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The Good Rat: A True Story
Of course Pulitzer Prize winner Jimmy Breslin recognized Burton Kaplan right away as the Mafia witness of the ages. Breslin comes from the same Queens streets as mob bosses John Gotti and Vito Genovese. But even they couldn't match Kaplan in crime—and neither could anybody else.
In his inimitable New York voice, Breslin, "the city's steadiest and most accurate chron
...moreAudio CD, 0 pages
Published
January 15th 2008
by AudioGO
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A surprisingly entertaining book considering the topic. Jimmy Breslin has built a story of the Mafia old and current around the court case against two extremely “dirty” cops in the NYPD. Burt Kaplan, working for the Mafia for decades, is the witness; now in his 70s and tired of prison life, he has turned “rat”. Kaplan is, from the book cover in this version “one of the most devastating turncoats of all time”. The court transcripts have a certain fascination which give great insight into the m...more
“The Mafia’s final hours pass in moments like this, of quiet anguish and betrayal. Once, a gangster might answer such questions in style, as was found in this account, among the papers of Chicago’s Mike Rokyo, the late national treasure, Q: Do you know Al Capone? A: No. Q: You don’t? A: No. Q: I show you this picture. Who is in the picture? A: Me and Al Capone. Q: You just said you didn’t know him.” A: I met him. That don’t mean I know him.” Q: What does Mr. Capone do for a living? A: He to...more
The Good Rule demythologizes the all-but-glamorous life of organized crime. While Breslin focuses on the trial of the "Mafia Cops," a story also recounted in Guy Lawson and William Oldham's The Brotherhoods (2006), Breslin, to critics' delight, uses the case to delve deep inside the Mafia's demise and the bloody, backstabbing stories within it. An unsentimental writer, Breslin sees the mob for what it isa group of cold-blooded sheep, to which his inclusion of trial-transcript excerpt
...more
This is the only true-crime book about the mafia that I've ever really enjoyed. Not that I've tried reading all that many. But this one's good. A lot of it deals with the weakening of the mob in the 1990s through today, when RICO laws have put most old capos behind bars and basically killed what was the left of the organization. It's violent, sure, and the people it describes aren't exactly upstanding citizens, but the story's also kind of sad when we learn about the old bosses, now in their...more
I've never read a Jimmy Breslin book before, but I assume they can't all be as sloppily and lazily written as this one. It reads like he dictated it into a voice recorder from a bar stool. It's disorganized and hard to follow, it jumps all over the place, scenes and characters aren't properly introduced. I found it a bit of an eff you to the reader. But then again, I don't know much about Breslin's work. Maybe this is his idea of style. Still, I give the book three stars because the story, disjo...more
Not only is the narrator very good, but this audio production uses different voices as in the courtoom scenes with an actor playing the part of Mob information Burton Kaplan and a third for the attorney questioning him.
The is a very detailed and revealing look at the post-Castellano, Gotti-era NY mob as it was fracturing and strange bedfellows relationship with Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa are two former New York Police Department (NYPD) police detectives who worked on behalf o...more
The is a very detailed and revealing look at the post-Castellano, Gotti-era NY mob as it was fracturing and strange bedfellows relationship with Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa are two former New York Police Department (NYPD) police detectives who worked on behalf o...more
Breslin takes this nonfiction account via his usual route of telling the story by finding the peripheral participants -- in this case, following the testimony of mob rat Burt Kaplan rather than going straight at the two crooked, murdering cops that Kaplan ratted out. It works. Of course the book is as much about Breslin as it is about Kaplan and the cops and the New York families.
But the main reason to read The Good Rat is Breslin's hilarious way with a sentence. Breslin can sometime...more
But the main reason to read The Good Rat is Breslin's hilarious way with a sentence. Breslin can sometime...more
Great story. I think this is one of the few books that is actually more beneficial to hear aloud as opposed to read, because Breslin uses a substantial amount of Burt Kaplan's testimony to tell Kaplan's story of life in the Mafia, and I believe the audiobook made the story that much more effective.
It was interesting how Breslin portrayed Kaplan, who for all purposes was a rat, and how he exposed Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa as the corrupt cops they were found to be. It is a ...more
It was interesting how Breslin portrayed Kaplan, who for all purposes was a rat, and how he exposed Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa as the corrupt cops they were found to be. It is a ...more
Read the STOP SMILING interview with Jimmy Breslin
GO OUT AND GET A STORY: JIMMY BRESLIN
Interview BY JEREMY SCHAAP
(This interview originally appeared in the 2nd annual STOP SMILING 20 Interviews Issue)
As luxury condos tower over the once-downtrodden Bowery and a billionaire tech mogul reigns over a robust tourist mecca (and toast of the Republican National Convention), the days of the government telling New York City to drop dead are but...more
GO OUT AND GET A STORY: JIMMY BRESLIN
Interview BY JEREMY SCHAAP
(This interview originally appeared in the 2nd annual STOP SMILING 20 Interviews Issue)
As luxury condos tower over the once-downtrodden Bowery and a billionaire tech mogul reigns over a robust tourist mecca (and toast of the Republican National Convention), the days of the government telling New York City to drop dead are but...more
This is the first book I've read by Breslin, and it was pretty much impossible to put down. Car bombs, wise guys, torture (before murder), simple murder, murder for hire, dog murder (to be honest, the dog had it coming), mistaken murder(wrong guy with the same name of the intended), crooked cops who murder people for money, etc. One thing that always strikes me when reading mob books is that Hollywood, which can mess up anything, never understates the violent reality of the Mafia. These characte...more
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Jimmy Breslin is a heck of a crime writer. Heck, Jimmy Breslin is a heck of a writer, period. At its best, this book shows why Breslin won the Pulitzer Prize and the big reputation he has. But the book isn't always Breslin at his best. When it's good, it's very good, and when it's not, it's not.
