- Gebundene Ausgabe: 480 Seiten
- Verlag: Little, Brown & Company (September 1991)
- Sprache: Englisch
- ISBN-10: 0316511684
- ISBN-13: 978-0316511681
- Größe und/oder Gewicht: 23,1 x 16 x 3,3 cm
- Durchschnittliche Kundenbewertung: 4.5 von 5 Sternen Alle Rezensionen anzeigen (2 Kundenrezensionen)
- Amazon Bestseller-Rang: Nr. 282.111 in Englische Bücher (Siehe Top 100 in Englische Bücher)
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From Kirkus Reviews
Superb revisionist biography not only of Meyer Lansky but also of the supposed American-Italian crime corporation called the Mafia; by the author of The Kingdom (1981) and Ford (1986). Lacey's larger message is that the Mafia is really like local groups of Freemasons, with sometimes quite active links between one another but not congealed into a centrally structured organization. There is ``no shadowy General Motors of crime.'' Moreover, the Mafia's way of life, Lacey shows, is less than mythic: ``The average mafioso, and much of his self-esteem, stem from the stereotypes that have been created by the media...Their lives are pale copies of the vigor and creativity of the straight world--and the clever ones like Meyer Lansky learn to copy its honesty as well.'' Lansky several times tried to set up businesses in the straight world, only to have them go under and find himself still stuck in the world of gambling. He suffered a brutal youth on New York's Lower East Side but early was taken under the wing of Arnold Rothstein, a.k.a. ``The Brain,'' who kept all his criminal businesses discrete--and kept their books in his head. Lansky, too, became famed for his head for figures, as well as for his lack of greed and his honesty in sharing. He was misquoted as saying that ``the Mafia'' was bigger than US Steel (he said ``organized crime'' was), and his reputed $300 million nest egg was fantasy, as Lacey makes clear. Lansky was a genius among his fellow thugs, but died almost broke while living modestly in retirement in Miami and caring for his ulcers and triple bypass. In 1974, he phoned Lee Strasberg to tell him, ``You did good'' (as the Hyman Roth/Lansky character in Godfather II): ``The deep voice on the phone was flesh and blood seeking contact with the celluloid image....'' Shoots huge holes in the great American gangster myth--and its many bad reporters. Enthralling. (Thirty-two pages of b&w photographs--not seen.) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
From Library Journal
In this intelligent, thoroughly researched biography, Lacey argues that Jewish gangster Lansky was primarily "a professional gambler . . . caught dodging his taxes," rather than the eminence grise of the Mafia as portrayed by the media. Maybe so, but Lansky was a master at keeping secrets and it is unlikely that his full criminal role will ever be known. Following the loss of his casino to the Cuban revolution in 1959, Lansky was denied Israeli citizenship in 1972 and died in a hospital in 1983. This sympathetic but objective account is brought to life with interviews of Lansky's family and friends. Superior to Dennis Eisenberg's Meyer Lansky ( LJ 10/1/79), it is recommended for crime collections. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 11/1/90.
- Gregor A. Preston, Univ. of California Lib., Davis
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Gregor A. Preston, Univ. of California Lib., Davis
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Kundenrezensionen
Die hilfreichsten Kundenrezensionen
4 von 4 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich
Format:Gebundene Ausgabe
Nachdem ich Filme wie Goodfellas, Der Pate oder Casino hinter mir hatte, ließen mich die Geschichte der Gangster und des organisierten Verbrechens nicht mehr los. Es ist extrem schwer, in Deutschland Litheratur darüber zu bekommen, um so besser, dass ich dieses Buch gefunden habe: Meyer Lansky ist eine der undurchsichtigsten Figuren unter den Gangsterbossen der 20er bis 50er Jahre. Dieses wirklich umfassend recherchierte Buch vermag sich ihm zu nähern. Dabei revidiert es die Klischees, die Meyer Lansky anhafteten: Bankier des Mobs? Gehirn der Mafia? Diese Geschichte über sein für einen Gangster langes Leben ist genauso fesselnd wie ein Film noir, packend, brutal, tragisch. Und: ein großartiges Stück Geschichte der USA.
Format:Taschenbuch
This is the book for someone who really wants to know what the gangster life was all about. Quite unlike the dramatic movies, like the Godfather, and Godfather II, Little Man: Meyer Lansky and the Gangster Life tells the whole story about the infamous gangster. The author went through great lengths to get accounts from family and friends, business partners and enemies. I'm not much of a reader, but I finished this 550 page book in three days. I was interested in finding out the truth about Meyer Lansky. If that is what you are looking for, this is the book to read.
