Hoods [Paperback]

Harry Grey (Author)

Book Description

"This book by HARRY GREY --an ex-hood himself! --will shock you but you must read it. He dares to tell the truth about cold-blooded Killer Mobs and how they work."-- Mickey Spillaine. Written in prison by author Grey, this legendary novel became the source for Sergio Leone's classic Once Upon a Time in America.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book by HARRY GREY --an ex-hood himself! --will shock you but you must read it. He dares to tell the truth about cold-blooded Killer Mobs and how they work." --Mickey Spillaine. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Signet
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451012119
• ISBN-13: 978-0451012111
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,959,388 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My 40+ yr old paperback copy finally disintegrated!, September 16, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hoods (Hardcover)

As an impressionable highschooler back in the 50's this book was so interesting I have never forgotten the characters after all these years. The mental images of the New York tenements, the bathroom in the hallway which was shared by these apartment dwellers....the progression of the tough kids growing up. The film 'Once Upon A Time In America' was one of the few movies where your memories of the written story were not distorted by a screenplay version. This is a book that I had to hide, lest my mother would find it and kill me!! I had similar hidden 'treasures of literature' of the same scandalous nature such as Peyton Place, From Here to Eternity, The Amboy Dukes....these were all very controversial in the 50's because they were about sex and profanity...my, how times have changed!

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A terse, gangster tale, May 7, 2001

By 

Ron Horowitz (Cin,OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hoods (Hardcover)

This book is the only one i've ever read with a narrative from a gangster.It's chock full of vice,circa teens and roaring twenties details and slang that i regard as pretty much priceless.I love the Sergio Leone epic, and the graceful violence and nostalgia, but i've come to regard the book and the film as two seperate entities. The book is not really much of an epic. It's the plainly stated tale of Jewish gangsters ( a rarity these days. I should know. I'm Jewish).And it's accessible for two reasons: For one,it's straightforward, but also, i think people, assuming this book ever gets back in print, will be fascinated by the anectdotes and episodes of violence.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Movie, February 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Hoods (Hardcover)

I have to admit the movie was better but the book was good. Dont listen to those other reviews saying how dumb this book is. This book is great and gives much more detail then the movie. It is different then movie but remember this book came out 30 years before the movie did. It gives you a lot more info on Cockeye and Pasty then the movie does. There are a lot of differences in the book but characters are the same.