Tag Archives: crime

Terror, Extortion, Revenge, Murder and The Birth of the American Mafia

Posted on July 8, 2019 by

The First Family: Terror, Extortion, Revenge, Murder, and the Birth of the American Mafia © 2009 Mike Dash 416 pages Although Prohibition is generally blamed for the rapid growth of the Mafia,   First Family demonstrates that America’s  mob problem began … Continue reading →

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The Thinking Man’s Gangster

Posted on June 28, 2019 by

Meyer Lansky: The Thinking Man’s GangsterRevised and expanded reprint of Little Man: The Gangster Life of Meyer Lanksy 457 pages© 2019 Robert Lacey There’s no such thing as a lucky gambler. There’s only winners and losers, and the winners are the … Continue reading →

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American Detective

Posted on June 22, 2019 by

American Detective: Behind the Scenes of Famous Criminal Investigations© 2018  Thomas Reppetto312 pages I’ve been playing through L.A. Noire lately, and its use of real-life crime (the Black Dahlia case)  prompted me to look for anything written about it. American … Continue reading →

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Ghost in the Wires

Posted on February 9, 2019 by

Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker© 2011 Kevin Mitnick, William Simon. Forward by The Woz.393 pages CYBERPUNK introduced me to the story of Kevin Mitnick, a teenage phone phreaker turned celebrity hacker,  who boasted that … Continue reading →

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Flying high in rockets and opiods

Posted on December 31, 2018 by

Well, folks, Christmas is over, and so is 2018 — almost.  Below are the final comments or reviews for 2018: Dreamland and Rocket Girls,   two very different histories. One is inspiring, the other….so very not. First up, Rocket Girls!  Call to … Continue reading →

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The Looming Tower

Posted on September 28, 2018 by

The Looming Tower: Al-Queda and the Road to 9/11 © 2006 Lawrence Wright 480 pages “[…] we’re told that they were zealots, fueled by religious fervor…religious fervor. And if you live to be a thousand years old, will that make … Continue reading →

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Inside the mind of a thief

Posted on August 5, 2018 by

This is a related video for A Burglar’s Guide to the City. It’s an interview between a Plano City police officer and a three-time offender (Michael Durden) about his experience breaking into homes.  According to the interview,  Duren was a ‘thief’ … Continue reading →

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