First family: terror, extortion, revenge, murder, and the birth of the American mafia, Mike Dash (audio)
The birth of the mafia in New York, focusing on the man who started to organize the crime of the Sicilian immigrant criminals, “The Clutch Hand.” The politics of the underground organization, including a lot of Sicilian politics, and the strengths and weaknesses of the law enforcement agencies trying to bring them down are really well filled in. Dash used law enforcement and court documents extensively, capturing much more than the newspapers did. I was interested that the mafia’s various income streams were only lucrative compared to the poverty-stricken Sicilian countryside, aside from the Prohibition years. Four stars.
Nice Recovery, Susan Juby (Fan exclusive! Not yet published in the US! Got a free Advance Reader’s Copy from the Author!)
When you start drinking at a young age and then quit, you end up dealing with some fairly heavy issues about your life at a time when most young people are just getting started figuring out who they are. Juby shares the story of her alcoholism from age 13-20, and what it’s like to be in recovery. She also interviews some other young people in recovery and discusses some of the various options for people wanting to get sober. The book is clearly a labor of love, intended to be a life preserver for young people going through recovery. Three stars.
Up & Down New York, Tony Sarg
A book of illustrations of city life in New York in the 1920s, not really aerial, more like from the second or third floor. They are really colorful and appealing, and reminded me of Where’s Waldo and the Richard Scarry Busytown books where everyone is doing something. The introduction said that this was a follow up to a book he did on London– I think that book would be pretty neat, too. Four stars.
The American History Cookbook, Mark H. Zanger
One of the pitfalls of weeding the less-used books in the library is falling under the spell of an esoteric work. This is one of them. This guy seems to have a big historic cookbook collection (as do I) and an interest in history (as do I). Not how I would have put it together, but a fun browse. Two stars.
A Year in Japan, Kate T. Williamson
The author got to spent a year in Japan on a grant, and this is the result of that year. It’s a series of paintings of what she observed with a short paragraph or two about what she saw and its significance. It’s almost like a visual dictionary of Japan (which would be totally cool- somebody make that). Four stars.
The Best American Crime Reporting 2008
Another “Chapter One: A Grisly Discovery” book, but this is a book of essays, so every chapter has its own grisly discovery. Surprisingly few weak selections, lots of really strong ones. There’s an especially good one by Calvin Trillin and a really astounding story (and with an even more astounding coda) by Pamela Colloff about a cover-up at the Mexico-Texas border. Highly recommended, if you like this kind of thing. Four stars.