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The Big Crowd
From “the lit world’s sharpest chronicler of New York’s past” ( Rolling Stone ), a novel of two Irish brothers who travel from the gangland waterfront to the halls of power
Based on one of the great unsolved murders in mob history, and the rise-and-fall of a real-life hero, The Big Crowd tells the sweeping story of Charlie O’Kane. He is the American dream come to life, a poor Irish immigrant who worked his way up from beat cop to mayor of New York at the city’s dazzling, post-war zenith. Famous, powerful, and married to a glamorous fashion model, he is looked up to by millions, including his younger brother, Tom. So when Charlie is accused of abetting a shocking mob murder, Tom sets out to clear his brother’s name while hiding a secret of his own.
The charges against Charlie stem from his days as a crusading Brooklyn DA, when he sent the notorious killers of Murder, Inc., to the chair—only to let a vital witness go flying out a window while under police guard. Now, out of office, Charlie lives in a shoddy, Mexico City tourist hotel, eaten up with regrets and afraid he will be indicted for murder if he returns to the U.S. To uncover what really happened, Tom must confront stunning truths about his brother, himself, and the secret workings of the great city he loves.
Moving from the Brooklyn waterfront to city hall, from the battlefields of World War II to the beaches of Acapulco, to the glamorous nightclubs of postwar New York, The Big Crowd is filled with historical powerbrokers and gangsters, celebrities and socialites, scheming cardinals and battling, dockside priests. But ultimately it is a brilliantly imagined, distinctly American story of the bonds and betrayals of brotherhood.
Based on one of the great unsolved murders in mob history, and the rise-and-fall of a real-life hero, The Big Crowd tells the sweeping story of Charlie O’Kane. He is the American dream come to life, a poor Irish immigrant who worked his way up from beat cop to mayor of New York at the city’s dazzling, post-war zenith. Famous, powerful, and married to a glamorous fashion model, he is looked up to by millions, including his younger brother, Tom. So when Charlie is accused of abetting a shocking mob murder, Tom sets out to clear his brother’s name while hiding a secret of his own.
The charges against Charlie stem from his days as a crusading Brooklyn DA, when he sent the notorious killers of Murder, Inc., to the chair—only to let a vital witness go flying out a window while under police guard. Now, out of office, Charlie lives in a shoddy, Mexico City tourist hotel, eaten up with regrets and afraid he will be indicted for murder if he returns to the U.S. To uncover what really happened, Tom must confront stunning truths about his brother, himself, and the secret workings of the great city he loves.
Moving from the Brooklyn waterfront to city hall, from the battlefields of World War II to the beaches of Acapulco, to the glamorous nightclubs of postwar New York, The Big Crowd is filled with historical powerbrokers and gangsters, celebrities and socialites, scheming cardinals and battling, dockside priests. But ultimately it is a brilliantly imagined, distinctly American story of the bonds and betrayals of brotherhood.
424 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
44 people are currently reading
529 people want to read
About the author
Kevin Baker
102 books119 followersKevin Baker is the author of the New York, City of Fire trilogy: Dreamland, Paradise Alley, and Strivers Row. Most recently, he's been writing about politics for Harper's Magazine and the New York Observer.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
July 17, 2016
It was the book cover, a watercolor depiction of New York City skyscrapers, that drew my attention to "The Big Crowd." As I stood in the aisle of the bookstore reading the inside jacket, I realized the story was about former New York City Mayor William O'Dwyer and his younger brother Paul, a noted New York attorney. I knew I had to get the book because of the O'Dwyer link to my own family.
The O'Dwyers were friends of my grandfather, all of them from Bohola, a small town in County Mayo, Ireland. I recalled my mother telling me about the visits Bill made to their home on Madison Street in Brooklyn in the years before he became mayor.
"The Big Crowd" is historical fiction about the years between 1940 and 1953 when corruption was rampant throughout the city, and when the names of Murder, Inc. criminals filled the pages of the newspapers. This is a look at how sometimes the good guys make accommodations with the bad guys in order to get things done. I was young during these years but I do remember how Bill O'Dwyer fell from grace when corruption rumors surrounded him and especially when he married the fashion model Sloan Simpson(Slim Sadler in the book.).
In the 1980s, I happened to mention to a friend, a writer for the Irish Echo, that my sister and I were planning a trip to Ireland and, of course, would visit Bohola. He told me to call Paul O'Dwyer at his Wall Street office to let him know. I didn't see why, but I called anyway and left a message. A few days later Paul O'Dwyer called my home. He encouraged me to visit a group home for the disabled that he helped to establish in Bohola. Of course, I would. Then he went on to tell me he remembered my grandfather and an uncle who had moved to Cleveland and established an insurance firm. I was amazed at his memory for such details.
