Murder, Inc., and the Moral Life

Gangsters and Gangbusters in La Guardia's New York

by Robert Weldon Whalen

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Pub Date Sep 01 2016 | Archive Date Aug 04 2016

Fordham University Press | Empire State Editions

History

Description

Murder, Inc. and the Moral Life: Gangsters and Gangbusters in La Guardia's New York focuses on the dramatic trials of a group of Brooklyn gangsters in 1940 and 1941. The media nicknamed the gangsters "Murder, Inc.," and that nickname quickly became a kind of free-floating "meme," linked at various times to criminals in general; to a record label; and even to a Bruce Springsteen song. The 1940-1941 trials inspired a wave of media coverage, several books and memoirs, and a sub-genre of the gangster film. The trials concluded with a notorious and unsolved murder mystery.

Murder, Inc. narrates the life and times of the Brooklyn gang, and also relates their lives both to New York's Roaring Twenties and Depression era gangs and to the wider "gangster" culture expressed especially in the film. At the same time, Murder, Inc., is a moral reflection on the gangsters; the gangbusters, like Fiorello La Guardia and Thomas Dewey, who opposed them; and popular culture's fascination with "gangsterism." It is especially this combination of crime story and moral reflection that makes Murder, Inc. unique.

Advance Praise

"In Murder, Inc. and the Moral Life, Robert Weldon Whalen connects the real gangsters to the 'reel' gangsters and the forces that shaped and fought them. He explores our fascination with the gangster figure through the moral and ethical questions that helped to shape American culture for the past one hundred years. With sound research, good clear writing, and a critical sense of history, Whalen adds new dimensions to the study of this truly unique American archetype of crime and masculinity."—Fred Gardaphe, Distinguished Professor of English and Italian American Studies, Queens College/CUNY and author of From Wiseguys to Wise Men

"In Murder, Inc. and the Moral Life, Robert Weldon Whalen connects the real gangsters to the 'reel' gangsters and the forces that shaped and fought them. He explores our fascination with the...

Available Editions

EDITION	Hardcover
ISBN	9780823271559
PRICE	$29.95 (USD)

Additional Information

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Featured Reviews

Violet L, Reviewer

True crime lovers will enjoy this book, full of facts and interesting information. A great read.

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Evelyn D, Reviewer

Mr. Whalen brings to life the old gangsters of yore. Great reading for a rainy day with a glass of whiskey on ice

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Jodie S, Reviewer

An excellent account of the era, held together by Whalen's lively writing. An absolute page turner!

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Melisende d, Reviewer

New York hoodlums of the 1930s and 1940s with the focus on the top gangsters, the Mayor Fiorelle La Guardia, and prosecutor Thomas Dewey, DA Bill O'Dwyer. There are interplays of fact and fiction based upon the subject matter at hand (ie: real life vs the movies).

Great introduction into the period - and a localised view. For a more indepth view, Murder Inc: The Story of Organised Crime by Martin Short (from the beginnings to the 1980s).

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Piper P, Reviewer

Really interesting book about the 1940a which includes Places events in some historical and cultural perspective.Taking its cues from articles, novels, and films of mafia activity between 1920 and 1944 (with the true Murder Inc. trials taking place in 1941-1944), with witty banter.