Organized crime Books

Book SynopsisMaster story teller Marc Mappen applies a generational perspective to the gangsters of the Prohibition era - men born in the quarter century span from 1880 to 1905 - who came to power with the Eighteenth Amendment. Mappen strips way the many myths and legends from television and movies to describe the lives these gangsters lived and the battles they fought.Trade Review"Marc Mappen proves an adept storyteller as he takes readers beyond 'Boardwalk Empire.' Mappen spins some good yarns about the gangsters, dominated by New Yorkers, whose rise was triggered by the 18th Amendment, which took effect in 1920, and who proved that, at times, crime not only pays, but pays very well." -- Sam Roberts * The New York Times *"Prohibition created an enormous economic opportunity for a generation of young criminals. As chronicled by Marc Mappen, the true, violent, and extravagant lives of these men make dramatizations like Boardwalk Empire look tame by comparison. A must -read for anyone interested in the origins of organized crime in America." -- Nicholas Gage * author of The Mafia is Not an Equal Opportunity Employer *"Kudos to Marc Mappen for producing so riveting a study about a generation of gangland mobsters who used National Prohibition to grab lots of money and petty power for themselves. A big winner of a book about a bunch of lousy looting losers. . . . Fascinating reading. Highly recommended!" -- James Kirby Martin * co-author of Drinking in America: A History, 1620-1980 *"A well researched, historical overview of the major Prohibition era gangsters. These men became the founding fathers of modern organized crime." -- Paul R. Kavieff * author of Detroit's Infamous Purple Gang *"Given its subject matter, a book about the Prohibition gangsters should be a fascinating and exciting read. Mappen does not disappoint. His fast-moving but authoritative narrative takes readers through the Prohibition years and beyond as he traces the careers of such underworld luminaries as John Torrio, Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Legs Diamond, and Dutch Schultz ... Mappen's book is a splendid introduction to the story of a generation of criminals who captured the American imagination." * The Journal of American Culture *"Mappen writes with the energy of a narrative historian. Mappen far outstrips his fellow crime writers ... describing mob activity in smaller U.S. cities. Chicago and New York have been examined enough, so Mappen turns his eye on the Purple Gang of Detroit, the Pendergast machine in Kansas City, and the bootleg wars of Cleveland." * Philadelphia Review of Books *"Mappen explores the most notorious crimes, the bloody violence, the cities that hosted crime syndicates, and the colorful cast of characters who gained notoriety by their associations with the mob. His approach helps to illuminate the generational rivalries, the ethnic animosities, and the strange allegiances and frequent betrayals that characterized mob activity in this period ... An entertaining read and suitable for a broad audience." * The Historian *"A colorful recounting of how the 18th Amendment, which forbade the sale of alcohol, gave rise to a generation of criminals." * Rutgers Magazine *"Marc Mappen proves an adept storyteller as he takes readers beyond 'Boardwalk Empire.' Mappen spins some good yarns about the gangsters, dominated by New Yorkers, whose rise was triggered by the 18th Amendment, which took effect in 1920, and who proved that, at times, crime not only pays, but pays very well." -- Sam Roberts * The New York Times *"Prohibition created an enormous economic opportunity for a generation of young criminals. As chronicled by Marc Mappen, the true, violent, and extravagant lives of these men make dramatizations like Boardwalk Empire look tame by comparison. A must -read for anyone interested in the origins of organized crime in America." -- Nicholas Gage * author of The Mafia is Not an Equal Opportunity Employer *"Kudos to Marc Mappen for producing so riveting a study about a generation of gangland mobsters who used National Prohibition to grab lots of money and petty power for themselves. A big winner of a book about a bunch of lousy looting losers. . . . Fascinating reading. Highly recommended!" -- James Kirby Martin * co-author of Drinking in America: A History, 1620-1980 *"A well researched, historical overview of the major Prohibition era gangsters. These men became the founding fathers of modern organized crime." -- Paul R. Kavieff * author of Detroit's Infamous Purple Gang *"Given its subject matter, a book about the Prohibition gangsters should be a fascinating and exciting read. Mappen does not disappoint. His fast-moving but authoritative narrative takes readers through the Prohibition years and beyond as he traces the careers of such underworld luminaries as John Torrio, Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Legs Diamond, and Dutch Schultz ... Mappen's book is a splendid introduction to the story of a generation of criminals who captured the American imagination." * The Journal of American Culture *"Mappen writes with the energy of a narrative historian. Mappen far outstrips his fellow crime writers ... describing mob activity in smaller U.S. cities. Chicago and New York have been examined enough, so Mappen turns his eye on the Purple Gang of Detroit, the Pendergast machine in Kansas City, and the bootleg wars of Cleveland." * Philadelphia Review of Books *"Mappen explores the most notorious crimes, the bloody violence, the cities that hosted crime syndicates, and the colorful cast of characters who gained notoriety by their associations with the mob. His approach helps to illuminate the generational rivalries, the ethnic animosities, and the strange allegiances and frequent betrayals that characterized mob activity in this period ... An entertaining read and suitable for a broad audience." * The Historian *"A colorful recounting of how the 18th Amendment, which forbade the sale of alcohol, gave rise to a generation of criminals." * Rutgers Magazine *Table of ContentsPrologue: The Bluebird Tattoo Part I. The Rise 1. The Big Fellow in the Windy City 2. Big Battles in the Big Apple 3. Smaller Cities Part II. Atlantic City Interlude 4. Gangsters in the Surf 5. The Conference as Comedy 6. Capone's Long Trip Home Part III. The Fall 7. The Twilight of the Gangster? 8. Pay Your Taxes 9. Lucky v. Dewey 10. Shot to Death 11. Lepke on the Hot Seat 12. For Them, Crime Did Pay Cast of Characters A Note on Sources Acknowledgments Notes Selected Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe basis of the Sundance TV series Gomorrah A New York Times Notable Book of the YearGomorrah is a bold and important work of investigative writing that holds global significance, one heroic young man''s impassioned story of a place under the rule of a murderous organization. A groundbreaking, unprecedented bestseller in Italy, Roberto Saviano''s insider account traces the decline of the city of Naples under the rule of the Camorra, an organized crime network more powerful and violent than the Mafia. The Camorra is an elaborate, international system dealing in drugs, high fashion, construction, and toxic waste, and its influence has entirely transformed life in Campania, the province surrounding Naples. Since seeing his first murder victim, at thirteen, Roberto Saviano has watched the changes in his home city. For Gomorrah, he disappeared into the Camorra and witnessed up close the drug cartel''s audacious, sop

