Rating: 
Summary: too draggy
Review: "Murder Inc." was written by a former Assistant District Attorney in Brooklyn, New York-Burton Turkus. In the years just preceding WW2, Mr. Turkus successfully prosecuted several members of the national crime organization he terms the Syndicate. Seven went to the electric chair at Sing Sing prison in Ossining, New York. The author believed that the Mafia, as we now know the term, did not then exist. There are both weak and strong points to MI. Weak points include the author's breezy style, with which this reviewer was initially uncomfortable. At the outset, Turkus wrote as if his readers were as knowledgeable of the subject as he. I found it difficult to keep up with the both the story and the cast of characters. These are not the Gottis, Colombos, Gallos or Gambinos of a more current era. These guys are of the 1930s and early 40s and comparatively unknown-especially to non native New Yorkers. They are not even all Italian. We are introduced to Harry Strauss ("Pittsburgh Phil"), Louis Buchalter ("Lepke"), and Abe Reles ("Kid Twist"). I will save the infamous-and embarrassing! - tale of the Kid's demise for those who buy the book. We are introduced to Italian criminals as well: Albert Anastasia (the boss of the waterfront), the notoriously powerful Frank Costello ("The Ambassador") and the cover boy Joey Adonis, who even the author respectfully calls "Mister A". Midway through the text, this reviewer felt a shift! MI got stronger! Perhaps I warmed up to Turkus' style. Perhaps an anonymous editor took charge of the text. Perhaps I became used to the characters-and "characters" they are! I loved the painstaking recounting of various rubouts. These guys planned! I appreciated the savvy courtroom tactics needed to convict the accused mobsters, all defended by top-notch counsel. Turkus explains the delicacy of using information provided by informants, the ever- present danger of a mistrial or reversal of a conviction on appeal. Like a good professor, he drums into his readers the import of CORROBORATION at trial. Sadly, he recounts that not all in government, including his one time boss (the future Mayor O' Dwyer!) shared his zeal to bring these criminals to justice. Significantly, the author goes to lengths to demonstrate that the crimes relived here are decidedly not "victimless". As a suggestion, I might hope that future editions of the reprinted MI carry an epilog explaining what happened to those still standing at the tale's end. I know Mr. Anastasia met his violent demise in 1956-in his favorite barbershop at the old Park Sheraton Hotel on 55th Street and 7th Avenue. Minor point. The end result is a very satisfying story for those who bear down and read it through. Those who claim to like "True Crime" can't go wrong with MI. This is criminality at it truest and rawest!
Rating: 
Summary: True Crime: The Old Fashioned New York Way
Review: "Murder Inc." was written by a former Assistant District Attorney in Brooklyn, New York-Burton Turkus. In the years just preceding WW2, Mr. Turkus successfully prosecuted several members of the national crime organization he terms the Syndicate. Seven went to the electric chair at Sing Sing prison in Ossining, New York. The author believed that the Mafia, as we now know the term, did not then exist. There are both weak and strong points to MI. Weak points include the author's breezy style, with which this reviewer was initially uncomfortable. At the outset, Turkus wrote as if his readers were as knowledgeable of the subject as he. I found it difficult to keep up with the both the story and the cast of characters. These are not the Gottis, Colombos, Gallos or Gambinos of a more current era. These guys are of the 1930s and early 40s and comparatively unknown-especially to non native New Yorkers. They are not even all Italian. We are introduced to Harry Strauss ("Pittsburgh Phil"), Louis Buchalter ("Lepke"), and Abe Reles ("Kid Twist"). I will save the infamous-and embarrassing! - tale of the Kid's demise for those who buy the book. We are introduced to Italian criminals as well: Albert Anastasia (the boss of the waterfront), the notoriously powerful Frank Costello ("The Ambassador") and the cover boy Joey Adonis, who even the author respectfully calls "Mister A". Midway through the text, this reviewer felt a shift! MI got stronger! Perhaps I warmed up to Turkus' style. Perhaps an anonymous editor took charge of the text. Perhaps I became used to the characters-and "characters" they are! I loved the painstaking recounting of various rubouts. These guys planned! I appreciated the savvy courtroom tactics needed to convict the accused mobsters, all defended by top-notch counsel. Turkus explains the delicacy of using information provided by informants, the ever- present danger of a mistrial or reversal of a conviction on appeal. Like a good professor, he drums into his readers the import of CORROBORATION at trial. Sadly, he recounts that not all in government, including his one time boss (the future Mayor O' Dwyer!) shared his zeal to bring these criminals to justice. Significantly, the author goes to lengths to demonstrate that the crimes relived here are decidedly not "victimless". As a suggestion, I might hope that future editions of the reprinted MI carry an epilog explaining what happened to those still standing at the tale's end. I know Mr. Anastasia met his violent demise in 1956-in his favorite barbershop at the old Park Sheraton Hotel on 55th Street and 7th Avenue. Minor point. The end result is a very satisfying story for those who bear down and read it through. Those who claim to like "True Crime" can't go wrong with MI. This is criminality at it truest and rawest!