So it was with these memories that I turned the pages of this book. There are many familiar names here, some of whom, like Cardinal Francis Spellman, do not fare well. And Robert Moses, credited for the area's highway system who seems like an unpleasant person to do business with. "The Big Crowd" is historical fiction, but the barebones are accurate and a good history lesson.
The O'Dwyers were friends of my grandfather, all of them from Bohola, a small town in County Mayo, Ireland. I recalled my mother telling me about the visits Bill made to their home on Madison Street in Brooklyn in the years before he became mayor.
"The Big Crowd" is historical fiction about the years between 1940 and 1953 when corruption was rampant throughout the city, and when the names of Murder, Inc. criminals filled the pages of the newspapers. This is a look at how sometimes the good guys make accommodations with the bad guys in order to get things done. I was young during these years but I do remember how Bill O'Dwyer fell from grace when corruption rumors surrounded him and especially when he married the fashion model Sloan Simpson(Slim Sadler in the book.).
In the 1980s, I happened to mention to a friend, a writer for the Irish Echo, that my sister and I were planning a trip to Ireland and, of course, would visit Bohola. He told me to call Paul O'Dwyer at his Wall Street office to let him know. I didn't see why, but I called anyway and left a message. A few days later Paul O'Dwyer called my home. He encouraged me to visit a group home for the disabled that he helped to establish in Bohola. Of course, I would. Then he went on to tell me he remembered my grandfather and an uncle who had moved to Cleveland and established an insurance firm. I was amazed at his memory for such details.
So it was with these memories that I turned the pages of this book. There are many familiar names here, some of whom, like Cardinal Francis Spellman, do not fare well. And Robert Moses, credited for the area's highway system who seems like an unpleasant person to do business with. "The Big Crowd" is historical fiction, but the barebones are accurate and a good history lesson.
January 13, 2014
I am a huge fan of Kevin Baker's very deft approach to writing accurate but still very readable historical fiction. Reading any title from his "City of Fire Trilogy" (consisting of "Paradise Alley". "Dreamland" and "Strivers Row") will amply demonstrate his estimable skills and down to curbstones and gutters knowledge of New York City.
You can find plot synopses in several of the other readers reviews, so I will only say that The Big Crowd is as good a primer on the special aspects and character of politics of the "Capitol of the World" in the period just prior to, during, and just after WWII when Wm. O'Dwyer (his character dubbed by Baker as Charlie O'Kane) was working his way from penniless Irish immigrant to beat cop, to judge, to D.A. and finally to very popular Mayor - successor to the very much admired Fiorello LaGuardia - whose fantasy career and spotless reputation ended in a shambles before the Kefauver Senate Committee investigating organized crime activity and corruption on the city's gigantic port and waterfront (a re-viewing of "On The Waterfront" will put you right in the picture).
The pivot point for the narrative is the spectacular, and still mysteriously unexplained, much less solved, death of Murder Inc. killer and mind blowingly closely protected state's witness (stool pigeon), Abe "Kid Twist" Reles (a.k.a. The Little Man Who Would Not Stop Talking), who famously took a swan dive out of his seemingly impenetrably guarded hotel room on the completely isolated and steel door locked 6th floor of the Half Moon Hotel located right on the Boardwalk in Coney Island.
Baker does a masterful job as ever in sleuthing this famous case through the efforts of his character, Tom O'Kane (Paul O'Dwyer) brother of the mayor and an ADA all the way to the point of putting forward the best explanation of the Reles case based on educated speculation based on the voluminous record and careful logical examination of who could actually overcome the obstacles to do it,who had the juice to order it, and most important who had the most to gain from shutting Reles up before he could sen one more killer to the electric chair. This is where previous writers - most especially - Burton Turkus, the actual ADA on the case, backed away, no doubt for reasons related to lack of professionalism in making unprovable accusations of very powerful people. In this sense, Baker achieves a similarly satisfying result for interested skeptics of providing a logically plausible explanation to stand against a very "fugazy" group of official eplanations, much like what was done my James Ellroy for the JFK, MLK, and Robert Kennedy assassinations, in his books, "American Tabloid" and "The Cold Six-Thousand".
