{"product_id":"9780312362843","title":"The Westies : Inside New York's Irish Mob","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eThe Westies\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): T. J. English\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom T. J. English, the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Corporation: An Epic Story of the Cuban American Underworld\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Westies: Inside New York’s Irish Mob\u003c\/i\u003e is the true account of the vicious gang that ruled Hell’s Kitchen from the 1960s through the 1980s.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEven among the Mob, the Westies were feared. Starting with a partnership between two sadistic thugs, Jimmy Coonan and Mickey Featherstone, the gang rose out of the inferno of Hell’s Kitchen, a decaying tenderloin slice of New York City’s West Side. They became the most notorious gang in the history of organized crime, excelling in extortion, numbers running, loan sharking, and drug peddling. Upping the ante on depravity, their specialty was execution by dismemberment. Though never numbering more than a dozen members, their reign lasted for almost twenty years—until their own violent natures got the best of them, precipitating a downfall that would become as infamous as their ascension into the annals of crime.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis revised and updated chronicle of the Westies served as the basis of the crime film \u003ci\u003eState of Grace\u003c\/i\u003e, starring Sean Penn, Ed Harris, and Gary Oldman.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Must reading…will shock even the most hardened readers.” —\u003ci\u003ePlayboy\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Sterling social history…the author's skillful reporting makes the most of his subject.” —\u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Raw, earthy and heavily flavored with New York vernacular…[T.J. English] knows the people he writes about and never sets himself above them.” —\u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Masterfully told, gracefully written…the true story of the most violent men this nation has ever seen. Al Capone would have cringed…you want to cheer at he end…\u003ci\u003eThe Westies \u003c\/i\u003ewill blow you away.” —\u003ci\u003eEdna Buchanan, author of The Corpse Had  a Familiar Face\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Must reading… an investigative story about contract killers for the Mafia that will shock even the most hardened reader.” —\u003ci\u003ePlayboy\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A disquieting look at a worthwhile subject: the frailties of justice in the big city.” —\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Stunning…a graphic account of brutality in search of power and money.” —\u003ci\u003eOcala Star Banner\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A fascinating, frightening account of how bad kids turned worse, and how the worst one, finally turned good.” —\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A fascinating look into an Irish American criminal enterprise that may not have rivaled the Mafia in sophistication, but certainly surpassed it in terror.” —\u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A fast-moving tale of criminal corruption in which, for a change, the good guys win…English pulls no punches.” —\u003ci\u003eL.A. Daily News\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Both compelling and unsettling…it's also chilling. You'll have a hard time putting it down.” —\u003ci\u003eRocky Mountain News\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A great yarn--English writes with a controlled lushness. He provides the detail of a detective's notebook.” —\u003ci\u003eAnniston Star\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Pure enjoyment…if you want to read a book about the ‘Irish Mafia,' this is it.” —\u003ci\u003eVermont Standard\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A harrowing account of big city crime.” —\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Potent…what English has done is take organized crime as it really evolves and occurs on a human scale and then builds it back into an engrossing narrative. His book will stand.” —\u003ci\u003eIrish America Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Reminiscent of Poe and Dostoyevsky in subject and character… at times as jolting as running on concrete on a cold winter morning.” —\u003ci\u003eNew York Newsday\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“As exciting as E.L. Doctorow's Billy Bathgate…the hardest part is trying to remember this isn't a novel; it's real.” —\u003ci\u003eArkansas Gazette\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9780312362843\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"St. Martin's Griffin","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":40594802639054,"sku":"9780312362843","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/7029\/7806\/products\/getimage_999d03a9-37d8-4b6c-9962-708f640cbdb8.jpg?v=1637818458","url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9780312362843","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}