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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 364.106097471
EAN num: 9780060856663
ISBN number: 0060856661
Label: Ecco
Manufacturer: Ecco
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 288
Printing Date: February 01, 2008
Publishing house: Ecco
Release Date: February 05, 2008
Sale Popularity Level: 14225
Studio: Ecco
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
Of course Pulitzer Prize winner Jimmy Breslin recognized Burton Kaplan right away as the Mafia witness of the ages. Breslin comes from the same Queens streets as mob bosses John Gotti and Vito Genovese. But even they couldn't match Kaplan in crime—and neither could anybody else.
In his inimitable New York voice, Breslin, 'the city's steadiest and most accurate chronicler' (Tom Robbins, Village Voice), gives us a look through the keyhole at the people and places that define the mafia—characters like Sammy 'The Bull' Gravano, Gaspipe Casso (named for his weapon of choice), Thomas 'Three-Finger Brown' Lucchese, and Jimmy 'The Clam' Eppolito, interwoven with the good rat himself, Burt Kaplan of Bensonhurst, the star witness in the recent trial of two New York City detectives indicted for acting as hit men in eight gangland executions.
Breslin takes us to the old-time 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; the dog-fight circles and body dumps at Ozone Park; and the back room at Midnight Rose's candy store, where Murder, Ltd., hired and fired.
Most compelling of all, Breslin captures the moments in which the Mafia was made and broken—Breslin was there the night John Gotti celebrated his acquittal at his Ravenite Social Club on Mulberry, having bribed his way to innocence only to incite the wrath of the FBI, who would later crush Gotti and others with the full force of the RICO laws.
As in his unforgettable novel The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight, Breslin brings together these real-life and long-forgotten Mafia stories to brilliantly create a sharp-eyed portrait of the mob as it lived and breathed, as it sounded and survived.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers -
If you have a good knowledge of Mafia history in New York and in the US generally this book will flow well while you read and absorb it, for new comers it is still a good read but will take longer and you will probably need to check out other books to put it all together. Breslins reflections on his life of writing about the Mob are gems and his book about Burton Kaplan is fascinating. Kaplan is the good rat who finally realizes unless he talks to the Govt about is his life in crime he will spend the rest of his life behind bars and someone else will rat on him.
Kaplan has plenty to account for including murder so he spills all and tells of his life of crime and his cohorts. The two mafia cops who he informs on are roasted slowly by Breslin in the book who can barely conceal his disgust at their greed, treachery and killings. He describes the view of hell each cop had from his house as he went to work each morning and their indifferance to the disgraceful murder of the good Nicky Guido.
There are moments of humour as Breslin recalls a time in court when a mafia don on trial publicly berates Breslin for wearing a cheap suit and being embarrassed by him being at his trial. Breslin at times goes off track from the trial and relates personal anecdotes of his life of writing about the Mob. He goes into the early history of the Mob and why Hoover's FBI was sleeping on the job while the Mob prospered. He goes on to relate how the FBI finally woke up to the power of the RICO act and realized enough was enough the Mob had to go down and finally the FBI won.
Well worth the read and thanks for the book Mr Breslin.
Rated by buyers 
-
Brotherhood: The Story of Two Cops Who Murdered For The Mafia is a must better read and truer account of those two cops and Burton Kaplan than the tall tales written by Mr. Breslin...Many of the past mafia incidents is plain wrong and insulting to mob aficionados...more in line with Mafia Cop
...D-rated at best.
Rated by buyers 
-
This writer must have made a offer that nobody could refuse :---)
Not sure why all the accolades by those who read this book.
No meat, timeline is confusing. It is simply a regurgatation
of the trial questioning/answers. Repeat, the book is what the
accused said under cross, or questioning, etc...
I found it confusing and boring.
I am not suggesting writer is unskilled, unimaginative,
or not of quality experience.
I have read at least 50 books and seen 50 films of fiction
and fact on this subject (Mafia/crime). So I know what
is interesting, fun to read/watch... This book is not.
I wish I had purchased the paperback vs an expensive hard cover...
Fogettabout it
David
Rated by buyers 
-
Jimmy Breslin has created a masterpiece with his tales of Burt Kaplan and two bad cops. Breslin captures the testimony of Kaplan and entertwines mafia history to present a compelling easy to read account of the downfall of two NYPD detectives.
Rated by buyers -
This is a fine addition to anyone's true crime shelf. You're not going to see a romantic view of mob life here. Tony Soprano might be interesting to have as a neighbor, but the people in this book are such that you'd much prefer that they live in a different part of town, or better yet, a different town altogether. The book does present a rather one-dimensional view of the criminals involved: you will not be reading about the kind of family (personal, not mob) life that helped make Tony Soprano three-dimensional. The figures in the book may have been decent people at home, but that's not the point here.
You'll get a view of current mob life--the violence, the paranoia, the omerta, and the breaking of omerta. Some things have changed from the heyday of Murder, Inc in the 1940s, but much is still the same: plus la change, plus la meme chose. Burton Kaplan yesterday is little different from his counterparts of 50-70 years ago: surveillance and eavesdropping techinques are better, the FBI has discovered the Mafia, and witness protection programs have led to a partial decline in omerta. Where once a stand-up guy could do 5 years in prison, with RICO standing up for 30 years is less appealing. Kid Twist Reles' revelations in Murder, Inc were eye-opening back then: Burton Kaplan's testimony is fascinating, but he has lots of fellow canaries, so to speak.
You'll get a very gritty tale here. These are not nice fellows at all. Some reviews may speak of the contrast between good and evil in the book, but that's not really true. NYC policemen as contract killers is a very unpleasant thought, but it's hardly new (see the book Satan's Circus). What is more interesting is how one of these cops, whose uncle was a well-known mobster, and who himself had a criminal record, was admitted to the police force and rose high in the ranks. His moonlighting for the mob did not come as a major surprise. His outing was unusual: you get the feeling that there seemed to be a lot of tolerance in law enforcement for his activities. The Feds brought him down--not the NYPD.
What I would have liked to see here is perhaps some kind of map or chart, and a cast of characters (there's a very brief list, which mostly just mentions names). If you're thoroughly familiar with the greater NY mob scene, you shouldn't have a problem. But for most people, being able to check a cast that listed, say, Sammy "The Bull" Gravano along with his family, role in the family, etc, would have been helpful. There are interesting people who get brief mentions, such as Jimmy Burke (see GoodFellas) and the fearsome Roy DeMeo, whose murder crew made even John Gotti nervous (see Murder Machine). Unless you're a true crime fan, such names might not carry the nuances that they should. But Good Rat covers one slice of the scene in greater New York, and covers it very well.
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