So why only 4 stars? Baker often uses the narrative technique of using/creating one or more sub-plots to cut back and forth to in order to stretch out the resolution of his primary plot. Unfortunately, in this case he chose the rumored notorious and at times sordid love affair between Mayor O'Dwyer and the famous/notorious model, "Slim" Sloan Simpson that also involved infidelity with his own brother. Others may feel otherwise about this, but I found that unlike so many of his sub-plots in his other novels, this one did not generate enough heat and interest on it's own to keep me from feeling a bit annoyed at the discontinuity I felt each time he shifted the narrative in this direction. That's my quibble, but it is not a deal killer. This is a thoroughly enjoyable book that I recommend to all lovers of New York lore, history and true crime.
You can find plot synopses in several of the other readers reviews, so I will only say that The Big Crowd is as good a primer on the special aspects and character of politics of the "Capitol of the World" in the period just prior to, during, and just after WWII when Wm. O'Dwyer (his character dubbed by Baker as Charlie O'Kane) was working his way from penniless Irish immigrant to beat cop, to judge, to D.A. and finally to very popular Mayor - successor to the very much admired Fiorello LaGuardia - whose fantasy career and spotless reputation ended in a shambles before the Kefauver Senate Committee investigating organized crime activity and corruption on the city's gigantic port and waterfront (a re-viewing of "On The Waterfront" will put you right in the picture).
The pivot point for the narrative is the spectacular, and still mysteriously unexplained, much less solved, death of Murder Inc. killer and mind blowingly closely protected state's witness (stool pigeon), Abe "Kid Twist" Reles (a.k.a. The Little Man Who Would Not Stop Talking), who famously took a swan dive out of his seemingly impenetrably guarded hotel room on the completely isolated and steel door locked 6th floor of the Half Moon Hotel located right on the Boardwalk in Coney Island.
Baker does a masterful job as ever in sleuthing this famous case through the efforts of his character, Tom O'Kane (Paul O'Dwyer) brother of the mayor and an ADA all the way to the point of putting forward the best explanation of the Reles case based on educated speculation based on the voluminous record and careful logical examination of who could actually overcome the obstacles to do it,who had the juice to order it, and most important who had the most to gain from shutting Reles up before he could sen one more killer to the electric chair. This is where previous writers - most especially - Burton Turkus, the actual ADA on the case, backed away, no doubt for reasons related to lack of professionalism in making unprovable accusations of very powerful people. In this sense, Baker achieves a similarly satisfying result for interested skeptics of providing a logically plausible explanation to stand against a very "fugazy" group of official eplanations, much like what was done my James Ellroy for the JFK, MLK, and Robert Kennedy assassinations, in his books, "American Tabloid" and "The Cold Six-Thousand".
So why only 4 stars? Baker often uses the narrative technique of using/creating one or more sub-plots to cut back and forth to in order to stretch out the resolution of his primary plot. Unfortunately, in this case he chose the rumored notorious and at times sordid love affair between Mayor O'Dwyer and the famous/notorious model, "Slim" Sloan Simpson that also involved infidelity with his own brother. Others may feel otherwise about this, but I found that unlike so many of his sub-plots in his other novels, this one did not generate enough heat and interest on it's own to keep me from feeling a bit annoyed at the discontinuity I felt each time he shifted the narrative in this direction. That's my quibble, but it is not a deal killer. This is a thoroughly enjoyable book that I recommend to all lovers of New York lore, history and true crime.
April 10, 2015
Politics and big business...some things never change.
"You mean throwing people out of their homes."
"Screw PEOPLE! You can let PEOPLE get in the way, or you won't ever accomplish a thing!" p. 333
"That all sounds very democratic."
"Grow up! Democracy doesn't enter into it. Things are going to be changing FAST now--too fast for a lot of people to keep up." p. 333
"Trust me, son. Power is no easy thing to give up." p. 334
Politics and corruption go hand in hand in this novel about a mayor (Charlie O'Kane), his brother Tom, and the story behind the death of a star witness against a New York crime syndicate. Set in the 1940s and 1950s in New York and Mexico, the story unfolds about what really happened to Kid Twist. It is based on an unsolved mob murder, but is well researched.
Sometimes following the train of thought (or what he visualized happened) of Tom O'Kane was a bit confusing.
Full disclosure: I received this novel from the author as a Shelf Awareness giveaway, but this in no way affected my review.
"You mean throwing people out of their homes."
"Screw PEOPLE! You can let PEOPLE get in the way, or you won't ever accomplish a thing!" p. 333
"That all sounds very democratic."
"Grow up! Democracy doesn't enter into it. Things are going to be changing FAST now--too fast for a lot of people to keep up." p. 333
"Trust me, son. Power is no easy thing to give up." p. 334
Politics and corruption go hand in hand in this novel about a mayor (Charlie O'Kane), his brother Tom, and the story behind the death of a star witness against a New York crime syndicate. Set in the 1940s and 1950s in New York and Mexico, the story unfolds about what really happened to Kid Twist. It is based on an unsolved mob murder, but is well researched.
