A true-crime story from New York set in 1860 where Albert Hicks became the last known or one of the last to be publicly executed. Hicks was a known criminal mainly in the Five Points area and for the most part, had his way with people. Most were fearful of him or of his reputation so he could pretty much do what he wanted and did so. This was before organized crime which would still be about 25 to 30 years from showing up in New York. He would have lasted longer except for his last crime.
He went to the docks and after finding the right boat to find work got a job on an oyster sloop. He would do his crime and then make his getaway in the lower part of Manhattan. He did get the job and during the night of the voyage, he committed the crime, or crimes of killing everyone aboard along with robbing. He then thought he thought he had sunk the ship. Well, he did not hence the name ghost ship. The ship rammed into another ship and when the police arrived, they discovered the murder scene.
The author then takes you through the detective and his investigation and tracking of Hicks, when finding him he also had items from the crew especially a pocket watch from the captain. You are also given a look back into Hick’s life as much as possible. The author does a good job in research since not much is left about the trial, his confession, and execution. This was a fascinating story I thought and one I had never heard about from any of my relatives that live in New York a very good book.

God, I had so many problems with this book. Let's start with the title. The Last Pirate of New York is the nonfiction account of Albert Hicks, who murdered three men in 1860 in a crime that set off a media frenzy, making him hugely famous. Hicks was hung on Liberty Island (before the statute was installed, of course) with a watching crowd of between ten and twenty thousand people, the last man to be publicly executed in New York. This is enough to base a book on! This is an interesting story in and of itself! This is not remotely the story of either a pirate or a gangster!

Okay, fine. Hicks technically was tried for piracy, but only because – no one having found the bodies of his victims, which presumably were at the bottom of New York Harbor – the state was afraid he'd escape a murder charge. He did commit the murders on board a boat, but a boat that never made it to the open ocean, staying within the harbor for the entirety of this doomed voyage. Not really what I think of when I see a book with "pirate" on the cover. Especially because NYC did have real pirates of the stereotypical sort, most famously but not limited to Captain Kidd! Secondly, if we're going to count killing people in a bay as piracy, Hicks is not the last; Cohen several times mentions other river pirates operating around the same time.

Thirdly, Hicks is even less of a gangster than he is a pirate. Cohen is obviously very enthused about New York's history with gangsters and spends a lot of time discussing them, bragging about his interactions with their still surviving relics. (I mean all of this is in regards to gangsters of The Godfather and Boardwalk Empire sort, not gangsters of Boyz n the Hood or The Wire sort, which I feel is an obvious point of confusion but one which Cohen never deigns to acknowledge.) Hicks worked alone, and had no followers, accomplices, or any sort of larger organization that one might call... you know... a gang. You can't be a gangster by yourself. Cohen does argue that Hicks became a legendary figure in the NYC underworld after his death, his story told and retold for generations. But this theory, which could have been fascinating and a major focus of the book, is relegated to a few pages in an afterword and we're never shown evidence that it actually happened.

Another problem I had with The Last Pirate of New York is that the majority of the pages are spent on the police investigation and subsequent trial, which is fine in and of itself; many a true crime book has chosen that focus. But Cohen gives us a detailed description of Hicks's actions during the murder at the beginning of the book, which means the subsequent 120 pages have no tension or suspense. We know he did it. There's no question of if they're following the right guy, or if maybe the suspect is really innocent, or if he did it but won't be found guilty. All of that is obvious from the very beginning, leaving nowhere new for the book to go. Bizarrely, Cohen details the step-by-step of the murder at the beginning of the book, then does so again near the end, when Hicks confesses. Not only is it the same scene told twice, Cohen uses many of the exact same phrases. And it's not a particularly long book, so wasting pages on this retelling really stands out.

Cohen also spends a lot of time on Hicks's confession, which he sold in book-form to a publisher immediately before his execution. Personally, I was extremely skeptical that anything in this confession actually happened; not only did Hicks supposedly participate in every single important event of mid-1800s America (he visited the California gold rush! He was in the Mexican-American war! He lived in Hawaii, Tahiti, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, New Orleans!) but it hits every trope of the standard penny dreadful (he was the only survivor of a shipwreck – twice! He killed hundreds of men but was too good to rape women! He protected mistreated cabin boys! He buried $200,000 in Mexico and the treasure is still out there for you to find! All of these crimes attributed to a famous bandit were actually committed by Hicks!). Cohen doesn't seem to have made an effort to verify any of the stories that happened outside of NYC. And I get it, the historical records for rural Mexico on crimes that were never tried are not going to be a great source of information, but that's not an excuse to spend dozens of pages uncritically recounting this story.

