Customer Reviews

To Kill the Irishman: The War That Crippled the Mafia

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

The writing in this book is so terrible that I could barely finish it. How did this guy get published? And where was his editor? The writing itself is pedestrian, but I could have lived with that. The endless grammatical and spelling errors drove me crazy. One of the worst examples: "He was a loaner" (meaning that he liked to be alone) And the author was a top cop! Shouldn't a top cop know how to write better than this?

Far worse was the fact that the author threw major facts at me with absolutely no set up. He talked matter-of-factly about Greene's work as an FBI informant... before telling me that he was an informant. The FBI nugget came completely out of nowhere. The author does that all the way through the book. He wrote that the trial for Green's murder was the longest criminal trial in the county's history...and never actually told me what happened during its course. In one paragraph he mentioned the incredible length of the trial; a couple of paragraphs later he gave the verdicts. No behind-the-scenes info. The author jumped around so much and skipped over such glaringly important information that I felt like I was reading a book written by some grade school kid. It was simply appalling. There's a fascinating story to be told about Danny Greene and the Cleveland Mafia. Unfortunately, "To Kill The Irishman" isn't it. Please -- if there are any talented writers out there, who actually understand English grammar, construction, and spelling, write a good book about Danny and the Cleveland mob!

The rise of Danny Greene and his battle with the Cleveland mafia makes for an interesting tale. As a relative newcomer to northeastern Ohio, I found the book to be a useful history lesson. However, the writing lacks polish. Porrello could use a good editor, and was ill-served by his publisher who allowed so many spelling and punctuation errors to go to print. It's also hard to keep track of the large number of players mentioned in the book, and sometimes their relation to events at hand is unclear, at best. Still, if you like to read about wise guys, it's a book worth picking up.

I lived in Cleveland during this period.
It was an amazing time.
As an Irish Catholic I had some affinity with Danny Greene, but realized he was basically a gangster no matter what his public persona as a community and labor leader.
Rick Porello does a fine job of telling this amazing tale.
I only hope the plan to make it a movie goes forward, I'll be first in line.

The story of Danny Greene is an interesting one, but this book is terrible. Poorly written, lacking any kind of story-telling ability. There are great books in the true-crime mobster genre ("The Westies" by T.J. English; "Wiseguy" by Nicholas Pileggi; "Donnie Brasco" by Joe Pistone) but this is defintiely not one of them. Unless you're from Cleveland and have a vested interest in the subject, "forget about it."

I gave this book an A because it is one of the best non-fiction books I have ever read in my life. Its not a tough read and Rick Porrello does an excellent job of the describing the chaos that was going on in Cleveland during this time period. The beginning of the books tells you about Danny's troubled past growing up in Collinwood, a large Cleveland neighborhood. He lost this mother at a young age and his father sent his to life with his grandfather. I believe that part of the reason he turns to a life of crime is because of his extremely troubled childhood. He was very charismatic as a kid so he made friends very easily. Often times with the wrong crowd though. He got in many street fights as a kid and in minor trouble with the police. Even though you know he is a bad man you grow attached to him and start to almost like him. As he grows up he gets more and more involved with illegal activity and eventually breaks his way into the big time and is competing with the Italian mafia. The book is very interesting and intriguing. I highly recommend it for a nice quick easy read.

I hate to throw any book away. But this was the proverbial exception to the rule. I literally threw it away before I finished it. It was actually laborious to read. The narrative jumped all over time and space - it was almost impossible to follow. And it reached the point where I just didn't care anymore. On top of that the editing was dismal at best. For example: The Irishman "excepted (accepted) the deal..." and, in describing a man who was often alone; "He was a loaner..." I'm sorry. I just couldn't take it any longer. I have a life...I'm not a loaner and I just couldn't except that lazy, careless riting.

This is a great book. Danny Greene's story is almost like a fairy tale. It would make a great movie and it redefines the one man irish gang that TJ English speaks about in "Paddy Whacked". This book is filled with excitement. Only problem with this read is that you must know a thing or two about this story before reading it. Porello doesn't bore you by going into detail and re-explain the breakdown of Cosa Nostra and Union corruption. The book is very short and you must have a sense of what is happening before reading it or you will be lost. I strongly recommend that you read "Paddy Whacked" first and then move on to this. great book!

"To kill the Irishman" by Rick Porello is a fairly fast read.

Through the author's mostly objective journalistic style of writing, the reader will get a very different picture of Cleveland, Ohio than the one most people are familiar with today.

However, the narrative is primarily history, not drama; If you're used to reading crime novels, you may or may not want to spend the time with this one.

The backdrop is as follows: In the fifties, sixties and seventies, organized labor was much more of a force than it is today. With the opening of the St. Lawrence seaway in the early 1960's came a new era of Cleveland as an expanded Great Lakes port, and Longshoremen to unload cargo were in fairly high demand. Eventually, this would set the stage for the emergence of Cleveland Irish Catholic Danny Greene as a local labor leader.

In the first chapters, Greene's youth is described briefly, as is a stint in the Marine Corps, an early failed marriage and a brief career with a railroad. Eventually, Greene made it into the Longshoreman's Union, where he became a local labor leader.

However, Greene's days as the president of the Longshoreman's Union's local chapter were numbered, and he was eventually ousted. What follows then, is a series of partnerships and schemes that were mostly Greene's designs to acquire money, recognition and power... In part, by starting a war with La Cosa Nostra.

Who would think that would be a good idea? All of you who think so, hold up a hand. It doesn't take much of a genius to figure out that Greene had some sort of death wish. Either that, or he was on some vainglorious crusade, or both.

All of that aside, the Danny Greene that Rick Porello attempts to illustrate is one of those individuals you might meet from time to time. Energetic, charismatic, and dynamic, Danny Greene was all of them. Simply put, people who were looking for leadership would follow him. And that's what makes "To Kill The Irishman" such an interesting story: The personalities involved.

If you're from Cleveland or grew up in the greater metropolitan area, "To kill the Irishman" will probably jar some old memories of neighborhoods and personalities. "Wow! That's really what was going on...?," would probably be a common reaction to many of the situations and incidents described in this book.

As two examples, Porello describes the planned assassination of Dennis Kucinich and the acquittal of James Traficant on charges of bribery to illustrate the ripple effect of racketeering and organized crime in the Northeastern Ohio area.

Without getting into grammar and punctuation mistakes, I will say that at times, Porello could have used a better editor. Also, it was difficult to follow what was happening due to too many names being injected into the mix. However, Porello still does a great job of pulling everything together. As a historic record, the book works.

Obviously, "To kill the Irishman" isn't flawless. However, if you're interested in the activities of organized crime in northeastern Ohio, this book will probably work for you.

I'm sure I read the same book as these other guys. To me the writing was mediocre, the story disjointed, and the book not worth the price.

Rick Porello has succeeded in giving a very clear account of the rise of a mob figure, and the ultimate demise of both him and his adversaries, ultimately weaking La Cosa Nostra nationwide. It does not surprise me that this book might lead to a movie, since it perfectly lays out a compelling true story script.