True Crime Books

Written so the layman can understand it. Very good reading.

This book is awesome! Great detail of each autopsy. Marlilyn Monroe, & JFK autopsy details are amazing! Easy read, you never want to put this book down!

At last, a book based on professional forensic evidence on the Scott Peterson case. This perspective, coupled with the book, Presumed Guilty, by Matt Dalton, create for me a more level-headed portrayal of facts, painting a clearer picture for the truth. Wecht's one piece of evidence for me, is the caffeine found in the toxicology test from Laci's autopsy. I have learned elsewhere, that Laci did not drink caffeine during her pregnancy. She clearly left her home alive, then, and was not drugged by Scott, as the prosecution suggested. She most likely was forced to drink caffeine under duress, suggesting the likelihood of an abduction. I do believe Scott will win his freedom, with a chance for a fairer trial.

Dr. Cyril Wecht is one of the most sought-after forensic pathologists in the world: his expertise lends to providing proof that runs counter to popular opinion and his scientific expertise reads well for lay readers fascinated by true crime investigations. TALES FROM THE MORGUE: FORENSIC ANSWERS TO NINE FAMOUS CASES tackles high-profile cases from Scott Peterson's murder of his wife and unborn child to the assassination of President Kennedy and the death of Marilyn Monroe. Dr. Wecht reveals methods, evidence, trials, and pathology techniques in a lively discourse which reads like a thrilling murder mystery of nine famous cases. Fascinating reading and a lively writing style lend to TALES FROM THE MORGUE 's appeal to a wide general-interest audience.

This book is not particularly well-written. It's somewhat cobbled-together, a Frankenstein creation of mismatched parts.

And here and there the reasoning doesn't seem sound. For example, Dr. Wecht's summary feeling that Scott Peterson was unfairly convicted of killing his wife and unborn son isn't sensible. He is basing his objection on the fact that all the evidence against Peterson was circumstantial. Well, but given the weight of that evidence...

Then in his chapter on the accidental shooting committed by Johnny Gammage, basketball player, Wecht quotes the forensic testimony he gave on the stand. This testimony is garbled and contradictory. Wecht couldn't have been of much help to the attorneys for whom he was testifying.

Again, in his analysis of the 1985 crash of the military plane Arrow Jet 950 in Newfoundland, Wecht seems to overlook a key possibility. He takes issue with the official conclusion that the crash occurred because of inadequate plane de-icing, and that the fire that engulfed the plane only occurred after impact. Wecht thinks the condition of the dead passengers and crew belie this conclusion, because he found smoke in some of the victims' lungs. Wecht's own theory is that it's likelier some sort of explosion (possibly even a terrorist bomb) rocked the plane in mid-air, causing an in-flight fire. But finding smoke in victims' lungs could also mean that some of the passengers survived a few moments after the crash and inhaled smoke from the fire that did in fact occur only after impact - couldn't it?

Some better chapters follow, but by this time I was growing leery of Wecht's interpretations. So even though he presents an interesting, concise account of the Kennedy assassination, I don't quite trust his dissenting conclusion about it, especially since the majority of his peers reviewing recently released material come to opposite conclusions. However his theory sounds correct.

Similarly his chapter on Marilyn Monroe's death sounds as if it could be the final word on the subject. His unsensational theory about her cause of death should quash all the lurid, teasing TV speculations that periodically get aired. But even here, Wecht undermines an otherwise good analysis. He sees fit to gratuitously interject the fact that Marilyn Monroe wasn't his "type," that he prefers "cool brunettes." Informing us of his taste in woman while he contemplates Monroe's stomach and colon contents, makes him sound like the ultimate jerk. He perpetrates one final indignity on Monroe.

But there is value in reading about these different cases on which Wecht says he consulted. You'll get summaries of the facts of each case. And you will learn how much of forensics is art rather than science. You'll come to better distinguish the dramatized certitudes of the CSI series from real life, where there are often as many different opinions about the cause of a crime as there are forensic scientists working on the case.

As I read Murder in the Brown Palace, I found myself muttering again and again, "What were they thinking?" This ill-starred love quadrangle: Isabel and John Springer, Frank Henwood, and "Tony" von Phul - through incredible naiveté or lack of common sense - could only have ended in tragedy. The author sticks to the meticulously researched facts and resists "filling in" or extrapolating when the historical record is silent or lost. The attorneys, the judges and the old Brown Palace herself have riveting roles that might seem outrageous today, but maybe not when compared to the shenanigans of the O.J. Simpson trial. And to think all of this happened in Denver at a time when she thought she had outgrown her wild frontier reputation. Not so!