Cohen uses a lot of photographs to illustrate his story, but they were mostly taken much later than the events in question, sometimes up to sixty years later. And again, I understand the choice – there's not a lot of useful photographs from the 1850s; a building won't have changed that much in appearance – but the fact that he never explicitly acknowledges this discrepancy bothered me.

So, is there anything good about The Last Pirate of New York? Cohen's writing isn't terrible... at least, not all of the time. His descriptions of Old New York can be quite well-written: The little party followed State Street across Bowling Green, then walked up Broadway, which had once been an Indian trail. Before the Civil War, you could still see evidence of that, in the hard-packed dirt, in the way it rambled, and in the smells, which were the smells of America old and new, smells of horse manure and leather and human sweat, but also the stench of factories; of putrid meat from the slaughter yards and tanneries, of oil from the gasworks and refineries.
Unfortunately it's also not always accurate, since south Broadway was absolutely not a dirt road in 1860. Alas, such an intriguing title, such an annoyingly deficient book.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3039626417

In 1860, a blood spattered ship was found floating off the coast of New York. The only sign of its crew was a few severed fingers. Albert Hicks was arrested, tried and convicted of piracy. He had murdered and robbed the three-man crew and was hung in the last public execution in New York. “He was the first swamp angel, the great-grandfather of every mob punk and Bowery psycho who would follow.” That sentence promises more than this true crime story delivers, and the author is a little too impressed by the infamous Hicks. However, I liked the author’s descriptions of 19th century New York and the police work of the time. The trial and hanging caused quite a sensation in 1860 and everyone was interested in the handsome and stylish Hicks. After Hicks died, P. T. Barnum displayed his wax figure.

After describing the ghost ship murders and subsequent trial, the author goes on to relate the murderer’s backstory, based in large part on his post-trial confession. Hicks started his life of crime early. By the time he was about 16 he was already an escaped convict. Among other aspects of his life of crime he (sometimes with a partner) would sign on with the crew of a ship and then rob it. He committed a lot of murders for which he showed no remorse. His travels took him to, among other places, Hawaii, Mexico, Liverpool, Rio and New Orleans ( where “The air smelled of resin, bananas, coconuts, ale, tar, wood, tobacco, burning fields, horseshit, sweat, and industry.”).

I’m not really a fan of true crime and I was expecting more historical context linking piracy to gangsters. At the end of the book the author offers some baseless speculation about what happened to Albert’s wife and son. It appears that no one has any idea what became of them, so don’t guess. Nevertheless, I liked the author’s fast paced writing style and colorful descriptions.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Before there were gangsters, there were pirates. This book is about Albert Hicks, the last man to be publicly executed in New York City and one of the last to be convicted for piracy. This book was excellent! If you are a history fan, definitely pick this up. It reads very much like a fiction book because it’s so enthralling. This books truly gives you a picture of the New York underworld before it was highways and towers. Having lived near and visited these streets most of my life it was fascinating.

I received an arc of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.


Eh. it was okay. I just didn't like the timing- some things took forever to get through, and then other things were sped through almost too fast.

Rich Cohen is now one of my favorite authors, and I have added his others books to my TBR list. The story of criminal Albert Hicks is a story not only of crime in New York and how the laws were applied to best suit the crime, but is also a wonderful history of New York and its reputation for as a gangster hangout.

Albert Hicks was both the Last Pirate of New York and its first gangster in this amazingly true story set in 1860 New York City.

A ghost ship was found drifting near NYC harbor. Its crew of four were missing. However, traces of them were left behind. Copious blood, chunks of blond hair, and several severed fingers were found on board along with signs of a struggle in the captain’s quarters. The police were called in to investigate.

The Last Pirate of New York reads like an episode of Law & Order. First, a crime is committed. Then, the police investigate and arrest a suspect. Finally, the courts try the suspect for the crime. But it is much more difficult to solve a crime in the large and wild NYC with no computers, forensic tests, or DNA. Plus the US Civil War is heating up stretching an already thin police force’s ability to investigate.

This book is highly recommended for fans of Gangs of New York as the location and time period are comparable. Also, this true tale would be an excellent reference for anyone writing a historical mystery in the same environment. Plus, for any reader, it is an enjoyable Columbo type mystery of how the police catch a clever criminal. 4 stars!

Thanks to Spiegel & Grau and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

There's this feeling that I get sometimes when walking around New York - I feel a rumbling in my feet - not from the subway - but from the millions of other feet that have pounded the pavement before me. One such person was Albert Hicks - the last publicly executed man in New York City.