Sometimes following the train of thought (or what he visualized happened) of Tom O'Kane was a bit confusing.
Full disclosure: I received this novel from the author as a Shelf Awareness giveaway, but this in no way affected my review.
September 21, 2013
"The Big Crowd" is a story of crime and family. This big, sweeping novel takes place in New York City and Mexico. Based on the story of infamous New York City mayor, William O'Dwyer, who was the 100th mayor of NYC in the middle of the 20th century. O'Dwyer became involved in some unsavory activities (read: all sorts of mob activity) and was forced to resign. This book follows a fictional version of O'Dwyer, an Irish immigrant named Charlie and his brother, Tom. Historical fiction lovers will enjoy this book, which gives a really interesting picture of the politics of one of America's great cities during the mid-20th century.
I really enjoyed this book for the settings. New York City is always going to be one of my favorite places in the world. I really thought the author did a great job of capturing the essence of the city. I also really liked the parts that took place in Mexico. In college, I actually studied abroad in Cuernavaca, which makes an appearance in the book. Charlie becomes the U.S. ambassador to Mexico and seems to be very well known and well loved by the people of Mexico. I also thought the depictions of Mexico City were absolutely fascinating as well.
In this book, Tom is trying to put together the story of what happened to his super successful brother. Although the events in the book were fodder for the greater world, there is still an element surrounding the deep relationship between siblings. There is also the added conflict that Tom is having an affair with Charlie's wife. I really liked this story. There were some parts that I thought could have been slimmed down but overall, this book held my attention.
What I say next didn't affect my view of the book but I did find myself wondering why the author chose to make up characters rather than using William O'Dwyer as an actual character in the book. It was really interesting to me.
Overall, I enjoyed this book.
I really enjoyed this book for the settings. New York City is always going to be one of my favorite places in the world. I really thought the author did a great job of capturing the essence of the city. I also really liked the parts that took place in Mexico. In college, I actually studied abroad in Cuernavaca, which makes an appearance in the book. Charlie becomes the U.S. ambassador to Mexico and seems to be very well known and well loved by the people of Mexico. I also thought the depictions of Mexico City were absolutely fascinating as well.
In this book, Tom is trying to put together the story of what happened to his super successful brother. Although the events in the book were fodder for the greater world, there is still an element surrounding the deep relationship between siblings. There is also the added conflict that Tom is having an affair with Charlie's wife. I really liked this story. There were some parts that I thought could have been slimmed down but overall, this book held my attention.
What I say next didn't affect my view of the book but I did find myself wondering why the author chose to make up characters rather than using William O'Dwyer as an actual character in the book. It was really interesting to me.
Overall, I enjoyed this book.
September 10, 2015
Solid but not Baker's best work. Nobody does setting in historical fiction better than Baker, but plot-wise, this had some problems. Most notably, the fact that the end was kind of an anticlimactic letdown after all the buildup.
Some of this can be attributed to the danger of taking a real life unsolved murder and solving it, some of it is just a plain, old "you could have done a better job closing this book out."
Some issues with characters as well. While the development and evolution of Tom and Slim was excellent, I have a lot of gripes with the portrayal of Charlie. I get that he's supposed to be a broken man in the end, and indeed he seems as such, but he cuts a pretty pathetic figure right from the start. It makes it hard to buy both Tom's admiration for him and the public's confidence in him.
Some of this can be attributed to the danger of taking a real life unsolved murder and solving it, some of it is just a plain, old "you could have done a better job closing this book out."
Some issues with characters as well. While the development and evolution of Tom and Slim was excellent, I have a lot of gripes with the portrayal of Charlie. I get that he's supposed to be a broken man in the end, and indeed he seems as such, but he cuts a pretty pathetic figure right from the start. It makes it hard to buy both Tom's admiration for him and the public's confidence in him.
November 3, 2013
The figure of Abe Reles, of Murder, Inc. fame, casts a long shadow over this terrific historical novel by Kevin Baker. Baker is the truly rare novelist/historian who can integrate his research so thoroughly into his story that the seams disappear. At times The Big Crowd reads like a classic film noir script, yet all the characters are based on real people, including the three principals: William O'Dwyer/Charlie O'Kane, successor to Fiorello LaGuardia as mayor of New York City; Paul O'Dwyer/Tom O'Kane, the mayor's younger brother; and Sloan Simpson/Slim Sadler, the mayor's second wife. A fascinating glimpse into New York's past.
