Tag Archives: Mafia

COVID Reviews #6 Cleaning Up with gangsters, Navajo, politicians, and so many Germans

Posted on October 20, 2020 by smellincoffee

Back in September and early October when I was under quarantine, I didn’t have computer access, so I couldn’t take many notes or write reviews when things were fresh on my mind. I tried to post comments intermittently, but some … Continue reading →

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

Posted on July 8, 2019 by smellincoffee

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 smellincoffee

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 smellincoffee

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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Wiseguy

Posted on September 4, 2014 by smellincoffee

Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family © 1986 Nicholas Pileggi, Henry Hill 256 pages How does a boy from a nice family grow up to be a gangster? Well, it helps to live across the street from a mob-owned cab … Continue reading →

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Covert

Posted on August 13, 2011 by smellincoffee

Covert: My Years Infiltrating the Mob© 2008 Bob Delaney, Dave Scheiber288 pages In the early 1970s, a young and promising New Jersey State Trooper named Bob Delaney was asked to join Project Alpha, a joint police-FBI undercover project intending to … Continue reading →

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Boss of Bosses

Posted on June 17, 2009 by smellincoffee

Boss of Bosses — the Fall of the Godfather: the FBI and Paul Castellano © 1991 Joseph F. O’Brien and Andris Kurins 364 pages A number of years ago I had a considerable interest in the Mafia, from an adolescent … Continue reading →

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