Gangster: The biography of international drug trafficker John Gilligan


John Mooney - 2001
    The book is an extraordinarily account of how a young Dubliner became a multi-millionaire criminal. It uses first-hand interviews with Gilligan, his thugs, friends, family, enemies, anti-drugs activists, members of the IRA and the police. It tells of violence, kidnapping, shootings, criminal espionage, drug dealing and how criminal gangs vied for power to control the Irish trade in drugs. Shocking, fascinating and frightening, 'Gangster' also tells the story behind the murder of Veronica Guerin, the crime reporter. Fully updated and revised with new photographs.

The Rise and Fall of a 'Casino' Mobster: The Tony Spilotro Story Through A Hitman's Eyes


Frank Cullotta - 2017
    A feared enforcer, the bosses knew Tony would do whatever it took to protect their interests. The “Little Guy” built a criminal empire that was the envy of mobsters across the country, and his childhood pal, Frank Cullotta helped him do it. But Tony’s quest for power and lack of self-control with women cost the Mob its control of Vegas; and Tony paid for it with his life. ”I was a little nervous before my first meeting with former mobster Frank Cullotta. It turned out we had a pleasant conversation that ended with an agreement for me to write his book. As I drove home, I realized I had made a deal with a career thief and killer on a handshake. What was I thinking?”--Dennis N. Griffin, author of SURVIVING THE MOB

Pretty Boy: The Life and Times of Charles Arthur Floyd


Michael Wallis - 1992
    The first biography of Pretty Boy Floyd, one of America's most notorious criminals, is a sweeping social history as well as a biography of this Depression-era, Robin Hood-like figure. 125 illustrations.

Nikola Tesla: A Captivating Guide to the Life of a Genius Inventor


Captivating History - 2017
    His claim that “harnessing the forces of nature was the only worthwhile scientific endeavor" both impressed and enraged the scientific community. Eventually, his peers could no longer dismiss his eccentricities and began to view him as a crackpot — a potentially dangerous one. Although Tesla’s work was a major factor in the success of the second Industrial Revolution, he died alone, impoverished, and largely shunned by the scientific community that once hailed him a genius. Beset by visions, without a wife or children, Nikola Tesla’s brilliant mind changed the world, even though at the time of his death he passed unnoticed into obscurity. Some of the topics covered in this book include: Childhood Education and Early Career Patents and Politics The Eccentric Genius Tesla’s Coil and the Niagara Contract Influential Friends and the Lure of Flight The Wardenclyffe Tower 1914 and Beyond And much more! Scroll to the top and select the "BUY NOW" button for instant download

Doing the Business - The Final Confession of the Senior Kray Brother


Charlie Kray - 2011
    Only one man knew everything about Ronnie and Reggie Kray and that was their brother Charlie. Until now nobody has ever revealed the truth about the Firm.- Gossip and rumor have been rife, fact has blended into fiction and the unwritten law of the street meant that the real story was buried. But before his death, the eldest Kray brother, Charlie, decided to set the record straight once and for all. Revealing everything to Colin Fry, his co-author, he finally told his incredible story. By the man who knew them best, this is the ultimate history of the twins who ruled the East End with their peculiar blend of seductive glamour and terrifying violence.

Il Dottore: The Double Life of a Mafia Doctor


Ron Felber - 2004
    Felber (a doctoral candidate at Drew U.) recounts the doctor's early ties to criminals during his childhood in the Bronx, his participation in a

Cullotta: The Life of a Chicago Criminal, Las Vegas Mobster, and Government Witness (True Crime)


Dennis Griffin - 2007
    This no-holds-barred biography chronicles the life of a career criminal who started out as a thug on the streets of Chicago and became a trusted lieutenant in Tony Spilotro’s gang of organized lawbreakers in Las Vegas. Cullotta’s was a world of high-profile heists, street muscle, and information—lots of it—about many of the FBI’s most wanted. In the end, that information was his ticket out of crime, as he turned government witness and became one of a handful of mob insiders to enter the Witness Protection Program. “Frank Cullotta is the real thing,” says Nicholas Pileggi in the book’s Foreword, and in these pages, Cullotta sets the record straight on organized crime, witness protection, and life and death in mobbed-up Las Vegas.

