• Paddy Whacked

  • The Untold Story of the Irish American Gangster
  • By: T. J. English
  • Narrated by: David Colacci
  • Length: 21 hrs and 10 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (573 ratings)

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Paddy Whacked  By  cover art

Paddy Whacked

By: T. J. English
Narrated by: David Colacci
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Publisher's summary

Here is the shocking true saga of the Irish American mob.

In Paddy Whacked, best-selling author and organized crime expert T. J. English brings to life nearly two centuries of Irish American gangsterism, which spawned such unforgettable characters as Mike "King Mike" McDonald, Chicago's subterranean godfather; Big Bill Dwyer, New York's most notorious rumrunner during Prohibition; Mickey Featherstone, troubled Vietnam vet turned Westies gang leader; and James "Whitey" Bulger, the ruthless and seemingly untouchable Southie legend. Stretching from the earliest New York and New Orleans street wars through decades of bootlegging scams, union strikes, gang wars, and FBI investigations, Paddy Whacked is a riveting tour de force that restores the Irish American gangster to his rightful preeminent place in our criminal history and penetrates to the heart of the American experience.

©2005 T. J. English (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

"This is an intense, erudite yet sometimes horrifying account of violent Celtic criminals who make the Dead End Kids look like choirboys." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about Paddy Whacked

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    5
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

First Half - 4 Stars - Second Half - 2 Stars

I am evidently one of the few people not fascinated by organized crime. I see nothing romantic about gangsters or their activities and think that celebrating it in writing just encourages people to emulate essentially ugly and violent people. Plus I typically find most stories about organized crime raciest and bigoted. If I came from one of the ethnic groups typically maligned in these books I would be insulted.

That said, this book was recommend to me primarily because the recommender thought it shared some Irish history I would find interesting. And I did. The first half of the book deals with Irish immigration to the US and some of the forces that led this group of immigrants to become disproportionately involved in organized crime - masquerading as politics. The author presented colorful characters that are often caricatured, as flesh and bone people.

The later half of the book deals with prohibition, the rise of the Italian organized crime families and more recent Irish criminals. I did not care for this half of the book

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

East coast gangland history.

If you enjoy history and gangland stories you will love this. From 'Gangs of New York' to Hoffa and Booger. It is all here. Especially with regard to Irish gangsters.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Bad. Really, really bad.

after chapter 8 this book becomes unbearably boring. I gave up around chapter 21. bummed I wasted my money.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Amazing

One of the best. Informational but captivating storyline which traces the Irish mob from its origin up to recent times

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Awesome book. T.J English is the man

David Colacci nailed it!! Irishman were tough bastard's, gritty to the core. Makes me want to research my roots.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Paddy Whacked

This was overall a great book full of fascinating facts on US underworld history. The only reason I did not give it full stars was it took a bit to get going and a tad long. But again, history is not always exciting, still a must have book.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

awesome story about the Irish mob

narration is really good and i learned a lot about the Irish and the history of the underworld in the U.S.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Love it!

Amazing how the story was told beginning with the early immigration throughout 2005. Highly recommend it.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Well Researcheand Reads Like A Crime Novel

This is the history of the Irish gangs in America. The author has well researched his topic and while there is ample details it is never boring. It reads more like a crime fictional novel but the events and characters are real. You wont be bored. T. J English does a great job at narration. I'm Irish and I really enjoyed this book.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Damn Brutal Dem Irish

great read/listen.
truly entertaining and informative.
Anyone interested in Irish, gang,or even just the history of crime over the last 150 years , will be educated in an entertaining way.


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1 person found this helpful