The Good Rat consists of tales and sketches of made men and killers and their victims, innocent and not so innocent, wrapped around the story of the trial of two murderous and corrupt NYPD cop...more
The Good Rat consists of tales and sketches of made men and killers and their victims, innocent and not so innocent, wrapped around the story of the trial of two murderous and corrupt NYPD cop...more
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Very interesting commentaries about mafia activities in New York, as well as crime journalism, by an acknowledged master writer. I got the feeling however that Breslin is a bit full of himself, even when he feigns humility. He is nostalgiac for the grand theater of the old mafia bosses and characters, though he is critical of their laziness and brutality (and stupidity). He is enamored with the main rat, Kaplan, and uses his turncoat testimony as the linchpin for fleshing out his remembrances of...more
Part memoir, part reportage, Breslin's tale is of the old-time mafia ways and the more recent downfall of the mob. He combines stories, court transcriptions and ruminations of the lifestyle of some of the individuals who are long dead, in prison or ratted out their one-time friends. A little too unfocused as it jumps all over the place. More of a streamlined, connected narrative would have made it more appealing.
An interesting book about the Mafia in NY based around the trial of two cops who killed for them. The central character in the book is Burt Kaplan, who turned informer to get out of jail and to not be the fall guy when other mobsters turned states evidence. It is also about the history of the Mafia in NY as well as about Jimmy Breslin himself.
I wish that I could have enjoyed this book more. As it is, I feel that the narrative of this nonfiction was far too jumbled, too confused. I felt as though I was picking up the second or third novel in the series, rather than a stand-alone non-fiction. Perhaps, though, it is because I know nothing more than cursory information about organized crime lore and legends in America, especially of the modern sort. Many of the people were introduced without much background, and often the author himself ...more
I actually really enjoyed this. Not only was it interesting to read about actual honest to God true mob stories but Jimmy Breslin is the perfect person to tell them.
His writing style is probably what caused Scorsese to do so well with films like Goodfellas and Casino.
His writing style is probably what caused Scorsese to do so well with films like Goodfellas and Casino.
By the author of "The Gang that Couldn't Shoot Straight" - Breslin book reveals what a bunch of low-life losers the mafia was made up of...I recommend listening to the book on CD because the voicing was done by a couple of actors that had the East Coast, gangster-speak down.
The book was going to be about the two NYC detectives who were convicted of doing mafia hits but turned more towards the mafia member who testified aganst them. The book is full of other incidental mafia stories that have nothing to do with the detectives.
Breslin at the top of his form. He writes in a unique voice which is very urban and maybe not for all readers. The story about a mob turncoat reads like fiction because it is that unbelievable. Very interesting and well=told.
This book is Breslin at his best. It's a fascianting story of one criminal's betrayal of two decorated NYPD detectives turned contract killers.
It's also an engrossing story about the decline of the Mafiosi as other sectarian gangs spring up in New York City.
It's also an engrossing story about the decline of the Mafiosi as other sectarian gangs spring up in New York City.
My first Breslin book. A punchy, true-life story about two NYPD cops who worked as contract killers for the Mob, and the old-school career criminal who takes the stand against them (the titular "Good Rat".) Lots of guys named "Joey-the-this" and "Frankie-the-that" if you're into that sort of thing.
columbialion
added it
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Any New Yorker
Recommended to columbialion by:
Self
Veteran columnist Breslin blow the lid off of the infamous mafia cops, in this true crime expose of murder deception and treachery of NYC crime annuls.
Well written, gritty and (despite the fact that the audio book is cataloged under fiction at the local library) true. I'm enjoying it.
To be fair, I didn't finish it, but that was because the writing style just didn't work for me. I kept getting confused and irritated.
easy to read, entertaining, interesting book about the nypd cops who killed for the mob
Interesting read. Really gets into the way the mob works. Rogue cops.
Interesting stories about mobsters. Jumps around a bit and is somewhat hard to follow. Enjoyed it anyway. Makes me want to do some internet research on some of the figures portrayed.
Started off well, bogged down in detail as it developed.
Lots of interesting info on the Mafia, but I found the telling a bit convoluted.
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Jimmy Breslin is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American columnist and author. He has written numerous novels, and pieces of his have appeared regularly in various newspapers in his hometown of New York City. He was a regular columnist for the newspaper Newsday until his retirement on November 2, 2004, and still has occasional columns there.
Among his notable columns, perhaps the best known w...more
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Among his notable columns, perhaps the best known w...more
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