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

With the seemingly disproportionate amount of salacious news stemming from Colorado over the past few years (see CU, JonBenet, Columbine, AFA, Kobe...), each with their corresponding legal and journalistic blunders, it's perhaps equal parts refreshing and frustrating to know that this isn't new. Denver Post columnist Dick Kreck paints a rich and detailed picture of the `scene' in Denver and the West during the otts and teens of the last century. That scene included media obsession with scandal, a rouge legal system, DA improprieties, criminal celebrity, right wing 'values' politics, adultery, murder, money.... Sound like that could be the otts of this century in Colorado?

This is a great read, and Kreck has left no stone unturned in his quest for accuracy and detail. Anyone interested in knowing what Denver was like 100 years ago, and in many ways how we got to where we are today, should read this book- or just anyone who loves good murder mystery or courtroom drama!

i found this book intresting. it shows a side of denver that is not seen sometimes. this book gives a look at a man who believe he was innocent and tries with two trials to prove it and recieves a unthinkable twist when he recieves a worse sentence. this book is wonderful for anyone intrested in colorado and murders.

Senior columnist Dick Kreck is a journalist with the Denver Post. He has also worked with the San Francisco Examiner and the Los Angeles Times. He has two previous books to his credit, Colorado's Scenic Railroads and Denver in Flames.

Murder at the Brown Palace chronicles one of the most famous high society murders of the twentieth century. The Brown Palace is one of Denver's grand old hotels, and the principals of the case were all of a free-wheeling social set. In the middle, and probably the cause of the murder was Isabelle Springer, who was married to would-be politician and wealthy Denver businessman John W. Springer. Not content to be a proper social wife, the narcissistic Isabelle enticed two men, and then set up a showdown which ended in two tragic deaths. Unfortunately for Frank Henwood, the killer, Denver was trying to gain a dignified reputation and had no sympathy for the cause of the shooting:

"That the said Sylvester L. von Phul came to his death by gunshot wounds having been fired by Frank H. Henwood in the City and Country of Denver in the state of Colorado about 11:35 p.m. on Wednesday, May 24, 1911, in the barroom of the Brown Palace Hotel at Seventeenth and Broadway; and we further find the said Sylvester L. von Phul died at St. Luke's Hospital about 11:30 a.m. May 25, 1911, and we further find that said shots were fired with felonious intent."

Dick Kreck, no doubt, went to great lengths to reenact the events leading up to the shooting. Although he presents the facts in an impartial vein, Frank Henwood was obviously led on by Isabelle Springer, as was Sylvester L. von Phul. The irony of the situation is that neither man really wanted to murder the other...but both men acted and reacted passionately to create a chain of events from which both of their lives, and two innocent bystanders' would be ruined. Kreck gives a wonderful historical overview of the politics at that time which would prove to be rigid and unforgiving towards Henwood. Another twist to the story is that John W. Springer really did not blame Henwood for what happened, although the public was not as forgiving. Kreck not only is a dogged historian, but he is faithful to the attitudes and trends of the time, giving the reader a unique perspective on this woeful tale. An excellent read!

Shelley Glodowski
Reviewer

Colosimo is the reason Torrio and Capone came to be. This generally footnoted Chicago boss is finally brought to the forefront where he belongs. No one better to do so than a man who actually bucked the mob on many occaisions himself. Art Bilek brings the era back to life with Colosimo's humble beginnings, his rise to power and his eventual downfall.
A must have for anyone who follows early Chicago gangdom.

Mario Gomes
Myalcaponemuseum.com

The First Vice Lord: Big Jim Colosimo and the Ladies of the Levee is the thoroughly researched biography of mobster Big Jim Colosimo, and how he ruled Chicago's notorious segregated red-light district. Jim Colosimo was an Italian immigrant who grew up in Chicago's tenements; he rose from sweeping streets to operating a brothel to earning the title of vice lord. The First Vice Lord is a true crime story not for the faint of heart, as it tells of the most brutal excesses of the prostitution trade - luring women from across the nation with false promises of good jobs or other perks and effectively enslaving them into years of sexual violence for profit. Corruption within Chicago was endemic; the efforts of reformers to end white slavery and close down the red-light brothels was only gradually successful. Big Jim Colosimo would see the virtual end of the Levee's days as a red-light district, and scale back his operations significantly, yet his ultimate downfall came not from the law, but from his rivals - he was gunned down in middle age, most likely through the machinations of a rival mobster. A fascinating account that lay readers and Chicago history scholars alike will surely appreciate.

