Customer Reviews

Street Soldier: My Life as an Enforcer for Whitey Bulger and the Irish Mob

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

This book offers a raw insight to the days when Whitey Bulger and his Irish mob ruled the streets of Southie. It was written by one of Whitey's former legbreakers, Eddie Mac who does not hold back on detail when telling his story - faint of heart be warned! This book is a must-read for those who enjoy reading true crime/mob books!

I've met Eddie on 4 or 5 occasions, and I have had long talks with him. I know some of the R.I. people he talks about. I've read the book. Everything Eddie says in this book is the truth as he saw it and lived it. I wish all of you could look into his eyes as he tells his story and see the pain of his youth, the disgust of Whitey's sexual tastes, and the true love he has for his 5 daughters.
This book is real, it deals with a part of life that most of us will never see. It does not make Eddie a hero it makes him a man that found the only door open to him to survive.
Read it!! It's hard, it's raw, it's true. If you start it in an evening plan on not going to sleep until it done---you can't put it down.
If he has a book signing anywhere near you go see him, talk to him, you'll never forget it!!!!!

Street Soldier is as intense as a kick in the teeth with a steel-toed boot, but without the pain and drive to the hospital. You get the same cringe of discomfort and sick-to-your-stomach feeling reading about MacKenzie's horrible acts of violence, though- not to mention all the same rubbernecking fascination. His tale is formulaic in a lot of ways: "Mac" is passed around from one foster home to another, abused and molested as a kid; he quickly excels at a life of crime and rises to great and seedy heights; and he gets caught, crashes, and waxes about his mistakes. Those heights reached were probably not known outside of South Boston, even notwithstanding the raft of Irish Mob stories of the last decade (representing a wave that Street Soldier is clearly trying to ride). Locality doesn't matter, though, since the story is interesting enough to transcend state and cultural lines.

It is also violent enough to cross the lines of good taste. Not like I objected, but be forewarned that no details are spared as Mac clinically and dispassionately describes the kicking in of ribs, biting off of ears and fingers, and pulling out of teeth, all to collect a buck or spread the word of his boss' displeasure. All in a day's work...

Some of the more interesting aspects of this story that separate it from its peers include MacKenzie's love for, and prowess in, the martial arts and boxing. While obviously helpful to his career as a thug, they allowed Mac to win heaps of athletic awards that in another lifetime could have been his ticket to legitimacy. Mac also didn't seem to indulge in the drugs and substances that he pushed, which arguably helped him remember the last 20 years more clearly. Additionally, this may be one of the first accounts of the Boston Irish Mob scene to really expose all of Whitey's flaws, transgression, and evil facets, even though Mac arguably stands nothing to gain (and everything to lose) by so doing. Lastly, Mac is speaking from the other side of his Mob life, having crossed without having failed. I mean, he got pinched, and had to rat out and set up Colombian drug lords in order to gain his own freedom, but he was pretty much a perfect success in Whitey's organization (at least as he tells it). The end of his criminal career was mostly engendered by Whitey's picking up shop and disappearing.

Mac's tone as he recounts his life's work reveals a lot about how he views his violent role in society. Although he is careful to give the appearance of self-deprecation and candor about choosing the wrong path, you quickly get the impression he's window dressing, and is entirely too comfortable with having spent most of his adult life hurting and stealing from others. True, a lot of guys harmed were no angels, but there are a lot of innocents beaten up for the sake of it, and houses ransacked for a quick buck that went more to beers and good times than food and necessities. You wish Mac had had more violent comeuppance in his lifetime, and, no, his hard times as a kid just don't quite rise to the level of compelling the reader to enable his actions.

The tone grows worse as the book wanes, too. Mac starts complaining about justice, particularly regarding one of his violent thug friends who is still locked up, without any irony whatsoever. Despite having walked away scot-free after a life preying upon poor, honest victims that he sized up as living suckers' lives, he has no problem whining about the world's injustices. Also unsettling is that Mac admits to not knowing whether or not living on the level is the right path for him; there is enough uncertainty about his flying straight to make it seem like the only happy ending means Mac is locked up away from the rest of us.

