Gangsters. The Mob. The Mafia. John Dillinger. Lucky Lucchese. Al Capone. The Untouchables. John Gotti. The Chin. Don Corleone. Tony Soprano. In real life, in literature, in movies and television, no saga has so gripped the human consciousness and imagination as gangsters and the war on crime. On the streets and on the big and small screens, the mob world has made for vivid pictures and unimaginable stories, and for nearly 70 years LIFE has been there to chronicle all the action and mayhem. From the all-too-real Naked City photography of the legendary Weegee to the brilliant depictions of Francis Ford Coppola's films, the story of the Mafia will be revealed in this exciting, gripping book. Note the infamous photographs from inside the speakeasies, from inside the cells, from inside the government's investigations and from the backlots of productions ranging from Cagney's "Public Enemy" to HBO's "Sopranos". LIFE takes on the mob and brings it to you in this stunning pictorial hardback.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In this look at the history of American gangsters, the editors nicely balance chapters on the history of organized crime starting with the criminal "golden age" of the 1920s with a collection of archival photos. The money-shots here are dozens of photos depicting dead mobsters and victims: inspired by the style of famous crime photographer Weegee (who receives his own chapter), the book graphically illustrates the gory side of crime through bloody photos ranging from cowboy criminals like the Dalton gang to mob boss Paul Castellano's shooting in 1985. But the book isn't all blood and guts. Shorter sections on the elements of the gangster life from cars to clothes are equally successful in depicting the extravagant mob lifestyle; a chapter illustrating the lavish home of legendary L.A. mobster Mickey Cohen is a terrific look at American post-war domesticity super-sized by mob money and aggrandizement. While the prose is occasionally boiled a little too hard and the "reminiscence" by Elmore Leonard is a reprint of a slight if interesting biographical essay published in Life in 1990, the book delivers the requsite vicarious thrills.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A book of errors with pictures,
A Kid's Review
This review is from: Mobsters and Gangsters: Organized Crime in America, from Al Capone to Tony Soprano (Hardcover)
I bought this book for a research project for school, and ended up having to redo my research. This book provides nice prohibition era photos and other such pictures, but the information is purely faulty. First off, when they were talking about Capone, they were totally off. Capone had a stand-in son who he took out in public, he never killed "thousands of people", and the St. Valentine's day massacre was headed by Jack McGurn, (not Jake), and involved 4 men (not 5). The rest of the magazine was the same. Also, i sensed a very biased few, they worshipped Eliot Ness and called Capone basically a brute. Maybe Life should have researched this a little before printing, eh?
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Fun to Browse,
By
This review is from: Mobsters and Gangsters: Organized Crime in America, from Al Capone to Tony Soprano (Hardcover)
What we have here is a typical Time-Life pop-history book. Poorly researched, strewn with errors and superficial commentary but tons of great photos. The picture of the James gang is bogus, however. It's fun to look at but little more.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful Book and Transaction,
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This review is from: Mobsters and Gangsters: Organized Crime in America, from Al Capone to Tony Soprano (Paperback)
This book was in excellent condition and is a great part of my crime library. I would recommend any mob fans to read it.
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