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The Good Rat
- A True Story
- Narrated by: Richard Davidson
- Length: 6 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Release date: 01-22-08
- Language: English
- Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.
- Whispersync for Voice-ready
Regular price: $20.97
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Mark Galeotti is the go-to expert on organized crime in Russia, consulted by governments and police around the world. Now, Western listeners can explore the fascinating history of the vory v zakone, a group that has survived and thrived amid the changes brought on by Stalinism, the Cold War, the Afghan War, and the end of the Soviet experiment.
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Genovese, Gambino, Bonnano, Colombo, and Lucchese. For decades these Five Families ruled New York and built the American Mafia (or Cosa Nostra) into an underworld empire. Today, the Mafia is an endangered species, battered and beleaguered by aggressive investigators, incompetent leadership, betrayals, and generational changes that produced violent, unreliable leaders and recruits.
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7326451
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I Heard You Paint Houses
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"I heard you paint houses" are the first words Jimmy Hoffa ever spoke to Frank "the Irishman" Sheeran. To paint a house is to kill a man. The paint is the blood that splatters on the walls and floors. In the course of nearly five years of recorded interviews Frank Sheeran confessed to Charles Brandt that he handled more than 25 hits for the mob, and for his friend Hoffa.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Don't give up!
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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.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Amazing
- By Jeremy Williams on 07-10-16
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Family Secrets
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- Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 30
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 30
Even in Chicago, a city steeped in mob history and legend, the Family Secrets case was a true spectacle when it made it to court in 2007. A top mob boss, a reputed consigliere, and other high-profile members of the Chicago Outfit were accused in a total of 18 gangland killings, revealing organized crime's ruthless grip on the city throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Painting a vivid picture of murder, courtroom drama, family loyalties and disloyalties, journalist Jeff Coen accurately portrays the Chicago Outfit's cold-blooded killers.
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5 out of 5 stars
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good story tons of detail
- By Amazon Customer on 06-16-18
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Garden State Gangland
- The Rise of the Mob in New Jersey
- By: Scott M. Deitche
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 19
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 17
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Story4 out of 5 stars 17
The Mafia in the United States might be a shadow of its former self, but in the New York/New Jersey metro area, there are still wise guys and wannabes working scams, extorting businesses, running gambling, selling drugs, and branching out into white collar crimes. And they are continuing a tradition that's over 100 years old. Some of the most powerful mobsters on a national level were from New Jersey, and they spread their tentacles down to Florida, across the Atlantic, and out to California.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Cringeworthy mispronunciation of Italian names
- By Stef on 04-04-18
Publisher's Summary
Jimmy Breslin can sniff out a story like he can sniff out a rat. Here, he tells a lifetime of anecdotes in his inimitable New York voice, giving us a view through the keyhole of the people and places that define the Mafia: characters like Sammy the Bull, the original snitch; Gaspipe Casso, named for his weapon of choice; and hangouts like Pep McGuire's, the legendary watering hole where reporters and gangsters (all hailing from the same working-class neighborhoods) rubbed elbows and traded stories.
But best of all, Breslin captures the moments in which the Mafia was made and broken. Breslin was there the night John Gotti celebrated his acquittal, for example, having bribed his way to innocence.
In The Good Rat, Breslin brings together the most recent, most memorable, and the long forgotten stories to create a sharp-eyed portrait of the mob as it lived and breathed, as it sounded and survived.
Critic Reviews
"[Breslin is] the city's steadiest and most accurate chronicler." (The Village Voice)
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 08-12-10
What the !?
Being a fan of mob books I thought I would try this one. It took me two attempts to finish it. It seems to be wandering memories of Mr. Breslin. It jumps around telling seemingly unconnected stories. Don't expect too much from this one.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
- Brian Cole
- 02-23-08
Not so good of a rat
I am fascinated by stories about the mafia. However this book is long winded and not fascinating at all. The author laments the death of the mafia and glorifies these guys at times. I liked 'Mob: Stories of Death and Betrayal from Organized Crime' much much better. If you want to hear stories about the kinds of things these guys did without praising them or getting the feeling the author misses them, look elsewhere.
10 of 11 people found this review helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
- Mark C Flynn
- 07-23-10
Interestin Topic
I am extremely interested in Mafia stories. I have a feeling the actual book would have made more sense with page breaks and punctuation, but as it sounds it was a tribute to ADD. The story was all over the place. It had some cohesion with the Burton Kaplan story, but honestly, the lack of organization made it less enjoyable.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Howard
- 03-01-08
Very Good Rat
Who on earth would give this totally fascinating and compelling listen a one? Someone with some kind of moral agenda no doubt. Excellent!
5 of 9 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- LoveAmazon
- 10-26-17
Crazy how I use to see these guys grownup
Crazy how I use to see these guys grownup and to hear there story's truly makes me understand New York was a special place. There's something's you learn in New York that are priceless grownup.