Rat Bastards: The Life and Times of South Boston's Most Honorable Irish Mobster [Hardcover]

John "Red" Shea (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 14, 2006

John "Red" Shea was a top enforcer in South Boston Irish "Godfather" Whitey Bulger's mob for the last ten years of Bulger's reign, responsible for overseeing Bulger's multi-million dollar narcotics empire. He was a cold-blooded, lethal enforcer and loyal hit man and climbed through the ranks of Bulger's empire quickly. When caught and faced with harsh prison time, Shea did not rat out his mob compatriots but held fast to the Irish code of silence. He honored the traditions of his neighborhood and his culture, and so even today in Boston, Shea is upheld as an icon and a rare man of honor. At age 39, Shea has now completed his 12-year federal prison sentence and is living on the right side of the law, but he will not apologize for his past.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Shea—who at age 20 was the drug boss for South Boston Irish mobster James "Whitey" Bulger and later served 12 years in federal prison for drug trafficking (yes, he was given the opportunity to rat, but, "like a man," he didn't)—gives gangster honor a bare-knuckled workout in his memoir, a slick read dripping with the underworld holy trinity of sex, drugs and violence. Born in 1965 into a "fucked up family" in South Boston, Shea traded a foundering boxing career for a gig making $4,000 a night selling cocaine and marijuana. Before long, Bulger took him under his wing and, being a tough and honorable guy, Shea ascended the ranks and had a crew working for him before he was busted and did his time. To hear Shea tell the story, he's about the only guy in South Boston who can keep his trap shut—including Bulger, who turned rat and is now in hiding—once the cuffs are on. And though his unrelenting swagger can wear thin and the writing has lackluster moments, Shea's story is a bawdy page-turner in the Iceman tradition that true crime fans will enjoy. 16 pages of b&w photos.(Mar.)
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Review

“...the only memoir told from the perspective of a mobster who refused to betray the code of silence.” (The Improper Bostonian )

“...the hottest Irish-American mob story of all time.” (Liz Smith, New York Post )

“...dish-a-thon on Whitey Bulger.” (Boston Herald )

“...a slick read dripping with the underworld holy trinity of sex, drugs, and violence...a bawdy page-turner.” (Publishers Weekly )

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; First Edition edition (March 14, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060837160
• ISBN-13: 978-0060837167
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #712,622 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Rats Bastards: My fictional re-collection of the events, May 3, 2007

By 

S. D'Annunzio "Mick" (Hamilton, Ontario) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rat Bastards: The Life and Times of South Boston's Most Honorable Irish Mobster (Hardcover)

I have read all Irish mobster books. This is the most far fetched book I have read so far. First of all, the first 4 pages made me throw the book across the room. I don't think anyone cares about Shea's ventures in the hotel room, about how "too beaucoup" he is. I decided to give it another read and actually began to enjoy the story. The enjoying ended when he started to speak on his recollection of what happened between himself, Whitey, Weeks and Flemmi. Although I don't think Weeks book is the complete truth, I think Shea is 100% fiction compared to this. I personally love the one quote where he says that Bulger says "do you know who I am, I am Whitey Bulger!".....I think every Boston book has made it clear that he was not referred to as Whitey, especially to his face. Shea attempts to make it seem as though he was Bulgers equal. I have no doubt that he is tough, but he makes Kevin Weeks look like a pansy. Atleast Weeks had the courtesy to be honest in his opinion of Shea, but let the facts be known. I did enjoy the story, and finished the book but it is the worst book in its class as far as Im concerned.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars How did this ordure get published?, October 25, 2009

By 

Mitchell Geller (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rat Bastards: The Life and Times of South Boston's Most Honorable Irish Mobster (Hardcover)

I read this half expecting it to be something like Michael Patrick MacDonald's exquisite "All Souls." What a disappointment! As a lifelong Bostonian and former amateur boxer who had a few occasions to interact (marginally) with guys who knew the entire dramatis personae of this book's genre, I would call it a fairy tale. Shea was a second rate amateur boxer and a thug. The book is so self-aggrandizing and insubstantial. And from what I have heard of Whitey Bulger, he did not suffer fools gladly.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars EASILY the worst of the whole Whitey/Southie genre, May 20, 2006

By 

Jack Daly (South Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rat Bastards: The Life and Times of South Boston's Most Honorable Irish Mobster (Hardcover)

I am SO glad I read this via a library and didn't pay a cent for it! Johnny Shea is the ultimate example of the self-serving, ignorant Southie project product. Absolutely NO redeeming value to Shea or his fictions. An embarassing project, one which should never have been put to publication. In a world of insecure, self-important criminals attempting to cash in on their connections to Bulger, Shea stands apart as uniquely loathsome. A MUST not-read.