Street Soldier

My Life as an Enforcer for Whitey Bulger and the Boston Irish Mob

De: Edward MacKenzie Jr., Phyllis Karas

Narrado por: Matthias N Bossi

For decades the FBI let James ''Whitey'' Bulger get away with murder, allowing him continued control of his criminal enterprise in exchange for information. He went on the lam in 1995, after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, 2011 followed top-ranked Osama bin Laden on the FBI'''s Ten Most Wanted List, and then was captured in Santa Monica, California weeks after Bin Laden's demise.

Edward J. MacKenzie, Jr. was a drug dealer and enforcer who would do just about anything for Bulger. In this compelling eyewitness account, Eddie Mac delivers the goods on his one-time boss and on such former associates as Stephen ''The Rifleman'' Flemmi and turncoat FBI agent John Connolly.

Street Soldier is also a story of the search for family, for acceptance, for respect, loyalty, and love. Abandoned by his parents at the age of four, Mackenzie became a ward of the state, suffered physical and sexual abuse, and eventually drifted into Bulger's orbit.

The Eddie Mac who emerges in these pages is complex: An enforcer who was also a national kick-boxing champion; a womanizer who fought for custody of his daughters; a kid never given much of a chance who went on, as an adult, to earn a college degree in three years; a man who lived by a strict code of loyalty but also helped set up a sting operation that would net one of the largest hauls of cocaine ever seized.

Street Soldier is as disturbing and fascinating as a crime scene, as heart-stopping as a bar fight, and at times as darkly comic as Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction or Martin Scorsese's Good Fellas.

Actor/Producer/Writer Peter Facinelli (The Twilight Saga Films, Nurse Jackie) announced within days of Bulger's arrest – that he has secured funding and a script for a movie adaptation of Street Soldier, which he optioned nine months earlier.

©2003 Edward J. MacKenzie Jr. and Phyllis Karas (P)2011 steerforth press llc

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Eddie MacKenzie's graphic account of his life as a violent street criminal in South Boston is almost unspeakably brutal, coldblooded, ruthless, merciless, callous, cruel - and fascinating. Reading it is like happening upon a street crime and entering the perpetrator's mind.” (John W. Dean in the New York Times Book Review)

“An almost unbeatable insider's account of the mob.”( Library Journal)

“MacKenzie is the first ‘predator' (his description) from the murderous Irish mob in Boston to come forward without an indictment hanging over his head and attempt to tell the ugly truth about an organized crime group that plagued Boston for much of the past 30 years.” (Jonathan Wells in the Boston Herald)

Interesting self-justification

Informative if you can get passed the self-justification of violence and predation. You certainly get an understanding of his perspective.

Brutal, honest, unforgettable

I just finished reading Street Soldier, and I’m honestly still sitting with it. It was powerful, and I really did love it, but I wouldn’t call it an “enjoyable” read exactly — more like something you experience and carry with you. Some chapters were really hard to get through emotionally. It’s heavy stuff.

There was one line that stopped me cold:

“I had inflicted pain on a loser sorrier than me.”
That just says so much. The way Eddie describes hurting someone lower than himself, in a world where pain is survival, really captures the bleak reality he came from. It’s messed up, but it’s also deeply real.

What stood out to me was how honest he is. He doesn’t sugarcoat anything or shift the blame. Yes, he talks about his trauma and the abuse he went through, but he also admits that others with similar stories made better choices — and that he didn’t. That kind of honesty matters.

I’ve seen reviews calling Eddie self-centered or saying he’s just blaming his past — but I think that misses the point. He does acknowledge that others have gone through similar abuse and made better choices. But what hit me even harder was how he shows the range of what that kind of suffering leads to. Not everyone turns to crime, no — but many end up suffering in different ways for the rest of their lives. Some turn to drugs. Some end up in abusive relationships. Some just stop valuing themselves entirely. The book makes it clear: trauma doesn’t have one outcome — it manifests in a thousand different, painful ways. And the people who cause that trauma, who abuse and destroy, leave damage that ripples through lives in ways most of us don’t see. This story isn’t about excusing bad behavior — it’s about showing how deep the roots of that behavior go, and how hard it is to grow out of that soil.