Reading Edward MacKenzie's Street Soldier has brought back a lot of memories from another place and another time. Ed's memoir has a universal, transcendent quality about it, it's a raw and insightful narrative about that ugly part of big city life that those who live behind the fences don't see or are too squeamish even to admit it exists. The story could have been about a lot of people I personally knew in Tbilisi, Georgia and Moscow, Russia. Ten thousands miles removed from Boston, entire generations of young kids grew into relentless killing machines brought into the system by the strictest recruiting mechanism with its initiation rites and sacred codes of honor. And like Edward MacKenzie, the mean streets have always been the testing ground. Many like Ed started as vicious street brawlers, then were noticed by the "the men of honor" and later inducted into the system. Their progress within the hierarchy was accomplished according to merit assessment and the decision-makers were our domestic Dons. Reading Ed's book is like reading a familiar story in which only the setting and the names are different. Ed also makes many interesting observations dealing with fear, self confidence, and the ability to stand up for oneself. Now, if I ever were to write my own version of the story on the other side of the Atlantic, I'd like to invite Edward MacKenzie as my co-author.

This lowlife legbreaker writes about the sexual pleasure he gets from breaking peoples legs, rats out other crooks to save his own criminal behind, and then tells us about how touched he is after going to college and finding out he's a good guy who loves his daughters. I felt disgusted with this guy who seemed top think the OTHER crooks were bad and he was good, after all he went to college. (so did Ted Bundy)
I had read BLACK MASS earlier and liked it. Still curious about Whitey Bulger, I tried this book. It stunk. I could write about my disgust with this book (and I LOVE mob books) for days, but instead just send me your address and you can have my copy. This fool should not take anyone else's money.

This book is a straight-shooting and electrifying tale of Whitey Bulger's gang in Boston. It offers insight into Whitey's world unlike any book I've read so far on the subject. The author is not looking for forgiveness or sympathy and often refers to himself as a scumbag. He gives graphic details on his bonecrushing days and Whitey's violence. Well chronicled and fascinating reading.

I have read several books on both the Italian and Irish mobs. I would rate this book as one of the better ones because of it's rare, insider perspective. It is a story of survival on the streets of Boston and how one's environment while growing up contributes to the person we become. Eddie Mac is not vague in his descriptions of Whitey Bulger's gang activity and the stories told had me turning the pages faster and faster! I would also recommend Black Mass and All Souls for those interested in the Irish Mob in Boston.

Edward Mackenzie's account of life within 'The Irish Mob' is about as accurate as it could be. He details his early life as a 'made' guy and candidly recounts appalling activities such as extortion, gambling, running numbers, blackmail of politicians, hanging around with life insurance salesmen and attending amateur poetry readings.

In Chapter 4, Eddie explains the infamous 'Code of Impressions', and expounds the fundamental 'Ethic of Appearance'. On page 68 he says, 'Grooming was everything. You didn't never leave the house without a gun, a baseball bat, a chainsaw, dynamite, an acid bath, a Barry Manilow CD in case real torture was needed, your comb and a small vanity mirror. Let's face it; who's gonna take a standover guy serious if his suit ain't shined or his hair don't have one of them layered cuts from The Family's in-house coiffeur, Mario 'The Mincer' Roselli.'

There's only one small inaccuracy in Mackenzie's story, and as it pertains to my work, it needs to be corrected. On page 144, Eddie states that at the 1992 Palermo Film Festival, `Terminator 2' was unanimously voted `Best Conflict Resolution Video' by the members of SNACK (Sensitive New Age Contract Killers). The vote wasn't unanimous. Carmine `The Lens' Gambino abstained because he shot not only the film but also every critic who panned it.

After reading Black Mass by Dick Lahr & Gerad O'Niel, I thought I knew it all about the FBI and the Boston Irish Mob AKA Whitey Bulger. After reading Edward Mackenzie's book Street Soldier, I realized the stark difference between someone who was on the inside (Mackenzie) and someone who was on the outside (Lehr & O'Niel) Mackenzie's book Street Soldier, shows us how(as Mackenzie's states)how one is turned from being prey to being predator! I couldn't stop turning the page, this book makes one feel like they are walking in Mackenzie's footsteps as he brings you chapter after chapter or horifying experiances! I read the book three weeks ago, and as I'm driving along in my safe suburban neiborhood, I cringe to think of what's going on in the inner city. Great read! I give this book 5 stars! Krystal MD.

I saw Mackenzie on CSPAN Books. I was totally captivated by his willingness to share his world and inner fealings with the audience. This kid has to be telling the truth (I said to myself), so I bought the book. All I can say is, WOW. There is truly another world that we as civilized people only think we read about. Mackenzie, brings us into this world, and let me tell you, it's terrifiong but blatantly honest and raw. At times, I wanted to kill him, and at times I cried, and tipped my hat to him. At the end, the real Eddie Mac (as he calls himself) came out to be a loving father, a man who would give you the shirt off his back, but kill you in two seconds if you came near one of his kids in a threatening way. All in all, I rate this street thriller a 5.