Customer Reviews

Motor City Mafia: A Century of Organized Crime in Detroit (Images of America)

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

 

 

What John Binder did with the Chicago mob The Chicago Outfit, Scott Burnstein has done with this is an excellent pictorial history of the Detriot underworld. An must for anyone interested in Organized Crime.

An interesting topic for Images of America but nonetheless a fun book. A few of the images have been used in previous titles but this collection of photos is far and away superior to anything previously released on Detroit. The high point of the book is definately the photo collection but the labeling of some of the figures contained within leaves something to be desired. An example of this occurs on page 17 where a photo consisting of a collection of Bommaritos identifies one man as Sammy Millman brother of Purple gang enforcer Harry Millman when the man is clearly Dominic Licavoli the youngest of the notorious Licavoli brothers. Not alot of historical information contained within but this is an image book not a biography. Overall a worthy addition to the crime collection and a first of its type to be sure.

The photos in this book are absolutely amazing and worth the price of the book. You will find it amazing that these photos have been preserved for all these years. There is very little actual information or history about the Detroit Mob. It would best be enjoyed in conjunction with a book that contained more of the history of the Detroit Mafia, Purple Gang, and Oakland Sugar House gang.

The book was GREAT.

The publication was poor. Pages 34 - 76 were duplicated and pages 77 - 128 were missing.

This book consisted of a lot of pictures. It was interesting to me because I have grown up in Detroit. It had very recent photos, including ones of the Summer 2006 wild goose chase in which a farm in Milford, Michigan was investigated in the search for Hoffa. It could have been a little more in depth, but I enjoyed the information none the less!

Bought this for Valentine's Day for significant other. We both enjoyed the trip down "memory lane" and gleaned a lot of information re. the shady past of our fair city. This is a quick and easy read. Promise you that any Detroiter who lived in or about the city during this era won't be disappointed.

an interesting book on the history of detroit organized crime. it has a lot of nice photos but not a whole lot in the way of information. it is also very brief so if you're looking for a comprehnsive history of this topic it's probably not the source.

I've known Scott since we were 6 years old, and it is great to see this book out. While the book could have used substanintally more copy-editing, the photos and text were quite informative. I have never seen much of this information before, or a book of this type. It was neat to learn more about the area in which I grew up.

Excellent book. especially since not much has been written about the Motor City mafia. even recognized a house I used to fertiize when I worked in that field. very informative and interesting. a must buy for the mob freak.

this was an absolutely wonderful book. the pictures and information contained was great. so much has been written on the New York and Chicago mobs and so little on the pivotal and still to this day, very real power that is the Motor City Mafia. I thirst for more. I am ordering Mr. Burnstein's DVD on the Detroit Mob as well. Not to tell Scott Burnstein or Paul Kavieff, who have been the only 2 authors writing exclusively about the Detroit Mob, or for that matter anyone else out there what to do, but more is needed on this subject. Alot more. A full length book about the Detroit Mob from the early days of the 20th century, the Adamo, Giannola, Vitale, La Mare days through the reign of Joe Zerelli and the Tocco family, through the 50's, the 60's, the Hoffa story up to the present day. This story needs to be told in full in a full length book. I thirst for more on this subject. Perhaps Mr. Burnstein is interested in writing such an expose. If he or someone else is I'd love to hear about it. Anyone reading this can let me know. Otherwise, this is a great book and filled with great pics and info. I imagine the DVD will be great too. But i need more!!! If full length books have been written on the much inferior Denver and Atlanta mobs, and they have, then please give Detroit it's due. A full length book dedicated to Detroit is very overdue. Still this is a great start