August 12, 2016
The premise of this story was a good one - a really good one. But the dialogue was so hard to read (it was done like an old black -and-white detective movie - schmaltzy and stilted, y'know dame?) and the narrative was overly descriptive (like reading a Stephen King book - how we don't need to know everything and every gesture in minute detail to get the point?) The ending wrapped up nicely, but it was a relief to get there.
October 13, 2013
There's kernels of good writing here but the vast majority of it is expository dialogue told in a clunky flashback style with no major mysteries given any legitimate twist. If you're that interested in the subject, Google "Charlie O'Dwyer" or watch On the Waterfront rather than waste your time with this one.
September 22, 2021
Disappointing. I loved Baker's "Paradise Alley," a historical novel set during the New York anti-draft riots, so I was eager to read his latest book, set in the 1950s New York City milieu of gangsters, priests, corrupt politicians, etc. But Baker makes a series of confounding decisions - he chooses to focus the story on a real-life "closed room mystery" - the murder of Kid Twist, an informer who was putting away members of Murder, Inc. By limiting himself to the facts of the case, Baker really boxes himself in, making the milieu more crabbed and claustrophobic then need be. He also chooses to tell the story in a series of flashbacks, usually out of order, which continually stalled the momentum the story was trying to build up. There is a spine of a great story here - of two brothers, immigrants from Ireland, struggling to live up to their moral code - but Baker doesn't give it the oxygen it needs.
January 17, 2021
An intricate tale of immigration, romance, crime and political corruption in the New York city of the mid twentieth century. Two brothers trying to sort out a murder that both were involved with on opposite sides...I did find the story engaging but confusing due to manner in which the author kept bouncing around in time.
January 24, 2018
A little bit hard to follow because it is so densely populated with people, but overall a very engaging and poignant story about power and the American Dream.
April 27, 2020
Disappointing after the build up.
January 31, 2022
I couldn’t get into it!
November 21, 2022
It took me about fifty pages, but then I was in hook line and sinker. Well-written novel of New York in the 1940s -1950s. Moments of On the Waterfront. Murder Inc and such. A very good read.
October 13, 2023
...somewhere in there is a great book...but I feel it jumps around too much and loses focus!
Furthermore, the soapy aspect commands too much attention and is sometimes even tiresonme...
Furthermore, the soapy aspect commands too much attention and is sometimes even tiresonme...
July 16, 2015
Mysterious Book Report No. 157
by John Dwaine McKenna
The Mysterious Book Report has long been an ardent and enthusiastic promoter of the classic black and white noir movies made in the golden age of film during the 1930s, 40s and 50s. They are, in fact, the very definition of the French word noir, meaning ‘black film’, which has been assimilated into English as: A style of cinematographic film marked by a mood of pessimism, fatalism and menace. The term was originally applied to American thriller or detective films made in the period 1944-54 by such directors as Orson Wells, Fritz Lang and Billy Winder, according to my Oxford Dictionary. I’d add the name Elia Kazan who directed the 1954 masterpiece, On the Waterfront, starring among others, Karl Malden, Eva-Marie Saint and a brooding newcomer by the name of Marlon Brando, whose immortal line “I coudda been a contender,” still resonates and is often quoted today. This is the sixtieth anniversary of the film, a perennial topper of the 100 best movies list.
MBR Number 157 revisits the dramatic fight for justice, equality and the honest unionization of the longshoreman who worked on New York City’s docks during the 1940s and ’50s . . . by wrestling control of the unions away from the grip of organized crime, in a novel by one of America’s preeminent writer’s of historical fiction.
The Big Crowd, (Houghton, Mifflin Harcourt Publishing, $27.00, 424 pages, ISBN 978-0-618-85990-0) by Kevin Baker is the story of two Irish immigrants, brothers Tom and Charlie O’Kane, who go from the gangland waterfront to the halls of power in NYC’s Gracie Mansion. Interspersed with the locked room murder of a mobster turned rat is the backstory of a torturous three-way love affair that pits brother against brother for the affections of a rich, beautiful and spoiled society woman. The novel unfolds in a series of flashbacks that expose the reader to the inner workings of the Italian and Jewish mobs of the 1940s in the gang-dominated trade unions, as a crusading Manhattan District Attorney takes on the organization known as Murder Incorporated. There are mentions of the Sullivan County Catskill hotel scene, the Loch Sheldrake body disposal site and gangsters like Albert Anastasia, aka the Lord High Executioner, Cockeye Dunn, Pittsburgh Phil Reyes and Tick-Tock Tannenbaum. The reader will also learn the definition of terms like, “the shape-up, shlammers, shtarkers and a pistol local.” Mr. Baker has crafted a thoughtful, well-written and researched novel that’s a thoroughly enjoyable read. If you liked the movie, you’ll love the book. I certainly did.
