To Kill the Irishman: The War That Crippled the Mafia [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

by Rick Porrello (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Must reading for anyone interested in ... organized crime ... more dramatic than anything to ever come out of Hollywood. -- Midwest Book Reviews, 1998 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
The story of Danny Greene, a fiercely proud and fearless Irish-American racketeer who took on the Mafia in a spectacular and unprecedented bombing war. The mob tries desperately to kill the Irishman, but with each bungled attempt, Greene's reputation of invincibility grows. After seven attempts, the Irishman is finally killed with a "tojan horse" bomb car. In death, Greene continues to haunt La Cosa Nostra. As a result of the numerous investigations, several high-ranking Mafia figures betray omerta and become government cooperating witnesses. Their testimony results in the fall of numerous mob bosses in New York, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Youngstown, Cleveland and Kansas City. The story has been optioned for a feature film or television movie.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 223 pages
• Publisher: Next Hat Pr; illustrated edition edition (October 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966250877
• ISBN-13: 978-0966250879
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,245,549 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Horrendous Writing, October 29, 2004

By	Rae A. Lutz - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: To Kill the Irishman: The War That Crippled the Mafia (Ohio) (Hardcover)

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!

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A terrific story needs better telling, February 3, 1999

By A Customer

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.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read, June 4, 2003

By	William M. Murray "murray500" (Central Indiana USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: To Kill the Irishman: The War That Crippled the Mafia (Ohio) (Hardcover)

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.