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Book SynopsisFor the first time, legendary DEA operatives Steve Murphy and Javier F. Peña tell the true story of how they helped put an end to one of the world's most infamous narco-terrorists in Manhunters: How We Took Down Pablo Escobarthe subject of the hit Netflix series, Narcos.Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar's brutal Medellín Cartel was responsible for trafficking tons of cocaine to North America and Europe in the 1980s and '90s. The nation became a warzone as his sicarios mercilessly murdered thousands of peoplecompetitors, police, and civiliansto ensure he remained Colombia's reigning kingpin. With billions in personal income, Pablo Escobar bought off politicians and lawmen, and became a hero to poorer communities by building houses and sports centers. He was nearly untouchable despite the efforts of the Colombian National Police to bring him to justice.But Escobar was also one of America's most wanted, and the Drug Enforcement Administration

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Book SynopsisThe explosive true story of America''s most corrupt police unit, the Gun Trace Task Force (GTTF), which terrorized the city of Baltimore for half a decade. When Baltimore police sergeant Wayne Jenkins said he had a monster, he meant he had found a big-time drug dealerone that he wanted to rob. This is the story of Jenkins and the Gun Trace Task Force (GTTF), a super group of dirty detectives who exploited some of America's greatest problems: guns, drugs, toxic masculinity, and hypersegregation.In the upside-down world of the GTTF, cops were robbers and drug dealers were the perfect victims, because no one believed them. When the federal government finally arrested the GTTF for robbery and racketeering in 2017, the stories of victims began to come out, revealing a vast criminal enterprise operating within the Baltimore Police Department. Cops planted heroin to cover up a fatal crash that resulted from a botched robbery. They stole hundreds of thousands

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Book SynopsisIn this irreverent ode to gonzo journalism, one writer travels the globe to explore the use of recreational drugs in cultures around the world.After I got out of jail, I was determined to find out more about how the issue of drugs not only landed me there, but has shaped the entire world: wars, scandals, coups, revolutions. I read every book, watched every documentary. I saved up to buy plane tickets. I went to Colombia, Mexico, Russia, Italy, Japan and the Afghan borderall in all, fifteen countries across five continents.Call me Narco Polo.Just as Anthony Bourdain''s No Reservations did for the world of food, Dopeworld is an intoxicating journey into the world of drugs. From the cocaine farms in South America to the streets of Manila, Dopeworld traces the emergence of psychoactive substances and our intimate relationship with them. As a former drug dealer turned subversive scholar, with unparalleled access to drug lo

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Book SynopsisA New York Times Book Review Editors'' ChoiceWinner of the 2022 Colorado Book Award for General NonfictionWinner of the 2022 High Plains Book Award for Creative NonfictionNow the basis for an investigative documentary of the same name, award-winning journalist Julian Rubinstein''s The Holly presents a dramatic account of a shooting that shook a community to its core, with important implications for the future.On the last evening of summer in 2013, five shots rang out in a part of northeast Denver known as the Holly. Long a destination for African American families fleeing the Jim Crow South, the area had become an invisible city within a historically white metropolis. While shootings there weren't uncommon, the identity of the shooter that night came as a shock. Terrance Roberts was a revered anti-gang activist. His attempts to bring peace to his community had won the accolades of both his neighbors and the state's mo

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