My tendency to either skim books or proofread them (from early magazine days) has finally encountered one from former Cook County police chief Art Bilek that I can't put down: The First Vice Lord (Big Jim Colosimo and the Ladies of the Levee), by Arthur J. Bilek (Cumberland House).

This is a masterpiece of writing and excruciatingly accurate research that describes how Big Jim Colosimo rose from a lowly street-sweeper to the most prominent operator of whorehouses, gambling joints, and low-life restaurants in the days leading up to Prohibition, with the collusion of the police and politicians and the managerial skills of John Torrio and Al Capone. When his increasingly notorious Colosimo's Café combined with his growing desire for respectability, love for a young songbird, and failure to exploit the opportunities afforded by Prohibition, Torrio (we must presume) had him murdered in the vestibule of his elegant restaurant in 1920--and the band marched on.
Nowhere has Chicago's graft and corruption been so carefully and entertainingly documented, with special attention to the backgrounds of Torrio and Capone, who worked hard to weld the new and competing bootlegging gangs into the greatest illicit booze empire the country has ever known--one that did not factionalize into Chicago's bloody Beer Wars that began with the killing of North Side mob-leader Dean O'Banion four years later. My own work has concentrated on the years following Prohibition, so I'm especially happy to report that Bilek's book explains what made the Roaring Twenties possible.

I've been looking forward to this book since the day I learned that Art Bilek intended to do a biography of Big Jim Colosimo. Colosimo was Chicago's first Italian crime lord, a distinction that the less informed have bestowed upon Al Capone. Those with only a passing knowledge of Chicago's organized crime history are not aware that years before Capone's machine gunners decimated his challengers, Big Jim Colosimo headed a vice trust with nationwide connections, enjoyed political alliances that rendered him immune to anything but cursory arrests, and hobnobbed with socialites and entertainers at his famous cafe.

Bilek has done a marvelous job of reconstructing Colosimo's life story, beginning with his humble birth in Colosimi, Italy, progressing through his days as a padrone, precinct captain for First Ward Aldermen Mike Kenna and John Coughlin, brothel operator and vice trust magnate, and ending with his assassination in the vestibule of his celebrated nightclub, Colosimo's Cafe. His profitable marriage to madam Victoria Moresco, his fatal alliance with lily-white singer Dale Winter, and his relationship with his protege from New York, Johnny Torrio, inject tones of betrayal and tragedy that make the book read in parts like a gripping novel.

Bilek also traces the rise and fall of the Levee, Chicago's primary red light district, which brought wealth to Colosimo and the crooked cops and politicians who protected him in exchange for a piece of the pie. It was also an international embarrassment for the city, and routinely targeted by evangelists, reformers, and civic betterment committees. When a second deputy police superintendent was appointed to head a 'Morals Squad', a battle of wills began between the morals men and the establishment that favored segregated vice. There were shootouts in the streets, informers were murdered, and Chicago's reputation as a modern-day Gomorrah worsened. When the Levee was finally 'closed' in 1912, Colosimo and his advisor, Torrio, began opening roadhouse brothels outside the city, to cater to pleasure-loving motorists. They corrupted village governments in the process, and spread what had formerly been a contained evil.

"The First Vice Lord" does not disappoint. Bilek successfully demonstrates that were it not for Big Jim, there would probably never have been a Big Al. Well done.

I've been gathering research on early 20th century organized crime in Chicago myself, and can say without fear of contradiction that this is the definitive work on James Colosimo. Art Bilek, with the assistance of researchers like Michael E. Schiltz and Prof. John Binder, has compiled everything there is to know about Big Jim in a factual way, clearing up some of the myths that have been spread about him. There are a few typos and some minor problems that could have been cleared up with better editing, but nothing that would prevent me from giving this book five stars.

A book that generates suspense (without trying) you can't put it down. The author covers every angle of the Black Dahlia files and beyond. Not only readers understand the facts about the case, but how the newspaper industry works, and how the LAPD works, how Las Vegas come about, and how the world operates in real life in the 1940s.

The writing was simple, yet intriguing; honest with authenticity in the author's narratives. Good collection of photos of good quality prints, and the word prints are large, easy to read.

First half of the book described about the murder and the victim, her life, her associations, etc... The last half is about the bigger picture about life in the 1940s, and how the world operates, and how all the bits of the puzzle fit in, how Elizabeth Short's murder exposed the world we lived in - in Los Angeles in "the dark alley of the 1940s"

I was not familiar with the author before reading this book, and was surprised how much I enjoyed his writing techniques. His theory about the Black Dahlia's murder is applausible.

