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Mickey Cohen: The Life and Crimes of L.A.'s Notorious Mobster Audiobook
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(3.00) - 39 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Mickey Cohen: The Life and Times of L.A.'s Notorious Mobster is a seductive, premium-octane blend of true crime and Hollywood lore that spins around a wildly eccentric mob boss. When Bugsy Siegel was executed, ruthless Mickey Cohen, a former pro boxer and cunning provocateur, took over criminal activity in L.A., a move sanctioned by Meyer Lansky and Frank Costello. Attaining immense power and dominance, from the late 1940s until 1976 the semi-literate Angeleno became an above-the-fold newspaper name, accumulating a remarkable count of more than 1,000 front pages in Los Angeles papers alone, and hundreds of articles in national and international periodicals.
Cohen's story and the history of mid-century L.A. are inextricably intertwined, and author Tere Tereba delivers tales full of high life, high drama, and highly placed politicians, among them RFK and Richard Nixon, as well as revelations about countless icons, including Shirley Temple, Lana Turner, Frank Sinatra, and the Reverend Billy Graham. Meticulously researched, this rich tapestry presents a panoramic look at the Los Angeles underworld and immerses the listener in a dark, decadent, and dangerous side of Hollywood that has not been fully revealed until now.
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"I found this book very interesting. I knew the studios ran the lives of their actors. I didn't know how Mickey Cohen and other mobsters were involved with or influence the studios. Readers of mob and/or motion picture history should enjoy this book."
— Judith (4 out of 5 stars)
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“This is a slashing good book—a razor-sharp bio of malevolent macher Mickey the C: the confounding Kingpin of LA crime. Buy this book now—it’ll hang you out to dry!!”
— James Ellroy, New York Times bestselling author of Perfidia -
Tereba brings the bantamweight crook back to vivid life in this biography. . . . This is a remarkable biography, in that Tereba takes a long-gone, mostly forgotten criminal and through her lively re-creation of the '20s and '30s, the decades in which Cohen was formed, and the later years when he ruled, makes you care.
— Booklist -
“The author does a superb job of tracing the ins and outs of Hollywood’s gang world in the 1940s and ‘50s.”
— Wall Street Journal -
“Tere Tereba gives up the charismatic LA mobster Mickey Cohen.”
— Vanity Fair -
"[An] absorbing and gritty account of Cohen’s rise from a tough as nails pugilist from East LA to a seemingly untouchable gangster.”
— HollywoodOutbreak.com -
“For readers who revel in old movies, stories about gangsters in double-breasted suits, and midcentury Los Angeles. Recommended.”
— Library Journal -
“Tereba brings the bantamweight crook back to vivid life in this biography, along with the night clubs and race tracks he frequented and the no-holds-barred LA in which he flourished…This is a remarkable biography, in that Tereba takes a long-gone, mostly forgotten criminal and through her lively re-creation of the ‘20s and ‘30s, the decades in which Cohen was formed, and the later years when he ruled, makes you care.”
— Booklist -
“This fascinating audiobook provides an excellent overview of racketeering and how it shaped LA during the middle of the twentieth century. Narrator Kate Reading does an excellent job of presenting the story. Verdict: This work is recommended to anyone interested in true crime.”
— Library Journal (audio review) -
“Kate Reading delivers the story with the unwavering ear of a television reporter. Reading is so good that listeners won’t notice that a woman is playing the roles of hardened gangsters who would as easily kill a man as talk to him.”
— AudioFile
Mickey Cohen Listener Reviews
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" Not a lot of new info in this, but it did spur an interest in Candy Barr. Hubba hubba. "
— Tony, 4/11/2013 -
" I always enjoy a good true crime novel! After reading this book, I don't understand why mobster Mickey Cohen doesn't have a movie all of his own. Sure, he made it into Bugsy and L.A. Confidential, but still. "
— NerdGirlBlogger, 3/31/2013 -
" In my opinion: Mediocre story. Horribly written. "
— Brian, 3/5/2013 -
" The Life and Crimes of Mickey Cohen, an LA gangster of the Bugsy Siegel era. Workmanlike biography but Cohen, all in all, is not a very interesting person. "
— Steve, 2/16/2013
About Tere Tereba
Tere Tereba, an award-winning fashion designer and journalist, has written for Interview and Italian Vogue.
About Kate Reading
Kate Reading, named an AudioFile Golden Voice, has recorded hundreds of audiobooks across many genres, over a thirty–year plus career and won the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration. Among other awards, she has been recognized as an AudioFile Magazine Voice of the Century, Narrator of the Year, Best Voice in Science Fiction and Fantasy, and winner of an Publisher’s Weekly’s Listen-Up Award. She records at her home studio, Madison Productions, Inc., in Maryland.