Houses of Death (True Crime)


Gordon Kerr - 2008
    a notorious "murder house" which was once the scene of a brutal and bloody crime. If the walls of number 25 Cromwell Street had ears, what horrifying acts would they have overheard during the occupancy of serial killers Fred and Rose West? Brutal torture sessions and grisly murders were a regular occurrence. Even after the evidence has been removed and the perpetrators imprisoned or executed, an aura of horror, fear and disgust can linger on for decades. Houses of Death provides an incredible insight into ordinary homes and institutional buildings that have played host to extraordinary events. It explores the infamous buildings, the murderers and victims who called them ‘home’, as well as the bizarre and bloody events that took place behind their closed doors.Contents including:Countess Erzsebet Bathory,Castle Csejthe; Eastern State Penitentiary; The Bender family log cabin; Sing Sing;Lizzie Borden, 92 Second Street, Fall River; H H Holmes, The Murder Castle, Chicago; Newgate Prison; Lemp Mansion, St Louis; Bangkwang Prison, Thailand; Collingwood Manor Massacre; Washington State Penitentiary; John Christie, 10 Rillington Place; Ed Gein, Gein’s Farm, Plainfield, Wisconsin; Holloway Prison; Alcatraz; The Manson Family, 10050 Cielo Drive, Los Angeles; Jonestown; Fred and Rose West, 25 Cromwell Street; Jeffrey Dahmer, 213 Oxford Apartments;Gary Heidnik, 3520 North Marshall Street; Ian Huntley, 5 College Close, Soham.

The Enforcer: Spilotro, The Chicago Mob's Man Over Las Vegas


William F. Roemer Jr. - 1994
    Now William F. Roemer, Jr., veteran FBI agent and scourge of the Cosa Nostra, tells the shocking story of how a teenage wiseguy grew up to become "the man" in Vegas. From the gritty streets of Chicago to the neon-lit Nevada wonderland, Roemer assembles a rogue's gallery of the highest-ranking capos and the lowest creeps of organized crime. As incredible as any work of fiction -- but it's all fact!

Goombata: The Improbable Rise and Fall of John Gotti and His Gang


John Cummings - 1990
    . . and has never been convicted of racketeering, drug-trafficking or murder.Prize-winning journalists John Cummings and Ernest Volkman's shocking true account of the brutal and meteoric rise of John "Johhny Boy" Gotti from Brooklyn "bone-breaker" to lord of the Gambino Family -- a riveting exploration into the the bloody machinery of La Cosa Nostra operating on the dark side of the American dream.

American Legends: The Life of Doris Day


Charles River Editors - 2013
    *Includes Day's quotes about her life and career. *Includes a bibliography for further reading. *Includes a table of contents. “I’ve been through everything. I always said I was like those round-bottomed circus dolls — you know, those dolls you could push down and they’d come back up? I’ve always been like that. I’ve always said, ‘No matter what happens, if I get pushed down, I’m going to come right back up.’” – Doris Day A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history’s most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors’ American Legends series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of America’s most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. It goes without saying that few people have a career spanning 8 decades, yet that claim to fame is occupied by the legendary Doris Day, who got her start in show business as a singer in a big band in 1939 and has not let up since. From there, Day went on to record dozens of albums and hundreds of songs, winning a countless number of awards on the way to being one of the 20th century’s most popular singers. One of those recognitions came just a few years ago in 2011, when Day, by that time nearing 90 years old, released a new album that charted 9th in the UK Top 40 Albums, making her the oldest singer ever with that distinction. Her musical career would’ve been impressive enough, but Doris Day is just as well known today for her film career, which wasn’t so bad itself. Though her time in Hollywood was much shorter in comparison to her music career, she nevertheless managed to reach the top in that industry as well. As one of the most popular actresses of the ‘60s, Day was the biggest box office draw in Hollywood in the early half of that decade, and the only woman among the Top 10. In the process of making nearly 40 movies, Day would eventually be recognized as the highest grossing actress in history, and at the same time she was good enough at her craft to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress. Amazingly, despite her incredible success in both music and film, Day eventually found herself bankrupt due to the mismanagement of her money by her husband, compelling her to reinvent herself as the host of a popular television sitcom. Perhaps not surprisingly, Day excelled in this field as well, making The Doris Day Show one of the most popular shows on television for several years at the end of the ‘60s. American Legends: The Life of Doris Day examines the life and career of one of the entertainment industry’s biggest stars. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Doris Day like never before, in no time at all.