Highly recommended to anyone who are into mystery, thrillers, nostalgia of the 1940s.

As a long-time researcher of the Black Dahlia case I have read everything that is published and a ton of unpublished work about the crime, the victim and the many hypotheses on the case. This book will give you a deep look into the Los Angeles arena in which the victim lived and died. You will learn about the mob scene in 1940's Los Angeles and be able to come to a few of your own conclusions about what may have happened on that fateful day in January 1947. As a research tool, it is indispensable and will surely help me in my endeavors.

Elizabeth Short - May you rest in peace.

All I can say is wow. If you bought this book and bought into its theory, you've been had.

Dahlia buffs should not buy this book. Why? It adds nothing new to the case (nothing new that is credible anyway). All Wolfe does in this highly fictionalized piece of garbage is quote John Gilmore's Severed, the original highly fictionalized piece of garbage on this case.

And as for the title, how misleading is that? Let me count the ways:
1. The Mogul. There is probably all of two mentions of Norman Chandler throughout the entire book, neither backed up with any evidence linking him to Beth Short, The Black Dahlia.
2. The Mob. Well, there is a lot about the mob in this book (entire chapters even), but again no evidence linking Siegel and Co. to Beth Short.

All in all Wolfe's theory makes for a fascinating "What if?" scenario about how and why Beth was brutally murdered, but unfortunately he chose to sell it as a Non-Fiction True Crime work - which it most definitely is not.

If you are new to the Dahlia case, you should not buy this book. Instead, read Steve Hodel's Black Dahlia Avenger as an introduction to the story of Beth Short and her murder. Though Mr. Hodel has many vocal critics of his theory, he is about a gazillion times more competent a researcher than Wolfe (maybe it helps that he was a police office and cares about things like, say, evidence?). Also, it is clear that he believes in and is passionate about his theory, whereas Mr. Wolfe (ha! what a fitting last name) was just trying to make a quick buck off of a sensational yarn about a tragic, unsolved murder.

The most macabre murder in LA occurred in January, 1947. The murdered person was Elizabeth Short. Elizabeth was a raven headed beauty from Medoford, Mass. Her murder has been the subject of countless media articles; films and tons of books. As of this date her murder is still offically unsolved. The case is cold and what really happened to this tragic lost soul is still the subject of heated debate among Dahlia buffs.
Into this mix add the new book "The Black Dahlia Files" by native Angeleno Donald H. Wolfe. Wolfe was a young man at the time of the murder. He injects into his narrative his feelings at the time of the horrific murder. He also, more importantly, has given a very plausible scenario for the perpetrators of the foul homicide.
Wolfe concludes that:
a. Elizabeth was murdered in a mob hit by the infamous Bugsy Siegel who was having a turf war for the vice trade in LA with a longtime mafia opponent, Bugsy had accomplices including an abortion doctor who severed the young beauty's body in two.
b. Elizabeth was likely pregnant at the time of her murder. Wolfe speculates that the father was Norman Chandler the owner/publisher of the LA Times who was in cahoots with the corrupt LA police department in covering up various nefarious activities in Los Angeles.
The book is profusely illustated with coroner's inquest testimony; pictures of the chief characters in the sleazy drama and includes a thick bibliography. Wolfe has done his homework. His theory is plausible to this reviewer. This is one of the better tomes on the Black Dahlia murder. It will keep you turning pages.

Well, I was really really undecided whether to get the fictional version of Black Dahlia or this book. Then I figured, I wanted to read about facts. So, I chose this book instead but it was a disappointment. Not much about Black Dahlia but all these other stories about Bugsy, etc. It was interesting to find out about the LAPD, corruptions, and the newspaper companies at that time but all I really wanted was the story about Black Dahlia. So there, I thought Mr. Wolfe was all over the place and not really concentrating on the main subject matter of this book....

The fact that the Dead Milkmen reference this book in one of their songs is enough to let you know that it is a quality read.

I am younger than the guys in this book by a few years, but I grew up in the same town and went to Northport HS. This was huge news when it happened. Everyone in town was taken back by it, but I always knew that Long Island had a large Satanic population. The Knights of the Black Circle and The Land Pirates are two Satanic gangs. I have always been interested in Satanism, not practicing it but reading about it. What I can say is that this was more of a tragedy due to drugs than it was due to Satan. These guys were the Dirtbags in town (which is a common stereotype on L.I.) and they may have been into heavy metal and doing drugs, but they were just kids, not hardcore Satanists. This book is great at telling the story and making you feel what it was like. It captures the feeling of that time that I remember so clearly... of people in town freaked out and more than a little annoyed at the national spotlight. Northport is a nice town. People are wealthy and live the perfect suburban lifestyle. The "Rich Kids" often grow up to be the biggest trouble makers. I think Northport had trouble dealing with the fact that these kids were now forcing themselves into the spotlight when the people in town mostly want to ignore and hide them away... as long as they don't cause problems they can pretend they don't exist. This is a great book.