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by John Dwaine McKenna
The Mysterious Book Report has long been an ardent and enthusiastic promoter of the classic black and white noir movies made in the golden age of film during the 1930s, 40s and 50s. They are, in fact, the very definition of the French word noir, meaning ‘black film’, which has been assimilated into English as: A style of cinematographic film marked by a mood of pessimism, fatalism and menace. The term was originally applied to American thriller or detective films made in the period 1944-54 by such directors as Orson Wells, Fritz Lang and Billy Winder, according to my Oxford Dictionary. I’d add the name Elia Kazan who directed the 1954 masterpiece, On the Waterfront, starring among others, Karl Malden, Eva-Marie Saint and a brooding newcomer by the name of Marlon Brando, whose immortal line “I coudda been a contender,” still resonates and is often quoted today. This is the sixtieth anniversary of the film, a perennial topper of the 100 best movies list.
MBR Number 157 revisits the dramatic fight for justice, equality and the honest unionization of the longshoreman who worked on New York City’s docks during the 1940s and ’50s . . . by wrestling control of the unions away from the grip of organized crime, in a novel by one of America’s preeminent writer’s of historical fiction.
The Big Crowd, (Houghton, Mifflin Harcourt Publishing, $27.00, 424 pages, ISBN 978-0-618-85990-0) by Kevin Baker is the story of two Irish immigrants, brothers Tom and Charlie O’Kane, who go from the gangland waterfront to the halls of power in NYC’s Gracie Mansion. Interspersed with the locked room murder of a mobster turned rat is the backstory of a torturous three-way love affair that pits brother against brother for the affections of a rich, beautiful and spoiled society woman. The novel unfolds in a series of flashbacks that expose the reader to the inner workings of the Italian and Jewish mobs of the 1940s in the gang-dominated trade unions, as a crusading Manhattan District Attorney takes on the organization known as Murder Incorporated. There are mentions of the Sullivan County Catskill hotel scene, the Loch Sheldrake body disposal site and gangsters like Albert Anastasia, aka the Lord High Executioner, Cockeye Dunn, Pittsburgh Phil Reyes and Tick-Tock Tannenbaum. The reader will also learn the definition of terms like, “the shape-up, shlammers, shtarkers and a pistol local.” Mr. Baker has crafted a thoughtful, well-written and researched novel that’s a thoroughly enjoyable read. If you liked the movie, you’ll love the book. I certainly did.
Like the review? The greatest compliment you can give is to share it with others on Facebook, and follow us on Goodreads.
www.Facebook.com/JohnDwaineMcKenna
www.Goodreads.com/JohnDwaineMcKenna
October 20, 2014
Kevin Baker is a historian; hence his reliance on real life characters and fictionalized characters based on real people. That’s the case with Charlie O’Kane, an Irish immigrant who became mayor of New York, who is probably based on William O’Dwyer post WWII mayor who was also an Irish immigrant.
Charlie’s brother Tom is the main character in the novel. He’s an ADA and is trying to get his brother to tell him what really happened when mob witness Abe Reles was thrown or jumped from a safe-house window surrounded by at least a half dozen cops and other mob witnesses. This happened just as Reles, also a member of Murder Incorporated, was ready to testify against Albert Anastasia. Before all the mafia books and movies, I was fascinated with the mob. I remember pictures of Albert riddled with blood stains as he lay in his barber chair, well after the Kefauver investigations.
So then the plot thread is whether Charlie was involved in the Reles incident. Apparently most people thought he was because he wound up in Mexico City, dodging extradition. That’s where the sub plot occurs. You see, Tom is in love with Slim, Charlie’s wife. They’ve been carrying on a lurid affair for years. He can’t keep his hands off her when he sees her again in Mexico. She is loosely based on Pat McCormick, the four time Olympic diver, who was also a bullfighter. Slim is learning how against old tired bulls. Tom also has a girlfriend, fellow ADA, Ellie, who’s almost as beautiful as Slim but much more forgiving. The fool tells her all about Slim.
Mayor LaGuardia pops up for a few paragraphs and one of the major minor characters is Bill McCormack, Mr. Big of the New York City docks. Cardinal Francis Spellman is portrayed as an effeminate fop. We never meet Kefauver or Albert Anastasia, which would have been a treat.
I was first introduced to Kevin Baker when I read SOMETIMES YOU HEAR IT COMING, one of the better fictional baseball books I’ve read. Then I read the first of the City of Fire trilogy: DREAMLAND, about the history of Coney Island. Baker’s scholastic background definitely serves him as a reliable tour guide of the Big Apple.