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27 von 30 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich
A well written whitewash
11. März 2002
Format:Gebundene Ausgabe
After I read this book I couldn't help but smile. This is the ultimate whitewash book. After having spent years of investigating Meyer Lansky and his criminal world, I can honsetly tell you, this is not a book about Meyer Lansky. This is a book about Robert Lacey misunderstanding Meyer Lansky. Laceys information comes mostly from Lanskys family, then especially from his disabled son, Buddy Lansky. What Lacey should've done is look more into the work Hank Messick did on Lansky. Messick got his information from the underworld itself and interviewed gangsters, prosecutors and FBI men. Lacey overlooks these sources. Let's be realistic here. Lacey claims Lansky poured all his money into The Riviera Hotel in Havana. This is a ridiclious claim!. Lansky was known to spread his money all over the place. His specialty was laundering mafia money through mob controlled banks (like Bank Of World Commerce) or through Swiss bank accounts. Lansky had used these methods since the '30s. He made a fortune from his bootlegging enterprises and it is well known Lansky skimmed more money from Vegas then probably any other mob figure. Top mafia informant, Jimmy "The Weasel" Fratianno, one-time underboss of the L.A. Cosa Nostra Family repeatedly emphasized Lanskys strong hold on the skimming in Vegas. "Meyer Lansky and his group skimmed more money then anybody in the world. From Las Vegas alone, they got 300 million easy!". That's a direct quote from Fratianno himself. Of course Lansky wasn't stupid and he would have many people believe that he indeed lost everything in Cuba. Hank Messick used to say, Meyer Lansky didn't own property, he owned people. And as far as the mystery surrounding Lansky, you have to look at the people around him. Appearantly men like Alvin Malnik missed Laceys eye. If you wanna know about Lansky, then read Hank Messick or "Mogul Of The Mob" by Uri Dan and Dennis Eisenberg.
5 von 5 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich
Meyer Lansky;Yes ,Gangster Life;Not Really
29. März 2005
Format:Gebundene Ausgabe
The book is well written and is full of interesting personal facts about Lansky, but comes up shorthanded in details about the man's enterprise.There is little mention of his role in the
rampant bootlegging in the 1920's and the violence that went along with it.This is a good book if you are already familar with Lansky and want more information on his personal character.Much of the details are provided by his son Buddy and numerous others that were close to him, but not in a "business" sense.
rampant bootlegging in the 1920's and the violence that went along with it.This is a good book if you are already familar with Lansky and want more information on his personal character.Much of the details are provided by his son Buddy and numerous others that were close to him, but not in a "business" sense.
12 von 15 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich
Portrait of the Gangster as a poor schlep.
26. Juli 2000
Format:Taschenbuch
According to the acknowledgements, Robert Lacey set out to write a biography about a monster and ended up writing about a more successful than average crook with a lot of family troubles. While there is still the "crime doesn't pay" moralizing, Lacey is too honest of a biographer to fall into the Kefauver conspiracy theory about the mob as a vast corporate entity and portrays Meyer Lansky and associates as business allies by convenience.
Most of the book seems to have been culled from interviews with Buddy Lansky, Meyer Lanksy's quadraplegic son who died shortly before publication. From that perspective most of Lansky's life involves his personal life including his fights with his first (insane) wife and his relationship with his second wife hated by all three children. There are anecdotes about his rebellious daughter Sandra, his emotionally crippled son Paul and his physically crippled son Buddy. In one of the anecdotes Paul's daughter, Myra Lansky, tries to contact him after 8 years of silence only to be told by Sandra to respect Paul's privacy. (like a father has a right to completely ignore and forget about his children). Another anecdote concerns the fact that Meyer blamed Buddy's wife for his financial troubles and Buddy told his wife "my dad thinks we should get a divorce" and on that alone, divorced her.
What comes out of this book is a miserable life of a guy who was a fighter all his life and didn't have enough business sense to go straight. All of his investments ultimately failed and his legal troubles ate up all of his money. He couldn't even emigrate to Israel when he rediscovered his Jewish roots.
While we are left with a sad portrait of Meyer Lansky's personal life there seems to be fairly light treatment of his professional life. Some of the gambling institutions are covered and there is a chapter on the Cuban connection but once we are in the last two decades it's all heart attacks and fights with the second wife. One feels slightly cheated even though the author makes a point to stress that Meyer Lansky was not as financial successful as the myths around him would have you believe ("bigger than U.S. Steel, $300 million, etc.) but he did somehow find the money to pay for that lawyer and those trips to Israel.
Toward the end this becomes a depressing grim book. The only point of gaiety is Meyer and all his friends sitting around tv watching a miniseries based on his exploits.
All in all this is an excellent gangster novel for anyone who wants a more truthful accounting of mob life in America. However, if these truths were discovered at the outset, the myth of Meyer Lansky would not have grown to the extent that books like this would need to be written. It's not as fun as the mythology, but then again that's the point.
If you want a mob book that buys into the conspiracy and mythology check out The Last Testament of Lucky Luciano.
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