Considering this guy has written about "Brazilian Voodoo" (Voodoo doesn't exist in Brazil) I can't imagine that anyone would take this guy's books seriously. But then again, judging from the writing of some of the Amazon reviewers, it is no surprise at all...

Providing a more critical viewpoint than all these 5-star ratings, I must say that this book was quite disappointing to me due to the poor writing and the lame way the story is told. This book was clearly cranked out ASAP to cash in on the "Satan craze" of the 80s. I'm a fan of the true crime genre, and I know that they don't have to be written this way. The author puts incredibly lame dialogue in people's mouths throughout the book -- ways that you know no one would ever talk -- which makes it hard to believe and just silly. He also draws all sorts of broad conclusions about drug use which are simply not always true. This is not a book for anyone who actually wants to gain a better understanding of a criminal mind or what would make a teenager completely drop out of "normal" society and end up a murderer. Unfortunately, it's pretty much a mass-market piece of crap. I give it 2 stars because it is still an interesting story, but I hate the way it is written.

I read this book several years ago while sitting in the library. It was a very quick read yet quite simplistic in nature. I grew up in the same town and during the time period in which these events took place. I followed the case closely through the news reports when it actually happened. There are many facts that are not properly represented in the book. I was hoping for something more realisitc when i picked up this book. I did enjoy reading it despite this.

I ordered this book at the same time I ordered Harlem Godfather: The Rap on my Husband, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson, and I'm so glad I read that one first. Because when I started reading Gangsters of Harlem and got to the part on Bumpy Johnson I couldn't believe my eyes. Mr. Chepesiuk just jotted down all of the misinformation that's been floating around on Bumpy Johnson for years and is passing it on like it's research! All of the stuff about Bumpy attending the Avery Institute and a bunch of other nonsence is in this book, when if the author had bothered to talk to any of Bumpy's family and old friends he would have discoved all this stuff was wrong.
If you want to find out the real story about Bumpy Johnson, read Harlem Godfather: The Rap on Bumpy Johnson which was written by Bumpy's wife. It also has a lot of stuff about other old-time Harlem characters.

And then when reading another review on Mr. Chepesiuk book that says he got a lot of the stuff on the Italian mob wrong, too . . . well, it just makes you wonder where he's doing his research. Does being able to read old magazines with wrong information and copying what you read qualify as research?

THIS BOOK SHOWS THE FOUNDATION OF HARLEM, WHO WAS THERE FIRST TO WHO IS THERE NOW. I FINSHED THE BOOK IN ONE DAY...IT WAS ACTION PACKED. NOW I'M WAITING FOR BLACK GANGSTERS OF CHI'TOWN.....IF YOU VIEWED IT COPE IT!! ONE

Overall, I liked it a lot. It is interesting reading and - at least in parts - a useful historical reference.

The book's opening, which deals with the Italian gangsters of East Harlem in the 1900s, contains some inaccuracies about the Morello-Terranova clan (The Morello family was certainly NOT the "first established Italian American Mafia family;" Giuseppe Morello and Peter Morello were the same person; Nicholas Morello was actually Nicholas Terranova; and the Terranova boys were half-brothers to Giuseppe, not step-brothers.) and makes some shaky statements about the origins of lottery rackets.

Despite these errors and others, the tales of Morello, Lupo, Terranova and Gallucci certainly will appeal to the casual reader. But why Chepesiuk decided to lead off his book with this superficially researched stuff rather than use the more reliable bits of it to backfill stories occurring later on remains a mystery. A tougher reviewer might penalize him a star for that bad decision, but there's enough good stuff in the rest of the book to make up for it.

"Gangsters" starts moving with the Harlem Renaissance of the Jazz Age. Tales from this period are easily worth the price of admission. Chepesiuk explores colorful underworld characters like Dutch Schultz, "Mad Dog" Coll and Owen Madden, and renowned entertainers like Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway and Louie Armstrong. The reader is likely to be left wanting more from this exciting and culturally rich era (though some Milton Mezzrow material sounds like it was drawn from a drug-culture website or from Mezzrow's own notoriously unreliable autobiography and is very difficult to accept).