Charlie’s brother Tom is the main character in the novel. He’s an ADA and is trying to get his brother to tell him what really happened when mob witness Abe Reles was thrown or jumped from a safe-house window surrounded by at least a half dozen cops and other mob witnesses. This happened just as Reles, also a member of Murder Incorporated, was ready to testify against Albert Anastasia. Before all the mafia books and movies, I was fascinated with the mob. I remember pictures of Albert riddled with blood stains as he lay in his barber chair, well after the Kefauver investigations.
So then the plot thread is whether Charlie was involved in the Reles incident. Apparently most people thought he was because he wound up in Mexico City, dodging extradition. That’s where the sub plot occurs. You see, Tom is in love with Slim, Charlie’s wife. They’ve been carrying on a lurid affair for years. He can’t keep his hands off her when he sees her again in Mexico. She is loosely based on Pat McCormick, the four time Olympic diver, who was also a bullfighter. Slim is learning how against old tired bulls. Tom also has a girlfriend, fellow ADA, Ellie, who’s almost as beautiful as Slim but much more forgiving. The fool tells her all about Slim.
Mayor LaGuardia pops up for a few paragraphs and one of the major minor characters is Bill McCormack, Mr. Big of the New York City docks. Cardinal Francis Spellman is portrayed as an effeminate fop. We never meet Kefauver or Albert Anastasia, which would have been a treat.
I was first introduced to Kevin Baker when I read SOMETIMES YOU HEAR IT COMING, one of the better fictional baseball books I’ve read. Then I read the first of the City of Fire trilogy: DREAMLAND, about the history of Coney Island. Baker’s scholastic background definitely serves him as a reliable tour guide of the Big Apple.
September 4, 2013
This new novel by Kevin Baker has all the ingredients for a blockbuster novel. There are two Irish brothers who have come to America seeking success with all the perks that come with it. One is middle-aged and jaded by his run to the top in New York City, the other young and full of ambition and naivete. The O'Kane brothers, Charlie and Tom, take similar paths but with radically different moral choices.
Charlie, the elder brother, becomes the District Attorney and then mayor of the city. He must, therefore, deal with the corruption, the mob bosses, the unions, and at the same time face the lingering death of his beloved wife. His second wife, Slim, is a gorgeous model much younger than Charlie and his marriage to her will change his life and his choices in many ways.
Tom also works his way up as an attorney and is always judged by his brother's success. He ends up working for D.A. Hogan investigating an intriguingly suspicious murder that happened when Charlie was mayor. A killer-for-hire is under guard in a seedy motel and telling where the bodies are - literally - when he goes out the window and dies. It looks like an attempted escape.
Meanwhile we are titillated by Tom's affair with Slim, his guilt over said affair knowing that Charlie is besotted with the woman, and Tom's growing love for another woman.
Sounds good, doesn't it? The problem is that the story is told in a jumbled fashion, jumping from 1939 to 1953 to 1945, and from New York to Mexico and back. There are so many characters you need to remember I should have made a list. I would just get used to the brothers being in Mexico in 1953 when the story would jump back in years and to New York City, from the New York docks to a failed resort in Mexico, from Charlie's life to Tom's and back again. It was so confusing that I couldn't really enjoy it.
I consider myself fairly knowledgeable about the city and its history, and I love NYC. However, even though this is based on a true unsolved mystery, I just couldn't follow it.
Recommended for those who love big sagas
Source: Amazon Vine
Charlie, the elder brother, becomes the District Attorney and then mayor of the city. He must, therefore, deal with the corruption, the mob bosses, the unions, and at the same time face the lingering death of his beloved wife. His second wife, Slim, is a gorgeous model much younger than Charlie and his marriage to her will change his life and his choices in many ways.
Tom also works his way up as an attorney and is always judged by his brother's success. He ends up working for D.A. Hogan investigating an intriguingly suspicious murder that happened when Charlie was mayor. A killer-for-hire is under guard in a seedy motel and telling where the bodies are - literally - when he goes out the window and dies. It looks like an attempted escape.
Meanwhile we are titillated by Tom's affair with Slim, his guilt over said affair knowing that Charlie is besotted with the woman, and Tom's growing love for another woman.
Sounds good, doesn't it? The problem is that the story is told in a jumbled fashion, jumping from 1939 to 1953 to 1945, and from New York to Mexico and back. There are so many characters you need to remember I should have made a list. I would just get used to the brothers being in Mexico in 1953 when the story would jump back in years and to New York City, from the New York docks to a failed resort in Mexico, from Charlie's life to Tom's and back again. It was so confusing that I couldn't really enjoy it.
