BigLouKnows: Book review 2: To kill the Irishman, the war that crippled the Mafia by Rick Porrello

The second book I have just finished was titled, To kill the Irishman, the war that crippled the Mafia by Rick Porrello. To be completely honest I have read this book twice because I found some of its content highly interesting. And for years My brother and I have been intensely interested in the Mafia, or more pointedly, organized crime of any ethnicity, especially the Irish ha-ha. I have read many books on this subject, which I will post on this blog as time goes on, but I do find a common denominator amongst crime writers, not all mind you, but quite a few. They seem to have a little problem with chronicling their work, and of course a story about real live people will jump back and forth from past events to future exploits, but the way some of these writers handle this delicate writing bridge leaves something to desire. I half-jokingly label them the A.D.D writers’ guild, and on occasions Porrello does the same thing. However, the story line is compelling: an Irish swashbuckler-racketeer challenges the Cleveland Mafia to an all-out war; such bravado as this had not been seen since the Chicago bootleg wars of the roaring twenties, when Dion O’Bannon took on Al Capone. The book is riddled with wild moments of sheer brazen behavior by a cagey Irishman named Danny Greene. For instance, at one point he allegedly held a stick of dynamite in his hand as he boastfully calls out to an outlaw biker gang, which were being to rambunctious in their new club, which just happened to reside in Greene's neighborhood. He suggests they quiet down and/or leave or he willl toss in his 'boom' stick and they will all be blown to bits. Overall this book was a fun read; even though, it would sporadically jump around. I would recommend this because there are not many mob books about the Cleveland Mafia, nor about Irish gangsters that dare to take from the Italians what they believe is rightfully theirs.
BigLou's rating: