Takedown

The Fall of the Last Mafia Empire

By: Rick Cowan, Douglas Century

Narrated by: Christopher Meloni

Seldom has the netherworld of the mafia been revealed with such fascinating detail and sheer suspense. Like the classics of the genre-from The Godfather to The French Connection toWise Guy-Takedown leads us to the inner ring of a conspiracy of corruption and terror that held the city in its grip for nearly fifty years.

Rick Cowan was a young NYPD detective in 1992 when he dropped by a Brooklyn waterfront warehouse to investigate a recent fire bombing-only one in a string of interviews he considered routine. But what he found there was far from routine, for it would take him on a five-year odyssey and nearly cost him his life. In fact, he had stumbled upon the lead of a lifetime-the suspicion that he might unearth the hard evidence police and federal agencies alike had been chasing for decades: the proof of collusion among the mob families to extort billions from the nation's most influential corporations that call New York their home.

Featuring eccentric, larger-than-life New York characters and an undercover cop on the brink of being discovered-and murdered-at every step, Takedown is a riveting real-life procedural and one of the most important investigative books of the season.©2002 RCR Enterprises Inc. and Century Literary Enterprises Inc.; (P)2002 Random House Inc., Random House Audio, a Division of Random House Inc.

Unbelievable

I did not want the book to end. How the author was able to keep his indenity from the Mob and bring down their control of the garbage and recycling industry in New York is an incredible story. The narriator does a great job of drawing the listener into the story that never slows down.
If you enjoy stories about organized crime this is a must.

Takedown

I kept reading other reviews about how great this book is, but I wasn't impressed. All these mob stories are pretty interesting anyway, but a much better book in this category is Iceman. Wow. Now THERE'S a story.
I would consider this a "starter mafia" look into the genre. Some people are surprised, though I don't know why, at the cruelty of violence, and the harsh language. I didn't feel this book had much (if any?) overt violence at all.

the detail of how the mafia behaves.

I liked the story. it was engaging and detailed. it helped you understand a dark world easily.

Raw and Real!

Having grown up in a city and amidst some irreputable characters, I certainly loved the realness and rawness of this audiobook. The crime aspect is entertaining enough, but the narration in that NY brogue makes you feel like you are living the story through the author's eyes. Get it - you will not be disappointed. Great mob vs. police stuff.

Great story

insane story. Great story telling. I struggled with the accent, wish the narrator was a New Yorker