Eddie’s voice in the book feels raw and pained — not polished, not filtered. There’s some pride there, sure, but also a lot of shame. That mix made it feel real. I don’t think everything in the book is told exactly as it happened — there are probably moments where things were tightened up or shaped a bit for storytelling. But I do believe the heart of it is true, especially the important parts. There were times I felt for him, and other times I was floored by what he’d done — but I never got the sense he was trying to manipulate the reader. Just tell the truth as best he could, in the way it made sense to him.

I found myself hoping he really has changed. I’d absolutely read more from him, especially if he wrote about Whitey Bulger’s capture, prison years, and death. I’d also love to know how Eddie’s life has gone since this book came out. Did the transformation stick? Is he still on the path?

This isn’t the kind of book I’d recommend to just anyone. You’ve got to be ready for it. But if you’re from Boston, if the Whitey saga interests you, or if you want a first-hand look at what it’s like to grow up with no safety net and no mercy, this is worth your time.

There’s even a strange, almost morbid humor in some moments — not because they’re funny in any normal sense, but because of how absurd and raw life gets when everything is survival. At one point, after getting shot in the head, a guy actually turns around and yells, “What the f** are you punching me in the back of the head for?!”* You’re sitting there thinking, what kind of world even is this? And yet, for Eddie and the people around him, that was the world. One where bullets fly, but misunderstandings still happen — and sometimes the second shot is the one that actually lands. It’s horrifying, but it’s real.

If I could talk to Eddie now, I’d ask:
Are your daughters doing okay? Do they know everything? Has it brought you closer or pushed you apart? And just being real — did any part of the book get tweaked for drama, or is it all exactly as it happened?

Because it feels like truth. And it’s going to stay with me for a long time.

Great book. Loved the stories and narrator

Loved Bossi as a narrator. His heavy Irish Boston accent made you feel like you were right there in Southie with him and seeing first hand what happened. I love all of the stories he told. I would say the only negative to the book is the amount of names and dates he references while telling his story. He also talks fast so while I enjoyed hsi narrating style, it did make it tough at times to remember who he was talking about. It was very easy to get a lot of Whitey's associates and enforcers mixed up. Other than that I highly recommend this book. Loved it!

Mathias Bossi is the Boss! Wow!

OK, this book is interesting. Another mob has-been cashing-in on his life of crime. Tawdry at times but apparently brutally honest, which I liked.

What I really loved about this audiobook was the narrator! He is simply marvelous! It was like having the gangster himself telling me his story!

The accent, the speed of his delivery, everything was fantastic.

The story is good, kinda crazy, and Bossi's narration makes this book a must-have!

I loved it!

Underwhelming, overdone

The best part of this audiobook is the narration -- Bossi has an authentic, South Boston voice which is entertaining in its own right and clearly necessary for the subject matter.

The book itself has some enjoyable bits, but overall the narrative moves too quickly, with too many anecdotes and flourishes. It seems as if MacKenzie might be embellishing some of his stories, and even if he isn't, they're often so outlandish that the reader needs more context in order to believe him.

great book

it seemed very authentic. was a great journey through the criminal world. plus the fine line between crime and law. good and bad.

very intense view of life in South Boston

I loved it! story of rise to power and the down fall of an enforcer. you have got to listen to it.

Great book

Easy to follow if you’re a local, it’s all the details and very honest. Eddie Mac was even honest about the worst details of his life and others that are hard to speak about.

Very Entertaining

Having grown up in Boston and being familiar with all the locations and much of the background stories it felt really familiar to me. Will it win a Pulitzer, no I'm sure it won't but how many do.
It was a very deep and personal story of a kid who grew up and lived most of his life in the wrong side of the tracks.
I enjoyed it start to finish.

Amazing

If you could sum up Street Soldier in three words, what would they be?

exciting, entertaining, sad

Who was your favorite character and why?

Edward MacKenzie Jr, because he is very honest with how he felt/feels about the crimes he has done.

What does Matthias N Bossi bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

This is the first book i have heard Matthias N Bossi narrate but i really found his voice calling me back to the book each time.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yeah were he starts fighting for the welbeen of his daughters, having gone through the same thing i could feel his pain and angrier been helpless in that moment.

Any additional comments?

All round good book and a insight into a world that most of us would never see nor want to be in. Its honest and funny at times but its also very deep. Well worth the listen thats for sure and i highly recommend it.