• Chin

  • The Life and Crimes of Mafia Boss Vincent Gigante
  • By: Larry McShane
  • Narrated by: Paul Costanzo
  • Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (255 ratings)

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Chin  By  cover art

Chin

By: Larry McShane
Narrated by: Paul Costanzo
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Publisher's summary

Vincent "Chin" Gigante.

He started out as a professional boxer - until he found his true calling as a ruthless contract killer. His doting mother's pet name for the boy evolved into his famous alias, "Chin", a nickname that struck fear throughout organized crime as he routinely ordered the murders of mobsters who violated the Mafia code.

Vincent Gigante was hand-picked by Vito Genovese to run the Genovese Family when Vito was sent to prison. Chin raked in more than $100 million for the Genovese Family, all while evading federal investigators. At the height of his power, he controlled an underworld empire of close to 300 made men.

And yet Vincent Gigante was, to all outside appearances, certifiably crazy. A serial psychiatric hospital outpatient, he wandered the streets of Greenwich Village in a ratty bathrobe and slippers. He urinated in public, played pinochle in storefronts, and hid a second family from his wife. On 22 occasions, he admitted himself to a mental hospital. It took nearly 30 years of endless psychiatric evaluations by a parade of puzzled doctors for federal authorities to finally bring him down.

©2016 Larry McShane (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Full of astonishment... A kind of dark wonder." (Pete Hamill, best-selling author)

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What listeners say about Chin

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Not as good as others

It's just kinda slow and more factually dulling. It's awesome facts but reads as a text book more than a story.

Overall great info to learn more or if your just getting started.

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5 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

Entertaining

I found this a good book although 5 families was a much better organized crime book in my opinion.

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4 people 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

Excellent book on the Chin

The first chapter is a big rough with them explaining he was crazy over and over again and made me almost want to stop. However once I got through that part is was extremely informative and very well read. It gave some insight into things I didn’t know or realize the correlation. Very highly recommended.

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4 people found this helpful

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

Not surprising a biography about a recluse sucks.

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

If you enjoy the fact he pretended to be crazy being repeated for about 10 hrs this is your book. The author should've pulled the plug a month into it (assuming it took longer than that) when we realized there was very little data about the subject. The only enjoyable parts were taken from other MUCH more interesting subjects Sammy Gravano and Phil Leonetti- both wrote MUCH MUCH better books.

My main complait it how little info is here. It's just repetitive and largely uninteresting.

Would you ever listen to anything by Larry McShane again?

Probably not.

Which character – as performed by Paul Costanzo – was your favorite?

The italian one.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Impatience.

Any additional comments?

Audible has a free audiobook the 'Mafia Prince' by Phil Leonetti that's great. Listen to that instead.

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4 people found this helpful

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

Good for a novice mafia student

This would be a good introduction to the New York mafia for someone with an interest but not much background information. If, like me, you've read more than a few books or seen a handful of mob documentaries, "Chin" will be largely a recap of stories frequently told elsewhere in literature and on the small screen.

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4 people found this helpful

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

Chin

struggle to maintain interest in the book never did finish it. Story is weak. Yeah

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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

Amazing book

Loved the narrator and the intel regarding the life of the Chin. I read several Mafia books and this is a must into anyone who loves the biography of bosses

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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

Grab it

Enjoyed book immensely. It is a must-read for any mafia aficionado. Interesting for cover to cover.

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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

Loved it!

The Chin is kind of a sad dude. because of his mental illness story the guy could basically never do anything fun or travel. no dinners out with the fam and friends. no vacations. no prize fights or football games. no nothing. basically never left his neighborhood. all so what? he could be a super rich mob boss that never did anything?

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

Very Difficult to "Get into"

Narrator Puts you to sleep rather then Keeping you interested in the story. I tried 4 different times to listen to this Book, and Can't get past the 7th Chapter.
it's like reading something that you have no interest in reading....Your mind wanders and thinks of other topics, before you know it, your lost and have no idea what's going on. They really Chose the wrong Narrator in my opinion.

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