse', which was budgeted in 1858 at $250,000 and ended up costing $12 million, with the surplus being pocketed by Tweed and other agents of the Tammany machine. It took the combined effort of New York Times owner George Jones, iconic cartoonist Thomas Nast, and future governor Samuel Tilden to expose him and put him behind bars.
   
   Ackerman has handled Tweed's story well. He resists the temptation to portray his subject as "Santa Claus with a diamond pin" as one contemporary dubbed the cagey politician, but doesn't dismiss him as a total villain either. "Boss Tweed" is a balanced look at an era when New York's political arena was a circus, and the corpulent Tweed was its ringmaster.



2. Riveting, powerful biography of the life and times of Boss Tweed. Somehow this relentless recitation of the rise and fall of a politician both modernly generous and corrupt captures the spirit of the man and his contemporaries with humor and compassion. Couldn't put it down.



3. The story of Boss Tweed, one of the greatest political swindlers of all time, and how the New York Times and a cartoonist named Thomas Nast brought him down makes for a real page-turner of a book.
   
   This book is illustrated with many of Nast's cartoons and excepts from the Times (including the table showing the routing of money through various bank accounts--discovered through painstaking researxch and tracing of money and vouchers across many accounts and ledgers--which was the astounding smoking gun that finally did Tweed in) giving the reader a real feel for the story.
   
   Fascinating to see the man in all his complexity, he may have swindled millions from the New York coffers (at a time when you could live in comfortable affluence on around $5,000 a year) but he was also responsible for a great many public works, including the Brooklyn Bridge, and for helping the poor of his city.
   
   Those in power over his arrest and confinement don't acquit themselves with honours either making Tweed's tale even more morally complex, especially as none of his co-conspiritors were ever jailed. An interesting man living in interesting times.



4. Great book for those who love New York History. Or US history for that matter. From Sheriff of NYC to the White House! This book is an eye opener on how corrupt politics were and currently are.
   
   Question: Can this or does this still happen?



5. William Tweed needed a book written about him. It is interesting to see how the city used to be run and how much more difficult it is to be corrupt today compared to then. Tweed changed america with his ways and I liked the fact the author points out in many ways he was the fall guy for many others.