Court in the Middle


Andrew Fraser - 2007
    Then it all went horribly wrong. In 1999 he was charged with being knowingly concerned with the importation of a commercial quantity of cocaine. Fraser pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing, trafficking a small quantity, and using cocaine over a period of time. He was sentenced to seven years in maximum security prison. Court in the Middle describes his early years—growing up in a family of lawyers, running hard to build a criminal law practice; his successful years with a national practice, and defending high profile, sometimes notorious, clients. He also discusses his relationship with cocaine, addiction and deals, crime and punishment, and the shocking details of his time spent in a maximum security prison.

Without a Trace: Unsolved Disappearances and Mysterious Vanishings


Troy Taylor - 2020
    Such strange and chilling tales run the gamut of the terrifying and the bizarre and include crime victims, lost explorers, ships vanished at sea, outdoor disappearances, and supernatural mysteries that defy all explanation. Among these pages you’ll find accounts of America’s Lost Colony, history’s most famous ghost ships, famous figures who vanished into the unknown, the unknown fate of America’s first kidnapping for ransom, a vanished heiress, lighthouse keepers who impossibly disappeared, the killer who escaped the noose – permanently, the Grand Canyon adventurers who were never seen again, the Prohibition lawman’s nephew who was never found, the Ohio sorority girl who never made it home, the abducted housewife who disappeared, the Hollywood starlet who left her family behind, a missing West Point cadet, the babysitter who vanished on Halloween, the missing Texas couple who may have been Russian spies, the little boy who walked away for good in the Smoky Mountains, a missing heiress to a candy empire, a missing TV news reporter, a long distance runner whose run never ended, plus infamous vanishings of figures like Theodosia Burr, Amelia Earhart, Glenn Miller, Judge Crater, Jimmy Hoffa, and far too many more! Just remember as you turn the pages, that if these people so easily vanished from the face of the earth, then it means it could happen to anyone – perhaps even you. You may want to read this one with the lights on.

BEHIND THE DOOR: The Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp Story


Mandy Wiener - 2014
    Over the ensuing weeks, as Pistorius appeared in court and applied for bail, every detail that emerged was analysed, debated, justified and digested. South Africa and the world in general were haunted by the events as they were repeated and discussed at length. Public perception vacillated from version to version and from hour to hour.Behind the Door is a compelling narrative that unpacks the true facts of the story, as revealed in the courtroom and beyond during the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius and as told to the authors in several exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes briefings. It looks at the characters involved, relates the courtroom interactions and dramas, the construction of each side’s argument, the analysis of forensic and circumstantial evidence and exchanges between the personalities, as well as a broader look at violence and criminal justice in South Africa.Vivid and gripping, insightful and authoritative, Behind the Door is the book to read on the Reeva and Oscar story.Behind the Door is being published in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries by Pan Macmillan UK, in the United States and Canada (as One Tragic Night) by St Martin’s Press and worldwide in Spanish by Ediciones Urano.

Double Life: The Shattering Affair between Chief Judge Sol Wachtler and Socialite Joy Silverman


Linda Wolfe - 1994
    He was the top justice of New York’s highest court. She was a stunning socialite and his wife’s step-cousin. In 1993 Sol Wachtler was convicted of blackmail and extortion against Joy Silverman, his former mistress. How did a respected jurist and one of the most prominent men in America end up serving time in prison? Linda Wolfe starts at the beginning—from Wachtler’s modest Brooklyn upbringing through his courtship and marriage to Joan Wolosoff, the only child of a wealthy real estate developer.   Joy Fererh was three and a half when her father walked out. When she and Sol met, he was fifty-five and nearing the pinnacle of his legal career. She was a thirtysomething stay-at-home mother who, with Sol’s help, made a career for herself as a Republican Party fundraiser. They kept their affair a secret—until an explosive mix of sex, power, betrayal, and prescription-drug abuse set the stage for the tabloid headlines of the decade.