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Gangster Squad. By Paul Lieberman (2012)

by Paul Lieberman(Favorite Author)

3.11 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

144722230X (ISBN13: 9781447222309)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Pan Publishing

review 1: There were some interesting insights provided by this book. Ask me to be specific and I'm unsure if I could furnish you with the details of a single one. Why? Because of the writing style. To begin with, the writing is in the style of the kind of noir fiction popularised in recent times by the likes of James Ellroy. Lieberman in fact seems to make a lot of references to the noir style in this, making me think that this is the style to which he truly aspires to. It may be to some people's taste but I just think with a text such as this, interesting information on how the characters lived their lives would be far more enlightening.There were various other issues. Lieberman had the unendearing trait of revealing what he was about to write in the next chapter, destroying any s... moreuspense or wonder at how events might pan out. Not good. But the main problem was the fact that he seemed to focus on the banal. I'm not sure if this was due to a dearth of material for the book or what, but telling me the life histories of many, many, many insignificant characters in minute detail added nothing to the story. The main protagonist (Mickey Cohen) and antagonist (Jack O'Mara) were the only ones we needed to know about in detail. Maybe Jerry Wooters as well, at a push. Lieberman described the lives of EVERYONE in the book, trading his desire to do this against the need for the reader to know about the main characters. As a result, I felt that I knew far too little about Cohen by the end of the book. If you have plenty of time, give this a read. But there are hugely superior gangster books (Murder Machine, Goodfellas, Donnie Brasco, Five Families to name a few) that will give far better insight into the lives and times of these guys.
review 2: An interesting story, poorly told. The book is adapted from a series of newspaper articles and it feels like it. There is little narrative flow or focus over its 500 page length, and the editorial discipline to stick to the subject is sorely lacking. However, it is a study of a fascinating time, where gangsters where stars and the police were hopelessly ill equipped to deal with organised crime. There are numerous intriguing moments and snapshots of an era now largely forgotten in the shadow of Chicago's more famous characters.It is hard to recommend tho because it never really builds these stories into a book. As a contrast Public Enemies, which focuses on the loose society of bank robbers in the pre-war era, is a much more successful attempt at taking a collection of cops and robbers and turning it into a real page turner. If you have a keen interest in the american underworld, its worth picking up a copy but there's nothing here for anyone but the enthusiasts. less

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