Paddy Whacked

The Untold Story of the Irish American Gangster

By: T. J. English

Narrated by: David Colacci

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)

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.

One of the best mob books ever!!

incredibly written and narrated, the story was absolutely captivating! The weaving in and out of different crews in different cities was fantastic!

Amazing Narrator, Fantastic and Thrilling History

I can’t say anything bad about this book. The way the author kept my attention was phenomenal. A lot of non-fiction books that I listen to slog on—not this one! I was hooked start to finish.

The narrator is so dang good. True story: I was listening to this audiobook at the dentist’s office (I have a phobia of needles/injections) and my dentist allowed me to play this audiobook to distract me from what he was doing and there were times the narrator cracked us up with some of the deliveries of the book’s many witty one-liner commentaries. And after just an hour of listening to this book (and I was in the middle of it!), my dentist went “well sh*t, that was so interesting I’m gonna go home, buy it and download it tonight.” Best time I’ve ever had at the dentist. EVER.

I sometimes forgot I was listening to a non-fiction history book about Irish gangsters. It was a blast. I also really appreciated how it touched on Irish history and how connected it was to the Irish American experience. If you want to learn about the Irish mob and the colorful characters that made it what it was, run, don’t walk!

Lots of detai on lots of gangsters

Great stories told greatly. TJ English gives great information in great detail. Will have to listen to again to get all the details right because there was just so much information.

Mind blowing

Amazing read. The book shed light on much of the craziness of my childhood in NYC. Highly recommend it for anyone interested in learning more about the influence the Irish have had and have on the American culture.