Chepesiuk finally hits his stride as he discusses the rise of the African American gangster in Harlem and the various underworld rackets, including the evolution of the drug trade's focus from heroin to marijuana to crack cocaine. He provides fairly detailed biographies of the more noteworthy figures, like Bumpy Johnson and Queenie St. Clair, Frank "Black Caesar" Matthews, "Untouchable" Nicky Barnes, Pee Wee Kirkland and Frank "Super Fly" Lucas. At this point, the author seems more determined than he was earlier to set the historical record straight. He challenges some old legends and "Gangsters of Harlem" becomes a valuable resource.

On the whole, "Gangsters" is a well written and entertaining work. I do recommend it... from about Chapter 2 on.

This book offers a cohesive history of the development of crime in Harlem. This well-researched book spans many decades and takes the reader out of the "Dutch Schultz" mindset that so often dominates Harlem's history of numbers policy, as well as drug dealing gangsters. It is a good addition to the library of any reader who is interested in the history of organized crime (and not so organized) in New York City. There was new information about Madam Queen Stephanie St. Clair, a woman who is a more or less "cold case" in terms of what is really known about her. In short, this is a worthwhile investment and a great book to read if you want to brush up your Shakespeare - or Bumpy Johnson - whichever comes first!

this is the best book i've ever read. amazing primer on the movie business. BUY IT!

I just finished this book, and Cliff Robertson is actually a very minor character. In fact, the subject of him being "blackballed" is barely mentioned. (It receives one paragraph in the Epilogue.) Robertson was the first person to suspect something was amiss at Columbia, but the book is actually about the power struggle between the President of Columbia, Alan Hirschfield, and the controlling interests of the shareholders, led primarily by Herbert Allen Jr. This is a long book, but it was so riveting that I found it difficult to put down. It is really well written, even if it does not paint any of the characters in a terribly sympathetic light. I can't help but think that if Hirschfield had shown more backbone in the beginning and stuck by his decision to fire the check-forger Begelman instead of caving in to Allen's demands, none of this epic battle would have happened.

This is not really a tale of embezzlement and disgrace - it is the store of power struggles between the Board of Directors for Columbia Studios, who were clearly had personal loyalty in their underlings as their top priority, and the CEO, Alan Hirschfield, trying to do what he needed to do to save the studio.

I don't have access to people at this level, so I appreciate the peeping-Tom aspect of viewing the thought processes and actions of people who normally hide behind lawyers, secretaries, and call-screeners.

The author obviously interviewed many many people to put this book together, and I appreciate how he reported on the media coverage, as well. I never really thought of how people manipulate the news as part of the story, but course it is.

The book is like a newspaper story in that it is filled with information, but the narrative reads like a novel - very easy to read. The author does a good job of developing story-lines, so we have a sense of completeness, and a sense of an overview, while also sprinkling the famous names and the glamour that makes Hollywood so compelling to people.

I've never understood why Hollywood turns out bad movies month after month, year after year, when it is so easy to tell from the beginning that a movie is going to be awful. Why make awful movies?

This book doesn't directly address that issue, but it shows how irresponsible and irrational the leading powers that control Hollywood on both coasts are, and how corrupt the whole system is. It's obvious that normal things like making a good product become irrelevent to their attention span.

I guess it's not really corruption, if everyone knows it's happening, and it's just a way of getting things done.

My only complaint is that I wish I had more of a reality on the Board Directors. Their actions seem so irrational, but I'm sure it's because they were not forthcoming in their interviews, and did not take the opportunity to express their points of view. People at that level are notorious for avoiding the press, so it is not surprising.

I bought this book when it first came out and have reread it every year or so. Tends to be a bit long and sometimes slow, but it's great. Buy a used copy, or check at the library.

Being from the Washington D.C. area I kept constantly asking why someone didn't leak this to the press and blow the whole compiristy.

The only comparable book is "The Great Salad Oil Swindle"

David Begelman, powerful head of a studio thinks he is above the law, until an actor by the name of Cliff Robertson exposes him. This book is a well written tale of immorality in a town known for it's lack of scruples. Hollywood insiders should not be surprised at this tale, but I was. The check Begelman forged was for a small amount. The man made more than that in a month. The book exposes the reasons why a man who had it all, would choose to commit such a crime and fall from grace. I was quite disappointed by Robertson's treatment by Hollywood's hierarchy when he was the victim, not Begelman. But it proves just how far studios will go to protect the bottom line. I read this book when it was first published years ago and I'm reading it again. The list of books I will read more than once is a short one. I highly recommend it.

