| Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF | |
|
|
|
The Mad Ones: Crazy Joe Gallo and the Revolution at the Edge of the Underworld |  | Author: Tom Folsom
Publisher: Weinstein Books
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $11.69
as of 3/9/2010 22:08 CST details
You Save: $13.26 (53%)
New (39) Used (29) Collectible (1) from $4.49
Rating:  35 reviews
Sales Rank: 58338
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 256
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1
ISBN: 1602860815
Dewey Decimal Number: 364.1092
EAN: 9781602860810
Publication Date: May 5, 2009
Shipping: Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
| |
| Features:
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
| |
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
A POWERFUL COLLISION OF TRUE CRIME AND POP CULTURE, THE MAD ONES CAPTURES THE REVOLUTIONARY SPIRIT OF THE SIXTIES AND BRINGS TO LIFE ONE OF THE MOST VIBRANT ANTIHEROES IN AMERICAN HISTORY. The Mad Ones chronicles the rise and fall of the Gallo brothers, a trio of reckless young gangsters whose revolution against New York City's Mafia was inspired by Crazy Joe Gallo's forays into Greenwich Village counterculture. Crazy Joe, Kid Blast, and Larry Gallo are steeped in legend, from Bob Dylan's eleven-minute ballad "Joey" to fictionalizations central to The Godfather trilogy and Jimmy Breslin's The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight. Called the toughest gang in the city by the NYPD, the Gallos hailed from the rough Red Hook neighborhood on the Brooklyn waterfront. As low-level Mafiosi, they were expected to serve their Don quietly, but the brothers stood apart from typical gangsters with their hip style, fierce ambition, and Crazy Joe's manic idealism. Joey aspired to be more than a common hood and immersed himself among the Beatniks and bohemians of the Village. Yearning to live the life of an artist, Joey wrote poetry, painted, and got his kicks devouring existential philosophy. Celebrated as the "king of the streets" by Dylan, Joey was embraced by the city's leading cultural figures as an antihero straight out of Camus. Here, for the first time, is the complete story of the Gallos' war against the powerful Cosa Nostra, an epic crime saga that culminates in Crazy Joe's murder on the streets of Little Italy, where he was gunned down mid-bite into a forkful of spaghetti in 1972. The Mad Ones is a wildly satisfying entertainment and a significant work of cultural history.
|
| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 35
 A CLASSIC TALE FROM THE MEAN STREETS ABOUT A HERO OF THE COUNTERCULTURE April 14, 2009
Rick (Manchester, NH)
16 out of 20 found this review helpful
The title comes from the Jack Kerouac quote: "The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn." And that's exactly how Joey Gallo lived his life.
The Mad Ones is the story of Joey and his brothers--Larry and Albert "Kid Blast" Gallo--a family of young gangsters whose revolution against New York City's Cosa Nostra in the 1960s was fueled by Joey Gallo's immersion into the hip Greenwich Village Beat scene. Bob Dylan (who wrote "Joey" about him), Bobby Kennedy, Pete Hamill, Gay Talese, Jimmy Breslin, Mario Puzo, Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Orbach--an incredible roster of people spun through Joey Gallo's life before he was gunned down in Little Italy in '72. Gay Talese points out that "He almost became one of the beautiful people."
The Mad Ones delves into territory unexpected in a "mob book." Much of the story deals with Joey's having explored the artistic and cultural worlds of the turbulent sixties.
Sure, it's a lot like "Goodfellas" and "Mean Streets," but in spirit it also shares a lot with Godard's French classic "Band of Outsiders," and the Gallo boys more closley resemble Depression-era gangsters like Pretty Boy Floyd and John Dillinger than they do Don Corleone.
The Mad Ones also captures a grittier era of New York City (specifically downtown and in Brooklyn) that is long, long gone.
Terrific story all around.
RICK GOLDSTEIN SAYS: "CRAZY JOE... LARRY... KID BLAST... THE GALLO BROTHERS... NOT YOUR NORMAL MAFIA FAMILY May 4, 2009
Rick Shaq Goldstein (Danville, Ca, USA)
11 out of 14 found this review helpful
If you're a Mafia enthusiast you won't want to miss the chance to add this "unique" Mafia tale to your library. The Gallo's were a small mob that didn't play by the big guys rules. The major "Don's" always called on the Gallo's when a dirty job needed to be done... but they never shared the wealth accordingly... and they were never invited to the private parties at the lavish mansions... a fact that lingered eternally like boiling bile in "Crazy Joe's" gut. I have read many books on the Mafia and the Gallo's were a name I always heard about... but never in such crystal detail. The Gallows were a relatively small "family" with about twenty-five soldiers... and yet they openly battled families such as the Colombo and Profaci's. Crazy Joe even kidnapped members of these families and held them hostage. During these brutal and deadly gang wars the Gallo's would hit the "mattresses" and hole up at their headquarters at 51 President Street in Brooklyn. Guns of all types and sizes... along with grenades... and chicken wire placed inside the windows to keep apposing grenades from entering the fortress... would be part of sieges that lasted months and years. The police would parole the streets trying to defuse this war zone.