Rich Cohen has written a non-fiction book that reads like an adventure story - where the reader fully knows that Hicks is the bad guy but you still want to find out more. This is much more than the history of Hicks - it's a bit of a love letter to New York - and it's past.

If you though the Gangs of New York was gory - well...just get ready.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A fantastic and non-fiction account of Albert Hicks, the last man to be publicly executed in New York City and also one of the last to be tried and convicted for piracy. For fans of history, this is a must-read.

"Albert Hicks is the closest thing the New York underworld has to a Cain, the first killer and the first banished man, carrying that dread mark: MURDER. He operated so long ago, in a city so similar to and yet so different from our own, the word gangster had not yet been coined. He was called a pirate."

Beyond the fascinating true crime story about Hicks, Rich Cohen, the author, has brought New York City, mere years before the Civil War, to life. You get to learn about the streets, the notable people, the attitudes, the newspapers and more. It is a fun and, occasionally serious, romp through the past.

"New York Harbor is a network of islands and coves, seabirds and arsenical green marshland, the sort that looks solid until you step on it. ... In the old days, every road on the island ended at the water, the sun rose at the foot of every street. Even now, when the fog rolls in, the waterfront is a sailor's dream."

Cohen doesn't tell his story through the dry recitation of facts and figures. He has a storyteller's way of weaving the details into the larger narrative. This is history as it was meant to be told.

"An 1850 police report estimated the presence of between four hundred and five hundred pirates in New York City. To the police, a pirate was any criminal who made his living on the water, attacking and robbing ships beyond the jurisdiction of the landlocked coppers..."

Four and five hundred pirates! In New York City! This book changed my view of "The City So Nice They Named It Twice." I suppose everybody and everything comes from somewhere. The early years of the city had more story to it than I imagined it could.

"Why had he killed everyone on the ship if money was his object? Because, he later explained, "Dead men tell no tales."

Part of the reason why Albert Hicks may have been so forgotten is because of the extraordinary events that occurred just a short time later, the Civil War. It overshadowed everything that came before it, and, also, time moves on. I think about what was in the news last week and how our attention will already have moved on by next week.

As much as Cohen was able to discover about Hicks, his trial and what came next, I wish more had existed in the historical record about Hicks' wife. I get that, beyond a few details, she basically disappeared from the record and that's such a shame.

It made me wonder if Hicks has any descendants out there and if they know the story of one of their most notorious ancestors... I have relatives a few generations back who were adopted in New York City. Hicks' history could belong to any of us who have question marks in our family tree.

As Cohen points out in his book, Hicks' history, as shocking as it is, is also the early history of our country. Any shining point of light casts a shadow. This is one of those stories that took place in the shadows — a nightmarish memory from early New York City.

Recommended for readers of history and true crime. The Last Pirate of New York is brilliant.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free digital, advance reader copy of this book. Please note that the brief quotations I cited in this review may change in the final printed version. The estimated date for publication is June 2019.

Piracy in New York as late as the 1860s? On the Hudson River? Grisly murders? Detectives with no scientific forensics available? A sensational murder trial? I’m in! Albert Hicks is the roguish, thuggish and rarely charming perpetrator. Cohen follows the gory details though careful research and setting the stage in the crime-infested, poverty of lower Manhattan. Although Cohen connects these dots to the somewhat glorification of latter day Mafia and the earlier NYC street gangs, Hicks was truly one of a kind. Recommended.

The book was well written and researched. The story line about Albert Hicks, a notorious killer and so called pirate, was well done. The author does a good job on the killer and the ghost ship, but greatly lacking on how this created the birth of a gangster nation. I also found the frequest quoting of testmony in the trial somewhat tedious. Other parts of the book felt a little like filler to make for greater length.

I recomend this book for those looking for an interesting read about a crime that took place in New York just prior to the Civil War.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my fiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook and Twitter pages.

This was not my subject nor was the narrative to my liking; skimmed the pages. I know that many have enjoyed this and I picked this up wanting to experience a Rich Cohen novel. If you like a tale of gruesome killings perhaps this would be for you. "A copy of this book was provided by Random House Publishing Group - Random House via NetGalley with no requirements for a review. Comments here are my honest opinion."

A swashbuckling true crime tale that reads like fiction.

Cohen writes a dazzling tale of piracy and mayhem taking place both on the high seas and in cities across the globe, all at the hands of one Albert W. Hicks, who the author asserts may have been either New York’s last pirate or its first gangster. Or maybe both.