Pat Downey has surpassed himself with this fascinating rogue's gallery of urban banditry in the 1920-40 period. It's a natural followup to his first book but with a far more varied, violent, and often kooky cast of gunmen, molls, thieves, and general nogoodniks than the early day mobsters who populated Gangster City. The deadly escapades of "Two-Gun" Crowley, Cecelia "The Bobbed-Haired Bandit" Cooney, Gerald Chapman, Reese Whittemore, "Cowboy" Tessler, sexy extortionist Vivian Gordon, the Arsenal Gang, "Mad Dog" Coll's deadly widow, losers like the other Diamond brothers and the Oberst Gang, and many more show that it wasn't only bootleg gangs who made the '20s roar, and makes for lively and entertaining reading besides. It's like the Wild West transplanted to the Big Apple. "Crime in the streets" today seems pale in comparison to the Golden Age of Gotham Gangdom, when drive-by shootings took a back seat to bank and armored car heists.

As he did with his previous volume, "Gangster City", Pat Downey has gone off the beaten path of the Big Apple's Prohibition and Depression era histories in favor of reviving and recounting the antics of the bandits, bootleggers, and killers whom most authors overlook in favor of Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel, and Murder Inc. "Bad Seeds" plunges into the shadows of time and casts a searching and compelling light over blackmail queen Vivian Gordon, jewel thief Richard Reese Whittemore, and the botched Tombs prison break of 1926, to name a few.

What's so ironic is that during the period that "Bad Seeds" encompasses, Downey's roguish subjects beat out the gangsters for the NYC newspaper headlines. I suspect that this is because the New York press didn't want to give the impression that gang rule was as deeply entrenched in their city as it was in Chicago. They concentrated instead on the gun-happy nuisances who ultimately faced justice, implying that crime conditions were under control on their turf.

"Bad Seeds in the Big Apple", like its predecessor "Gangster City", is a fast and fun ride through two of New York City's wildest decades. Reading it was a pleasure, and writing the forward for it was an honor.

Everyone seems to know the stories of the Capones and Dillingers of the crime world. But there are other criminals of that era who commanded nearly as much press at the time. Patrick Downey covers these other renegades in his book Bad Seeds in the Big Apple: Bandits, Killers, and Chaos in New York City, 1920-40. It's fascinating reading if you're interested in that part of American history. The only downside is that they all tend to run together by the end of the book.

Contents:
Gentleman Gerald and the Dutchman; Let's Misbehave; Ma Flanagan's Boys; Two Worthless Diamonds; Urban Cowboys; Bum, Killer, and Ice Wagon LLC; The Daly Show; The Candy Kid; Red Scare; From Maiden Lane to the Tombs; Don't Cry Out Loud; Seeing Red; Dishonorable Mention 1920-1929; New York's Most Desperate Criminal; Sexy Takes a Ride; King of the Punks; College Boy; It Came from Massachusetts; Bride of the Mad Dog; The $427,000 Payday; FBI vs. NYPD; Messing with the Mob; Dishonorable Mention 1930-1940; Appendix 1 - And in the End; Appendix 2 - Where It Happened; Notes; Resources; Index

As indicated by the title, the focus of the book covers the criminal elements in New York City during the days of Prohibition and the Depression. Rather than rehash all the well-known stories of the time, Downey does extensive research on the "second tier" criminals that were big news of the day, but that didn't necessarily have the story and presence to become part of American folklore. Many of the gangsters took advantage of the common payroll processes of the day to make off with substantial sums of money. Since payroll money was physically carried from the banks to the company buildings for payment to the employees, they were prime targets for planned assaults and robberies. This also happened in reverse, when armored cars would pick up daily receipts from companies to deposit at the bank. The $427,000 Payday story is but one such action planned and executed by seven gangsters. At the time, it was the biggest robbery in history, and Downey tells the story of the long search for the perpetrators. It took nearly five years to track down all who were involved and bring them to justice, and the mixture of detective work and pure chance is an interesting story. Downey also reveals how dangerous it was to be a cop during that time. I was amazed at how many officers lost their lives, either as part of a direct shootout, or by simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. While we may think we live in a bad time when it comes to crime, we don't actually have a clue as to how much worse things used to be.

My biggest difficulty with the book was how, by the end, all the crimes and criminals started to run together. Since there were few "big name" criminals that we're used to hearing about, names started to blur after awhile. "Dutch" was apparently a very popular nickname, and it seemed that every other crime had some "Dutch" character who played a part. I enjoyed the first appendix that followed up the characters and covered how they lived out what remained of their life. But I think I would have preferred to have that material included at the end of each chapter rather than in a separate appendix. If you didn't read the appendix at the end of each chapter, it was somewhat difficult to remember some of the crime details for each of the "where are they now" parts. Having the material at the end of the chapter would have wrapped up each segment in a clear, concise way.

