Paddy Whacked - T. J. English

Paddy Whacked

By T. J. English

  • Release Date: 2009-10-13
  • Genre: True Crime
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 36 Ratings

Description

Here is the shocking true saga of the Irish American mob. In Paddy Whacked, bestselling author and organized crime expert T. J. English brings to life nearly two centuries of Irish American gangsterism, which spawned such unforgettable characters as Mike "King Mike" McDonald, Chicago's subterranean godfather; Big Bill Dwyer, New York's most notorious rumrunner during Prohibition; Mickey Featherstone, troubled Vietnam vet turned Westies gang leader; and James "Whitey" Bulger, the ruthless and untouchable Southie legend. Stretching from the earliest New York and New Orleans street wars through decades of bootlegging scams, union strikes, gang wars, and FBI investigations, Paddy Whacked is a riveting tour de force that restores the Irish American gangster to his rightful preeminent place in our criminal history -- and penetrates to the heart of the American experience.

Reviews

  • Very Comprehensive

    4
    By Fpiano
    The author has explored his subject with numerous sources and writes extremely well. In order to tell the story of the Irish gangs, he also tells a large part of the history of the other American gangs as they were all tangled together at most times in our country's history. Although it doesn't really fit into the story of the Irish gangs, English claims JFK was killed by the Italian mob. He doesn't do anything to support the claim though. To me it seems like the mob may have wanted to kill him but didn't get around to it before Oswald. Mob conspiracy theories are not the most logical explanation. That makes this reader wonder if all other "facts" in this book are absolutely true. It is unfortunate that the book came out just a short time before Whitey Bolger was apprehended. It would have wrapped up the whole story. Not at all the author's fault, of course.

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