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Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the Underworld
 
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Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the Underworld (Paperback)

by Herbert Asbury (Author)
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
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  • This item: Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the Underworld by Herbert Asbury

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Product details

  • Paperback: 416 pages
  • Publisher: Arrow Books Ltd; New edition edition (2 Jan 2003)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0099436744
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099436744
  • Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 13 x 3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 87,829 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #61 in  Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Law & Disorder > Issues > Gangs
    #85 in  Books > History > Social & Economic History > Health & Welfare

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Product Description

Review

Soon to be a major motion picture directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo Di Caprio, Liam Neeson and others. Ashbury presents the definitive work on this subject, an illumination of the gangs of old New York. The film will be released on 10 January.


Product Description

Life in mid-19 century New York was tough, and violence and corruption were rife. Nowhere was tougher or more violent than the Bowery and the Five Points area. Two gangs, the Dead Rabbits and the Native Americans, were locked in a seemingly endless battle for supremacy. Amsterdam Vallon, son of the Rabbits' murdered leader, is seeking vengeance for his father's death at the hands of Bill 'The Butcher', head of the Native Americans who are in cahoots with a deeply corrupt Tammany Hall..."Gangs of New York" has long been a cult book. It is now the latest major film from Martin Scorsese.
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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Informative, ordered, and a bit shocking, 17 Mar 2003
This book outlines in an ordered historical way, the history of gangs in New York. From the first settlers up until the early 20th century New York this book documents the sources of vice and violence that have plagued the city.

Written in a way that does not simply list facts, this book leads you through the extensive history of the city and its denizens. There are many people named along with their exploits, and the political chicanery that seemed to allow many of the gangs to persist.

This book was very hard to put down, once started !

I purchased this book in response to watching the film of the same name. This book clarifies many aspects of the film, and demonstrates many of the impossibilities that were built in to make a good film.

If you have watched the film, then you should certainly read this book !

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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Violence in New York, 28 Feb 2003
By R. Simpson (South Kirkby, Yorks, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
Part of the appeal of The Gangs of New York is that journalist Herbert Asbury was writing in the late 1920s at a time when (as he saw it) the era of the gangsters was over. With hindsight the modern reader smirks at the thought of the great age of gangsterism that was just beginning, but the likes of Al Capone and the Warner Brothers anti-heroes were gangsters of a different cast from Asbury's protagonists. The Gangs of New York tells of huge neighbourhood armies which took to the field against each other (or the police or even the military) armed with staves and picks as often as firearms, bruisers rather than criminal masterminds. Though well organised, the book is inevitably disjointed, often turning the spotlight onto one gang for a page or two or simply focussing on one bloody struggle for leadership. However, the horrific tale of the Civil War Draft Riots is told very dramatically at decent length and the careers of some notable gangsters like Monk Eastman are well charted in some detail. The corruption of police and politicians is also a recurrent theme across the decades. In any case, Asbury's research is prodigious and his style racy and compelling, with more than a hint of admiration for some of his disreputable subjects. On the very last page of the last chapter, The Passing of the Gangster, Asbury recounts the killing of Little Augie in 1927 'while talking to his bodyguard Legs Diamond'. This reference to Diamond, and another to Owney Madden ('Owney the Killer') backing night-clubs in Harlem (the Cotton Club not named), moves the reader on to the new generation of gangsters.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A chronicle of vice, 27 Feb 2003
More of a historical account than a story, Herbert Asbury's Gangs of New York, written in 1928 is truly a classic of record and documentation. Peppered with original illustrations and describing eloquently, the criminal culture, the colourful characters, the depraved surroundings and desperation of a period in American history that is often overlooked.

From the mid 1800's until the 1890's New York was a tribal melting pot of poverty stricken immigrants from the poorest parts of Europe, the homeless descendants from the days of slavery and destitute natives of the region. The only source of revenue and stable social structure that existed was with the infamous gangs and the corrupt officials, where only the strong or shrewd survived in the appalling conditions. I can only thank Scorsesee for helping to bring this book to our attention and look forward to discovering how he has transformed this vast amount of research material into a major motion screenplay. A compelling read for those with a passion for New York or the historical subject matter

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars History lesson
It's a history book really and was written a long time ago too. A lot of work and research went into it and the author clearly knew every inch of the city like a native... Read more
Published 2 months ago by J. D. Mcintosh

5.0 out of 5 stars Whets the appetite for more
A most thorough resume of the diverse criminal activity of lower Manhattan from the early 1800's until circa 1920. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Kerrigan J. A. Bethel

4.0 out of 5 stars Great "informal" History of crime in New York
As the title of the book explains this volume written in the 1920s covers the various outlaws and villians of new york from pre-civil war years to what was then the close living... Read more
Published on 20 Sep 2007 by Justinian

3.0 out of 5 stars Content good - Style bad.
The style of writing plays a key part on the understandment and enjoyment of this book. Written in the late 20's during prohibition when gangs and gangsters were still quite... Read more
Published on 23 Jun 2004 by dsheardown2

2.0 out of 5 stars A tedious reading
It took me real commitment to read this book beyond the first few chapters. The descriptive account of the feats of various gangs and their leaders is repetitive in its sources -... Read more
Published on 29 Sep 2003 by jeanfrancoisrit

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