Seldom has the netherworld of the mafia been revealed with such fascinating detail and sheer suspense. Like the classics of the genre-from The Godfather to The French Connection toWise Guy-Takedown leads us to the inner ring of a conspiracy of corruption and terror that held the city in its grip for nearly fifty years. Rick Cowan was a young NYPD detective in 1992 when he dropped by a Brooklyn waterfront warehouse to investigate a recent fire bombing-only one in a string of interviews he considered routine. But what he found there was far from routine, for it would take him on a five-year odyssey and nearly cost him his life. In fact, he had stumbled upon the lead of a lifetime-the suspicion that he might unearth the hard evidence police and federal agencies alike had been chasing for decades: the proof of collusion among the mob families to extort billions from the nation's most influential corporations that call New York their home. Featuring eccentric, larger-than-life New York characters and an undercover cop on the brink of being discovered-and murdered-at every step, Takedown is a riveting real-life procedural and one of the most important investigative books of the season.
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"This is a very well researched and written study of the mob in a particular industry. The authors do an excellent job describing the racket from its inception through the modern era and its dissolution. This is one of the best books on organized crime I have read. " — Walt (5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a very well researched and written study of the mob in a particular industry. The authors do an excellent job describing the racket from its inception through the modern era and its dissolution. This is one of the best books on organized crime I have read. "
" the book version, excellent! "
" Very good account of a cop infiltrating the NYC mob. "
" Fantastic read! Like the Sopranos, but much more exciting and suspenseful, as it's a true story. "
" This is a fantastic, true story about the man who took down the Mafia from the inside. Highly recommended for true crime or Mafia buffs. "
" Fascinating story. I had a hard time getting past the obscene language even though I know that is realistic. "
" Eh, this was okay. It does give the reader some perspective of how stressful it must be to be deep undercover. "
" This is a very well researched and written study of the mob in a particular industry. The authors do an excellent job describing the racket from its inception through the modern era and its dissolution. This is one of the best books on organized crime I have read. "
" Gritty modern New York Mafia gangland true life investigatiave book. Rick Cowan and Douglan Century did some excellent work - in fact this book is what prompted HBO to write the TV show The Sopranos. "
Rick Cowan is a twenty-year veteran of the New York Police Department, where he remains on active duty as Detective First-Grade. His undercover role in Operation Wasteland earned him a personal promotion from then Police Commissioner William Bratton.
Douglas Century is a contributor to the New York Times bestseller by William Queen Under and Alone: The True Story of the Undercover Agent Who Infiltrated America’s Most Violent Outlaw Motorcycle Gang and coauthor with Rick Cowan of Takedown: The Fall of the Last Mafia Empire. He is the author of two critically acclaimed books, Barney Ross: The Life of a Jewish Fighter and Street Kingdom: Five Years inside the Franklin Avenue Posse. He has coauthored several highly acclaimed memoirs, including If Not Now, When?; Brotherhood of Warriors; and Ice: A Memoir of Gangster Life and Redemption from South Central to Hollywood. He has written for the New York Times, the Guardian, Rolling Stone, the Village Voice, Newsday, and other publications and is a contributing editor at Tablet magazine.
Denis O’Hare is one of today’s busiest actors in the film, television, and stage worlds. The Tony Award–winning actor is best known to television viewers for his recent work on True Blood as Russell Edgington, Vampire King of Mississippi.
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