The Westies: Inside New York's Irish Mob

by T. J. English Narrated by James Anderson Foster

Overview

It's men like Jimmy Coonan and Mickey Featherstone who gave Hell's Kitchen its name. In the mid-1970s, these two longtime friends take the reins of New York's Irish mob, using brute force to give it hitherto unthinkable power. Jimmy, a charismatic sociopath, is the leader. Mickey, whose memories of Vietnam torture him daily, is his enforcer. Together they make brutality their trademark, butchering bodies or hurling them out the window. Under their reign, Hell's Kitchen becomes a place where death literally rains from the sky. But when Mickey goes down for a murder he didn't commit, he suspects his friend has sold him out. He returns the favor, breaking the underworld's code of silence and testifying against his gang in open court.



From one of the writers behind NYPD Blue and Homicide: Life on the Street comes an incredible true story of what it means to survive in the world of organized crime, where murder is commonplace.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Must reading…will shock even the most hardened readers.” —Playboy

“Sterling social history…the author's skillful reporting makes the most of his subject.” —The New Yorker

“Raw, earthy and heavily flavored with New York vernacular…[T.J. English] knows the people he writes about and never sets himself above them.” —San Francisco Chronicle

“Masterfully told, gracefully written…the true story of the most violent men this nation has ever seen. Al Capone would have cringed…you want to cheer at he end…The Westies will blow you away.” —Edna Buchanan, author of The Corpse Had a Familiar Face

“Must reading… an investigative story about contract killers for the Mafia that will shock even the most hardened reader.” —Playboy

“A disquieting look at a worthwhile subject: the frailties of justice in the big city.” —The New York Times

“Stunning…a graphic account of brutality in search of power and money.” —Ocala Star Banner

“A fascinating, frightening account of how bad kids turned worse, and how the worst one, finally turned good.” —Booklist

“A fascinating look into an Irish American criminal enterprise that may not have rivaled the Mafia in sophistication, but certainly surpassed it in terror.” —Wall Street Journal

“A fast-moving tale of criminal corruption in which, for a change, the good guys win…English pulls no punches.” —L.A. Daily News

“Both compelling and unsettling…it's also chilling. You'll have a hard time putting it down.” —Rocky Mountain News

“A great yarn—English writes with a controlled lushness. He provides the detail of a detective's notebook.” —Anniston Star

“Pure enjoyment…if you want to read a book about the ‘Irish Mafia,' this is it.” —Vermont Standard

“A harrowing account of big city crime.” —Library Journal

“Potent…what English has done is take organized crime as it really evolves and occurs on a human scale and then builds it back into an engrossing narrative. His book will stand.” —Irish America Magazine

“Reminiscent of Poe and Dostoyevsky in subject and character… at times as jolting as running on concrete on a cold winter morning.” —New York Newsday

“As exciting as E.L. Doctorow's Billy Bathgate…the hardest part is trying to remember this isn't a novel; it's real.” —Arkansas Gazette

From the Publisher - AUDIO COMMENTARY

Must reading . . . will shock even the most hardened readers. —Playboy

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170574261
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	06/20/2017
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	922,396

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