Good Books on American Gangsterism - Any suggestions?
Silhouette Man
The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,845MI6 Agent
Do any members here have any good suggestions on good books on American gangsterism at all? I'm particularly interested in the time period of the 1920s to the 1960s, and how it all links in with the novels of Ian Fleming.
I'd be very grateful to hear all of our recommendations here on AJB...
I'd be very grateful to hear all of our recommendations here on AJB...
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
Comments
There are a number of books on Al Capone. it's important to separate our gangsters of the 1920s and 1930s to separate them from just common outlaws like Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde and the Barker Gang.
The Valachi Papers by Peter Maas is excellent...
'Just because nobody complains doesn't mean all parachutes are perfect.'- Benny Hill (1924-1992)
Although Sicilians and Neopolitans ran the Mafia, many Irish, Jews, Greeks, Lebanese and Syrians made it to the top ranks..
Two other books I've read:
Gangs of St. Louis: Men of Respect by Daniel Waugh
A History of St. Louis Gangsters: A Chronology of Mob Activity on Both Sides of the River Ranging from the Egan Rats to the Last Mob Leader on Record by John Auble
'Just because nobody complains doesn't mean all parachutes are perfect.'- Benny Hill (1924-1992)
'Just because nobody complains doesn't mean all parachutes are perfect.'- Benny Hill (1924-1992)
Hey, that sounds just like the Drax's Gambit scene from Ian Fleming's Moonraker, but as they say, "Truth is stranger than fiction." -{
"Leave the gun, take the canoli,,,"
'Just because nobody complains doesn't mean all parachutes are perfect.'- Benny Hill (1924-1992)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3yon2GyoiM
Sicilian Mafia being deflated.
Interesting connection - you could probably write a few books just on that very theme alone. Doubtless, though, someone already has!
Down in Tennessee where I'm from we had a peculiar type war with the KKK and the Mob fighting over bootleg rights...if you read the book Walking Tall, that is essentially what Buford Pussar got caught between...he lost. The book shades the truth quite often, so don't take it as gospel....
E.H. "Boss" Crump of Memphis often used the Mob to his advantage...and theirs...
'Just because nobody complains doesn't mean all parachutes are perfect.'- Benny Hill (1924-1992)
You seem to have much personal knowledge - did you ever consider writing any of these stories down as a possible book, Ammo08?
I'm also sure I heard the adults in my family talking about them.
Do ya'll get the American TV show Justified in the UK? It has I think the best view of the modern mob; Southern and Midwestern accents, living in smaller towns and not flashing too much money and always having to be careful. Many changed their family names over the decades to sound less foreign...they're still there, just being more careful. They are often integrated into the communities; their kids go to school there, the wife works, maybe they are in the Chamber of Commerce,,,they attract a lot less attention that way.
A book I read recently on the mob is Kill The Irishman, it has also been made into a really good movie with Christopher Walken. You can't put the book down once you start reading it.
'Just because nobody complains doesn't mean all parachutes are perfect.'- Benny Hill (1924-1992)