I consider myself fairly knowledgeable about the city and its history, and I love NYC. However, even though this is based on a true unsolved mystery, I just couldn't follow it.
Recommended for those who love big sagas
Source: Amazon Vine
May 11, 2022
A better read than I anticipated given the reviews. Yes, the constant jumping around in time was a bit distracting, particularly at the beginning, but as I got into the story I could see why Mr. Baker used the device.
Mr. Baker remains the absolute master of recreating old New York. What a wonderful retelling of the docks, the postwar boom period, and the shady dealing beneath it all.
Mr. Baker remains the absolute master of recreating old New York. What a wonderful retelling of the docks, the postwar boom period, and the shady dealing beneath it all.
April 19, 2014
In The Big Crowd, we get a look at New York City in the 40's and the 50's. The hope and the corruption, the fight between men and business. Legal and illegal business. Tom O'Keefe, an honest DA is trying to get to the bottom of a decades-old murder; one he suspects his brother, the ex-mayor of the city, may have been involved in. Tom must decide how much truth he can fight for and if there's even a point to the fight.
For me, Baker has never written anything as good as Dreamland. The Big Crowd is good, but falls short of that masterwork. As a character, Tom is a little bland for me. For a man who is supposed to be a fighter - for the unions, for Isre, for his brother, for truth - he lacks real passion. Other characters - the corrupt mayor, his cheating wife, the abused henchman - were all more driven and more interesting, but were done the disservice of being presented through Tom's POV.
The forbidden love story sub-plot was the weakest part of this book, one of the few times I can use the phrase "gratuitous sex" without feeling like a nose-in-the-air maiden aunt.
For me, Baker has never written anything as good as Dreamland. The Big Crowd is good, but falls short of that masterwork. As a character, Tom is a little bland for me. For a man who is supposed to be a fighter - for the unions, for Isre, for his brother, for truth - he lacks real passion. Other characters - the corrupt mayor, his cheating wife, the abused henchman - were all more driven and more interesting, but were done the disservice of being presented through Tom's POV.
The forbidden love story sub-plot was the weakest part of this book, one of the few times I can use the phrase "gratuitous sex" without feeling like a nose-in-the-air maiden aunt.
February 2, 2014
Dreamland and Paradise Alley are two of the best books I have ever read. Not just historical fiction but any genre. I like this author a lot.
This book is a step down for me but still somewhat interesting (stories of the Brooklyn waterfront, corruption at City Hall, etc). I felt like it got much better in the second half but it dragged a little at first. If you are new to Kevin Baker I suggest his other books. But if you are a fan of his work, or New York historical fiction, this is probably worth it.
This book is a step down for me but still somewhat interesting (stories of the Brooklyn waterfront, corruption at City Hall, etc). I felt like it got much better in the second half but it dragged a little at first. If you are new to Kevin Baker I suggest his other books. But if you are a fan of his work, or New York historical fiction, this is probably worth it.
October 30, 2013
I received this book for free from Goodreads first reads. This is another of Kevin Baker's great New York novels. He excels at making you see, hear and smell the New York of former times. While I think that his City Of Fire trilogy is better, this is still a page turning account of New York with the larger than life people that only the city seems to produce. There is plenty of crime and personal conflict in this chronicle of postwar politics and how it makes and destroys the lives of two brothers.
September 9, 2016
Sympathetic, gifted and flawed in different ways, Irish brothers come to New York and pursue their dreams. While back room discussions and deals are things we cannot know for sure, plausible possibilities are presented here in riveting fashion. Driven by believable and interesting characters I came to feel for, these personal and family stories have settings with compelling period detail.
June 15, 2015
Interesting story about political corruption in New York during the post war years. I liked it but I found his use of pronouns to be very confusing. Often had to reread a sentence to figure out to whom the author was referring.
July 19, 2014
This book was based on unsolved murders in post WWII in New York City. I felt the characters confusing and difficult to follow, The brother of the former mayor of NYC is trying to solve an unsolved murder and exonerate his brother.
January 1, 2014
Loved it. Almost 5 stars. Great characters. Engaging plot. Exceedingly well written.
February 15, 2014
I had forgotten how much I like Kevin Baker. It took me a while to get back into his writing, but once there i loved it.
November 5, 2013
Marred by too much exposition.
November 24, 2013
By the end I can say I enjoyed this book. I think it approaches 4 stars but was a bit to meandering for me to give it more than 3.
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January 16, 2014Didn't finish, tedious book.
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