Rating: 
Summary: One of the best books in the field.
Review: A truly fascinating account of the Mob's ruthless and treacherous ways. Firsthand knowledge by the man who was there when it all happened and who sent many killers to the chair. One of the absolute top books about the Mob I've ever read (and I have read a lot of them); this is a must-buy!
Rating:
Summary: I like to read.
Review: Amazon.com is to be helping me a lot. It been very good to me and to my family. I also liking this book very much.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting topic, poor writing
Review: I'm a big fan of the gangster era and had high hopes for this book. Unfortunately, I was disappointed by the writing; books about gangsters are usually very exciting but with _Murder, Inc_ I often fell asleep mid-read.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting topic, poor writing
Review: I'm a big fan of the gangster era and had high hopes for this book. Unfortunately, I was disappointed by the writing; books about gangsters are usually very exciting but with _Murder, Inc_ I often fell asleep mid-read.
Rating:
Summary: Classic Early Mob Work
Review: If you're looking for a good near contemporary work on the origin of the modern Mob, this book is probably as close as you'll ever find. There's a lot of uncorroborated gossip here (i.e., the long rumored "Mafia Purge" of 1931, which never happened) but there's also a ton of info here from Abe "Kid Twist" Reles, "the canary who could sing but couldn't fly," as translated by Burton Turkus, the crusading prosecutor who broke the "Murder Inc." case. ...in those pre-Valachi days little was really known of the Mob's organizational structure or that Mafia "families" as we know them today even existed. The average Mafia books of the '50's are bad jokes and largely fictional. On the other hand, the testimony of Abe Reles and other informers in this case not only solved hundreds of murders but also sent Louis "Lepke" Buchalter and other mobsters to the electric chair, while no one ever even went to prison as the direct result of Joe Valachi's highly publicized testimony of two decades later. A lot of the stuff reported here is erroneous but much more is true and it's the best available for its time. Before The Valachi Papers or anything else, read "Murder, Inc."
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic & real in this time of Mafia decline
Review: Mr Turkus pre-emptively has one-upped Peter Maas and Joseph Valachi in this book. Written in 1950, it tells the unbelieveable story of how the Mob solidified and the murderers that made it work. And it tells of the aftermath, the early days of the Mob eating itself alive...no one gets out. Incredibly informative and lightened by Mr Turkus's narrative and emotion. Exciting and brutal...
Rating:
Summary: A Book Review of MURDER INC.
Review: MURDER INC. is an excellent informative source on the subject of organized crime in the United States and murder in New York City in particular. The book is written by the authors in plain english and legalese is avoided. The book reads like a whos who in the world of the Syndicate. The reader must be cautioned that this book contains intricate details of actual murders and may not be suitable to all, particularly individuals offended by material of this nature.The author makes his arguments well and is persuasive enough to have the reader wondering if murders which appear in the daily papers as unsolvable, could possibly be related to the world of organized crime. In addition it makes one wonder about many political decisions being made by our elected officials today and if these officials have in some manner been influenced by crminal organizations such as the Syndicate. The author clearly justifies his argument that the Brookly faction of MURDER INC. was a gang of violent thugs who employed almost every conceivable method to carry out their chosen trade. Mr. Tukus further points out that this faction is not unique to the syndicate as a national organization.The book describes among other methods, murder by ice pick, drowning, hacking by cleaver, and strangulation. The murders, as argued by the author, seem to be performed for the purposes of ensuring continued criminal operations. This book is well written and is highly recommended to all who are serious students in the field of Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement as well as anyone interested in just reading an entertaining history of crime in the U.S. and New York City.
Rating:
Summary: A Book Review of MURDER INC.
Review: MURDER INC. is an excellent informative source on the subject of organized crime in the United States and murder in New York City in particular. The book is written by the authors in plain english and legalese is avoided. The book reads like a whos who in the world of the Syndicate. The reader must be cautioned that this book contains intricate details of actual murders and may not be suitable to all, particularly individuals offended by material of this nature. The author makes his arguments well and is persuasive enough to have the reader wondering if murders which appear in the daily papers as unsolvable, could possibly be related to the world of organized crime. In addition it makes one wonder about many political decisions being made by our elected officials today and if these officials have in some manner been influenced by crminal organizations such as the Syndicate. The author clearly justifies his argument that the Brookly faction of MURDER INC. was a gang of violent thugs who employed almost every conceivable method to carry out their chosen trade. Mr. Tukus further points out that this faction is not unique to the syndicate as a national organization.The book describes among other methods, murder by ice pick, drowning, hacking by cleaver, and strangulation. The murders, as argued by the author, seem to be performed for the purposes of ensuring continued criminal operations. This book is well written and is highly recommended to all who are serious students in the field of Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement as well as anyone interested in just reading an entertaining history of crime in the U.S. and New York City.
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