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The Good Rat

A True Story

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
A Pulitzer Prize winning journalist reveals a history of the American mob with "perfect diabolical detail. . . . A master at transforming crookery into opera" (New York Times Book Review).
In his inimitable New York voice, New York Times bestselling author Jimmy Breslin gives us a look through the keyhole at the people and places that define the Mafia—characters like John Gotti, Sammy "the Bull" Gravano, Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso (named for his weapon of choice), and Jimmy "the Clam" Eppolito—interwoven with the remarkable true-crime saga of the good rat himself, Burt Kaplan of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, the star witness in the trial of two NYPD detectives indicted for carrying out eight gangland executions. Through these unforgettable real-life and long-forgotten Mafia stories, Jimmy Breslin captures the moments in which the mob was made and broken.
"The ineffable Breslin, the mob's Homer, may not have done much to ensure Kaplan's longevity, but he has surely granted him immortality." —Boston Globe
"Bad cops, good crook, great story." —USA Today
"Breslin is a writer of the heart. It's hard to name another author who demonstrates a better understanding of the passions of urban misrule." —Playboy
"Completely sure of what he's doing, the author knows how to hook a reader." —New York Observer
"Brilliant . . . a colorfully nuanced depiction of Burt Kaplan." —New York Daily News
"Jimmy Breslin at his best." —New York Times
"The Good Rat tells us about the corkscrew workings of the criminal mind where Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment left off." —Nicholas Pileggi, New York Times bestselling author of Wiseguy
"Smart and stinging . . . a winner." —Kirkus Reviews
"[Breslin's] writing, like the Mafia itself, breezily transitions from humorous to horrifying." —Publishers Weekly
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    • Publisher's Weekly

      November 12, 2007
      Breslin, renowned journalist and author of The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight
      , revisits a familiar wise-guy milieu in this collection of stories and anecdotes about the mob. His writing, like the Mafia itself, breezily transitions from humorous to horrifying as he regales the reader with loosely connected tales of mistaken identity, crooked cops, snitches and murder. Unlike the Sopranos
      and the many other touchstones of the American love affair with organized crime, for Breslin, there’s good and there’s evil, with little in between. As always, however, nicknames are half the fun, as Sammy “The Bull” Gravano, Tony Café and Gaspipe Casso take the stage in the Mafia hotspots of the five boroughs, including Greenpoint, in Brooklyn, and Ozone Park, in Queens, as Breslin delights with stories from the Mafia’s heyday. Breslin’s storytelling is set to the sweet background music of one of the mob’s biggest canaries, Burton Kaplan, as he sings to a grand jury. The author’s vernacular precision contrasts sharply with the plodding sterility of Kaplan’s grand jury testimony, and as we find out, good guys can often tell ugly stories more authentically than the bad guys. The effect is tragicomic as Kaplan’s testimony sounds the death knell for his associates. These stories unveil the strict code of conduct, often broken, of a dying breed. According to Kaplan, however, while illegal gambling and extortion may be waning industries, the myth of the American Mafia will never die.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from March 31, 2008
      Throaty New York dialogue is wonderfully realized by Richard M. Davidson, who leads the way for a small cast of narrators who assume various roles in this powerful Mafia tale. Davidson is so firm and solid in his delivery, he actually becomes the hard-nosed characters in question: Sammy “The Bull” Gravano and Gaspipe Casso. Kaipo Schwab offers a fantastic supporting performance as U.S. Attorney Robert Henoch, while Richard Mover takes on the role of turncoat mob associate Burton Kaplan. Each character is so well developed and believable that listeners will suspect they're listening to actual recordings rather than outstanding performances. Breslin's words are perfectly suited to these fine readers, who make them their own in three stunning performances. Simultaneous release with the Ecco hardcover (Reviews, Nov. 12, 2007).

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