Even with the blurring of details, the material and Downey's writing ability is well worth reading if you have an interest in that time and place of American history. It was truly a time where criminals loomed large in everyone's lives, and many of them feared little when it came to shooting it out with others.

I thought that Patrick Downey had just about covered it all in "Gangster City." I'm pleased to say I was wrong. In this, his latest, effort, Mr. Downey provides us with a detailed, colorful history of "bandits, killers, and chaos in New York City, 1920 - 1940." I've always considered myself reasonably knowledgeable regarding the New York City underworld, especially during Prohibition, but I am frank to admit that there was much in these pages even I didn't know. For instance, many years ago, while perusing the New York City newspaper archives in researching a certain project, I came upon a second-rate hoodlum named Enrico Battaglia, whom then Police Commissioner Mulrooney described as "a known member of the old Ryan gang of Harlem." Okay, fine. But who was this Ryan? Thanks to this book, I learned that the Commissioner was referring to Edward "Snakes" Ryan, who in the late Twenties enjoyed his brief fifteen minutes of fame (or should I say infamy?) when he and a pal, James Nannery, escaped from Sing Sing and later became suspects in the cold-blooded assassination of a New York City policeman, shotgunned while guarding a prisoner at Fordham Hospital. The same holds true for the Flanagan brothers, scarcely touched upon in a book written by former New York City Police Captain Cornelius Willemse, but recorded in great detail here. Excellent chapters also on Leonard Scarnici, Roy Sloane, "Two Gun" Crowley, and many others. In my estimation, when it comes to knowing all there is to know about the New York underworld during the first half of the twentieth century, Patrick Downey takes a back seat to no one. The bottom line is, if you liked "Gangster City," you're sure to enjoy "Bad Seeds in the Big Apple."

Amazing book of New York's little known stick up men and bandits. There all here, from the famous Gerald Chapman and Two gun Crowley, to the little known Cooneys, a husband and wife stick up team who robbed at gunpoint to give their child to be a better life. Some may have had legit gripes for becoming criminals, but some were just plain bad. Mr. Downey's accumulated research has weeded out these criminal facts of years gone by. These were some big headlines back in the twenties, but quickly overshdowed by the gangster headlines of the 30's. Some would even have remained lost to history, if not for his due dilligence in saving and turning it into this fine book of NewYork criminal factoids and side stories. Loved the back end of the book with it's "Dishonorable Mention" section of equally interesting side notes of other criminal escapades. Neat photo section. Highly recommended reading. Get the book, sit on your balcony, crack open a cool one and enjoy some of New Yawk's little known and forgotten criminal past!

This is Dillinger, from early childhood through his notorious days. The book captures everything you'd expect from a biography and gives the gangster enthusiasts enough mouth-watering drama. I love the timelines! Being from the midwest, I recognized many of the towns he targeted so this is a must read for fellow midwesterners and highly recommended for everyone else!

The authors seem to have forgotten the basics behind Dillinger, the guy was a cold blooded killer and thief...okay granted, a colorful and charming killer and thief, but a lowlife just the same. Instead, what we seem to get a glowing reivew of Dillingers life in crime, killing innocent cops who were doing their jobs and taking hard earned cash away from people who worked long and hard to make it and save it....in the depression.

My 1st "Dillinger" book and boy...it was a good one. I enjoyed the book and especially all the little extra facts etc. located in in the back.
I highly recommend!

In my opinion, one of the best and most underrated books written to date about John Dillinger. I picked up a copy by chance several years ago, not expecting much, and was soon totally engrossed. I feel that most of the contents are accurate (and certainly never before revealed in any published accounts I ever read) and I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in the Dillinger saga.

I agree with the reviewer who recommends the Nash book.

As shocking as it may seem...
that book convinced me that the Feds killed a Dillinger imposter.

The death photos clearly show a 'Dandy'... and not Dillinger.
Lawrence liked to claim he was Dillinger...
and the woman in red used that fact to get herself.. and Dillinger, off the hook.

The thing that convinced me the most...
was not anything that was pointed out in the book...
but my own observation.
Look at the photo of the old man who claims to be Dillinger.
Yes, he looks quite different...
but look at the ears.
They are uniquely shaped... and they are identical to Dillinger's.

This wasn't even pointed out in the book.
Faces age... but ears retain their shape.