To me that felt like a bit of a stretch, as Hicks lacks the type of discipline and organization that generally typifies both of the aforementioned groups. Organized crime is labeled as such for a reason, and Hicks was far from organized. He was bold, to be sure, but his ethos was more thug than crime lord, and luck and ineffective law enforcement had a lot more to do with how long he went before getting caught than his own smarts (or lack thereof) did.

Fortunatley, that doesn’t matter much for the reader’s entertainment. While Hicks is a disappointingly common criminal, just one more bloodthirsty, angry thug who doesn’t seem to be particularly bright or forward thinking, Cohen weaves such a fascinating, evocative tale that Hicks’ lack of cleverness becomes largely moot.

Cohen excels at the type of atmospheric, narrative true crime in which the crime itself almost takes a back seat to the history of the places touched by it.

A must for antebellum American history enthusiasts, and particularly for those who have special interest in the history of New York City.

A fascinating story told extremely well.

Cohen's writing style is unbelievably engaging, even if at points I felt the narrative wandered a bit too far into conjecture and wasn't sure of the source to back it up. That doesn't take away from the fact that this book is a fabulous look at a less well explored piece of American history, one that also looks at the mythos and legendry that tends to gloss over stories told.

I'd recommend for fans of American history, maritime history, true crime, and just all around good storytelling.

Advance copy received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

ALERT!! ALERT!! ALERT!!

Cohen once again scores by writing REAL history that is REALLY a great read. Still not sure about the 'Teflon don' tie in but this is what real writing reads like. Great book,.

Thoroughly enjoyed Rich Cohen's "The Avengers" and "Tough Jews," and this book makes three great works of his. This is the true story of Albert Hicks - a career criminal who hired on as a seaman on a sailing vessel with the intention of robbing it and slipping back into the anonymity of NYC, but whose plan ended with an unmanned ship with its decks covered in blood. Cohen's writing pulls you into a story you most likely didn't know, but definitely deserves to be told.

Incredibly well-written and engaging. Most people don’t know piracy was still happening in the US this late into the 19th century. The author paints a vivid picture of the life and crimes of a notorious New York-based pirate.

Cohen is one of my favorite authors-fiction or non-fiction. The Last Pirate of New York is one of his best books and that is high praise. The story of the first(1860) New York Gangster—Albert Hicks—the link between Captain Kidd and John Gotti-this book is both a fascinating history of the now little known Hicks but is also a social history of New York and a melancholy ode to our rambunctious and unbridled past. Highly Reccommended.

Once upon a time New York was a land of gangsters and before that…gasp…pirates. Much as I loathe the city, I love a good New York story and this one had a freaking pirate, how do you pass that up? Well, you don’t. You read it and find out all about the man who went by alias William Johnson and was in fact the last person to be publically hung in New York. What a character. What a story. It starts off dramatically enough with a ghost ship discovered right off the coast of New York, no one on board, the deck’s covered in blood. All so very much like America’s very own Dracula’s Demeter. The police sets off to investigate and fairly soon (given the state of police work at that pre DNA, pre modern technology era) find and arrest a suspect. Wasn’t too challenging, since the man managed to leave a trail so wide and easy to follow, it would put certain fairy tales to shame. Inexplicably the last pirate must have been convinced of his own invincibility to walk around spending money like that. Possibly he was thinking of the no body no crime rule, but this wasn’t how it played out. So the book is basically long chapters divided logistically into crime, arrest, trial, confession, execution. And it’s good, but it doesn’t get really good until the confession. Up until then you’re just thinking here’s another charming but dumb criminal, who did one crime and got nabbed straight away. The man isn’t even a real pirate, is he. The only reason to call him that is the fact that since his crime was technically committed at sea (albeit right near the shore) that’s piracy and the case was tried, convicted and sentenced as such. But…but in his confession (and who knows how much of it was fabricated, after all he did it for money for his wife and newborn child) the last pirate goes on to spin a proper pirate tale of seafaring adventures, exotic lands, wicked deed and so on. The confession didn’t survive in its original form, since it went through the editing and publishing mill for the popular enjoyment, but there are some great stories. This might have been all an attempt to leave some sort of legacy too. But still. A handsome charismatic gallows bound pirate is a good subject for the book. The author must have thought so too, he came across the account originally in the older book Gangs of New York, where Johnson is said to have been shanghaied and murdered out of revenge, but that didn’t seem right, so 20 ( crazy to think, but yeah 20) years of research later and we have this, a much more complex and stimulating account of the life of the last pirate of New York. For two decades of research the book is only 224 pages, which is a great length for nonfiction, especially the one that reads as dynamically as the best of fiction. Read and enjoyed in one afternoon. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.