On Oct, 23, 1935, a rusty, steel-jacketed .45 slug tore through the body of 33-year-old Dutch Schultz, the Beer Baron of The Bronx who reaped $2 million a month as king of Harlem's numbers racket. It was no accident. The Dutchman had gone too far, having threatened to murder Thomas E. Dewey-the racket's prosecutor who'd drawn up the tax indictment against him. The result was the biggest gangland execution since the 1929 St. Valentine's Day Massacre in Al Capone's Chicago. In this 1930s real-life whodunit set in the Prohibition era, legendary New York newspaperman Paul Sann investigates the meteoric rise of gangster Dutch Schultz (born Arthur Flegenheimer), mean-streaked bully, alleged killer and reader of books, tracking the blood-flecked story from the Lower East Side and Bronx sidewalks, to Broadway night spots, lavish Park Avenue penthouses and, ultimately, to City Hall-along the way uncovering the truces and alliances among politicians, police, unions and racketeers. But Schultz didn't die instantly, lingering over a day, a police stenographer at his bedside recording his every word. Dutch's surrealistic, Joycean stream-of-consciousness deathbed ramblings are reproduced here in full and Sann explores the meaning of the poetic jumble of some of his last words: "I am a pretty good pretzeler [sic], Please crack down on the Chinaman's friends and Hitler's commander," and his most majestic utterance, "Mother is the best bet and don't let Satan draw you too fast."

The Life and Times of Lepke Buchalter is the first biography of the only organized crime boss to be executed in the United States. At the height of his power, Louis"Lepke" Buchalter had a stronghold on the garment, banking and flour tracking industries. As the overseer of the killing-on-assignment machine known as "Murder Inc.," his penchant for murder was notorious. This impeccably researched book traces his story from childhood, through his incredibly sophisticated rackets, to his ultimate conviction and execution."

Deeply affecting and wonderfully evocative of old New York, Snow in August is a brilliant fable for our time and all time -- and another triumph for Pete Hamill. Brooklyn, 1947. The war veterans have come home. Jackie Robinson is about to become a Dodger. And in one close-knit working-class neighborhood, an eleven-year-old Irish Catholic boy named Michael Devlin has just made friends with a lonely rabbi from Prague. Snow in August is the story of that unlikely friendship -- and of how the neighborhood reacts to it. For Michael, the rabbi opens a window to ancient learning and lore that rival anything in Captain Marvel. For the rabbi, Michael illuminates the everyday mysteries of America, including the strange language of baseball. But like their hero Jackie Robinson, neither can entirely escape from the swirling prejudices of the time. Terrorized by a local gang of anti-Semitic Irish toughs, Michael and the rabbi are caught in an escalating spiral of hate for which there's only one way out -- a miracle....

This bestselling memoir from a seasoned New York City reporter is "a vivid report of a journey to the edge of self-destruction" (New York Times). !--StartFragment-- As a child during the Depression and World War II, Pete Hamill learned early that drinking was an essential part of being a man, inseparable from the rituals of celebration, mourning, friendship, romance, and religion. Only later did he discover its ability to destroy any writer's most valuable tools: clarity, consciousness, memory. In A Drinking Life, Hamill explains how alcohol slowly became a part of his life, and how he ultimately left it behind. Along the way, he summons the mood of an America that is gone forever, with the bittersweet fondness of a lifelong New Yorker. !--EndFragment--"Magnificent. A Drinking Life is about growing up and growing old, working and trying to work, within the culture of drink." --Boston Globe

Through a combination of brains, cunning and daring Legs Diamond became one of the top gangsters in the East, but because of his stubbornness, treachery and poor decision making he lost it all; his friends, his money and finally his life. Legs Diamond is the most comprehensive biography yet written on New York's most famous Prohibition era gangster. The book covers Legs' youth in Philadelphia, his ascension through the New York underworld, which resulted in his becoming an international celebrity, and his inevitable demise in a cheap rooming house. Along the way, the many myths and untruths that have been written about Diamond over the years are corrected. Detailed in the book are: - Full accounts of all four attempts on his life. - The war between Diamond and his one time protégé Dutch Schultz, which resulted in the almost assassination of Legs' brother Eddie.-The famous Hotsy-Totsy murder case.- Diamond's ill-fated trip to Europe to purchase drugs.-His bid to monopolize bootlegging in New York's Greene County.-The death of his brother Eddie.-New information on Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll and his possible partnership with Diamond.-Jack's final night.-The origin of the nick name Legs.-His relationship with Ziegfeld showgirl Kiki RobertsAnd much more.

It was a "million-dollar bullet," a sniper shot delivered from over a mile away. Its victim was no ordinary mark: he was a United States citizen, targeted by the United States government, and assassinated in the Bahamas. The nation's most renowned investigator and forensics expert, Lincoln Rhyme, is drafted to investigate. While his partner, Amelia Sachs, traces the victim's steps in Manhattan, Rhyme leaves the city to pursue the sniper himself. As details of the case start to emerge, the pair discovers that not all is what it seems. When a deadly, knife-wielding assassin begins systematically eliminating all evidence--including the witnesses--Lincoln's investigation turns into a chilling battle of wits against a cold-blooded killer.