Crazy Joe was convicted on extortion charges when he was heard threatening an individual with the sale of stolen liquor. When the victim said he had to think it over Crazy Joe said: "THAT IF YOU NEED SOME TIME TO THINK IT OVER, THEY'LL PUT YOU IN THE HOSPITAL FOR FOUR OR FIVE MONTHS, AND THAT'LL GIVE YOU SOME TIME." While Crazy Joe was in prison he did the unthinkable... he ingratiated some black inmates which led to him being threatened by the KKK in prison. Set up by racist prison guards to be killed by the Klansman... Joe bit the Klansman's ear off. While in prison Joe read every book imaginable regarding psychology... metaphysics... philosophy... and more. Upon release he hung with a different crowd... from Dylan to actors to beatniks. Acquaintances' would later say: "HE LOOKED LIKE A GANGSTER, TALKED LIKE A POET." Also deliciously detailed is the Gallo's legendary confrontation with Bobby Kennedy before the Senate Select Committee. No matter what question Kennedy asked Crazy Joe or brother Larry they would say: "I RESPECTFULLY DECLINE TO ANSWER BECAUSE I HONESTLY BELIEVE MY ANSWER MIGHT TEND TO INCRIMINATE ME." The Senate committee was so mad they even asked... "DO YOU HAVE A WIFE?" "I RESPECTFULLY DECLINE TO.... ARE YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER LIVING?... I RESPECTFULLY... ARE YOU AN AMERICAN CITIZEN?''' I RESPECTFULLY DECLINE..." Later on Crazy Joe went into Bobby's office... "AND KNELT DOWN TO FEEL THE RUG. NICE CARPET YA GOT HERE, KID. BE GOOD FOR A CRAP GAME."
"The files connected him with the murder of a Brooklyn tavern owner and unwanted competitor in the jukebox racket, shot so many times in the face they couldn't identify him except from dental records. Bobby asked about the victim." JOEY GIGGLED."
One of the most famous pictures in Mafia history is the picture of ALBERT ANASTASIA, THE LORD HIGH EXECUTIONER OF MURDER, INC... THE BUTCHER OF BROOKLYN... LAYING DEAD ON THE BARBER SHOP FLOOR AT THE PARK SHERATON HOTEL ON OCTOBER 25, 1957. Joey took credit for the hit by telling friends to call him the "BARBERSHOP QUINTET". Crazy Joe came to his end on April 7, 1972 at Umberto's Clam House... and another headline generating mob war exploded. You will not be able to put this book down as the Gallo's left an indelible mark on the annals of Mafia history.
Kirkus Starred Review ... on the money May 31, 2009
Charlie Stella (Fords, New Joisey)
8 out of 11 found this review helpful
The Mad Ones ... Tom Folson, a writer, director and producer of television documentaries for A&E and Showtime, has written a compelling bio of (subtitle) Crazy Joe Gallo and the Revolution at the Edge of the Underworld. It's written in the staccato style I favor and is loaded with some interesting tidbits about the Gallo brothers (Larry, Joe and Kid Blast) and the celebrity/angst they experienced during the height of the mob's power in New York. The book revolves around "Crazy" Joe Gallo, the Tommy Udo-looking middle brother, whose mob resume was something brought to Hollywood through Jimmy Breslin's The Gang that Couldn't Shoot Straight, an offensive (to the Gallo brothers and other discerning wannabes) depiction of the wild crew from Red Hook, Brooklyn (in which actor Jerry Orbach portrayed Joe like a buffoon--a role that almost kneecapped the great actor, but would eventually lead to a genuine lifelong friendship with Crazy Joe. Hollywood would take another stab at some of the Gallo mob history with several scenes in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather (adapted from the novel by Mario Puzzo). Joe Gallo is portrayed as something more than just another thug (although that's a tough one to swallow based on his actions, reputation and what landed him in jail). Gallo read Camus, Sartre and wrote poetry. He took up painting and was about to write a book. He was fearless and wily, but too often paranoid to the point of self-destruction. The Mad Ones is a quick study, but a good one. Folson doesn't make excuses for the Gallo brothers, but he does point out some of the hypocrisies of New York politicians and how they sometimes welcomed the efforts of the Gallo brothers in calming the mean streets of New York (the same mean streets they would engage in a decade long war with the Profaci (later Columbo) family and the people who set up Larry Gallo for an attempted garroting (made famous in The Godfather when the Frank Pantangelli character is nearly garroted in a bar by the fictional Risotto brothers). It's a highly recommended read as true crime mob books go. What was behind the attempted Joe Colombo assassination at the 2nd annual Italian-American rally shortly after Joe Gallo was released from prison suggests the start of the final war that would bring down Crazy Joe at Umberto's in the heart of Little Italy the same night he was celebrating what would be his final birthday. He was 43 when he was gunned down. For mob and/or true crime enthusiasts, The Mad Ones is well worth the investment.
Kirkus gave this baby a *starred* review ... not sure why amazon doesn't show it, but it sure should.
 Psychotic Froth May 6, 2009
abcdefgh
8 out of 11 found this review helpful
Tom Folsom knows how to take a marginal story about marginal people and whip it into a frothy tale. I loved the pacing and jumpiness of this tale. The style fits the beat era perfectly. This book is short on details and chronology - I mean this in a good way - this is not a string of gory mob details, but a frenetic glimpse into some psychotic minds, delivered in a Saturday matinee kind of way. It's a café latte decaf. The writing style maintained my interest in the story. Thank you Tom Folsom.
 Compelling subject, confounding prose July 7, 2009
twinehead (Washington, DC)
10 out of 14 found this review helpful
Author Tom Folsom has let Joey Gallo go to his head. The result is an odd, self-indulgent stylistic exercise, comparably authentic to Dick Van Dyke's cockney accent in Mary Poppins but less entertaining. On many pages, his efforts to convey the beat/mobster milieu work to grind the narrative to a jarring halt, with his overwrought prose sucking all of the oxygen out of the room, leaving nothing for his subject. It's an ineffective gimmick and Folsom lacks the literary chops to pull it off. He's the square in the first row of a club in the Village -- snapping his fingers but way off beat daddy-o.
On the other hand, the dust jacket is brilliant.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 35
|
|
|
CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED ‘AS IS’ AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME. - | |
