FREE THE BROTHERS BULGER: HOW THEY TERRORISED AND CORRUPTED BOSTON FOR A QUARTER OF A CENTURY PDF

Howie Carr | 464 pages | 25 Nov 2006 | Little, Brown & Company | 9780446618885 | English | New York, United States The Brothers Bulger: How They Terrorized and Corrupted Boston for a Quarter Century by Howie Carr Advanced Search. By Howie Carr. Add to Wish List. Book ships to store in days may take longer if sourced from further away. Description The riveting The Brothers Bulger: How They Terrorised and Corrupted Boston for a Quarter of a Century York Times bestseller by award-winning columnist Howie Carr--now with a stunning new afterword detailing Whitey Bulger's capture. While Billy cavorted with the state's blue bloods to become a powerful political force, Whitey blazed a murderous trail to the top rung of organized crime. Now, in this compelling narrative, Carr uncovers a sinister world of FBI turncoats, alliances between various branches of organized crime, St. Patrick's Day shenanigans, political infighting, and the complex relationship between two brothers who were at one time kings. Before Bulger fled inCarr was such an implacable foe of the serial killing gangster that Whitey tried to kill him as he left his house in suburban Boston -- an incident reported in on 60 Minutes. Whitey's younger brother, Billy Bulger, then the president of the Mass. State Senate, publicly referred to Carr as "the savage. The Brothers Bulger by Howie Carr

Although superior to some other tellings of the incredible story of how two brothers came to dominate Boston's political and criminal underworlds for decades, this account by veteran Boston Herald reporter Carr still falls short of being the definitive version he intended. The stranger-than-fiction rise to power of Billy Bulger, the longtime Massachusetts senate president, kingmaker and consummate deal maker, and his brother Whitey, a psychopathic killer who took over the city's Irish mobs, is compelling, but despite Carr's closeness to the story, he fails to bring his protagonists' inner world to life. For those broadly familiar with the corruption scandal that indelibly tarred the FBI because of the active role some of its agents took in protecting Whitey and enabling his brutalities, the author gives a detailed, hit-by-hit description of his crimes. Most readers from outside the Bay State will be almost as appalled at the wheeling and dealing of his "respectable" brother, who crossed path with presidents and presidential aspirants, and who extended his patronage practices to his subsequent position as president of the University of Massachusetts. View Full Version of PW. More By and About This Author. Buy this book. Compact Disc - Show other formats. Discover The Brothers Bulger: How They Terrorised and Corrupted Boston for a Quarter of a Century to read next. PW Picks: Books of the Week. The Big Indie Books of Fall Black-Owned Bookstores to Support Now. Children's Announcements.

Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Want to Read saving…. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. Other editions. Enlarge cover. Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Details if other :. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. The riveting New York Times bestseller by award-winning columnist Howie Carr--now with a stunning new afterword detailing Whitey Bulger's capture. For years their familiar story was of two siblings who took different paths out of South Boston: William "Billy" Bulger, former president of the Massachusetts State Senate; and his brother James "Whitey" Bulger, a vicious crimin The riveting New York Times bestseller by award-winning columnist Howie Carr--now with a stunning new afterword detailing Whitey Bulger's capture. While Billy cavorted with the state's blue bloods to become a powerful political force, Whitey blazed a murderous trail to the top rung of organized crime. Now, in this compelling narrative, Carr uncovers a sinister world of FBI turncoats, alliances between The Brothers Bulger: How They Terrorised and Corrupted Boston for a Quarter of a Century branches of organized crime, St. Patrick's Day shenanigans, political infighting, and the complex relationship between two brothers who were at one time kings. Get A Copy. Hardcoverpages. Published November 1st by Grand Central Publishing first published More Details Original Title. Boston, Massachusetts The Brothers Bulger: How They Terrorised and Corrupted Boston for a Quarter of a Century States. Other Editions Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about The Brothers Bulgerplease sign up. Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 3. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Jan 04, kevin rated it liked it Recommends it for: Anyone who grew up Irish-Catholic in or around Greater Boston. Shelves: non-fiction. Herald columnist Howie Carr's utter disdain for the Bulgers and Boston townie politics is evident on every page of this lightly dramatized true crime book. As someone who lived in the neighborhoods described here, I loved all of the local detail. The prose is journalistic and Carr takes liberties with the public record to recreate conversations, events, and some particularly gruesome violent episodes. At times, the chip on the author's shoulder rubbed me the wrong way multiple potshots at a f Herald columnist Howie Carr's utter disdain for the Bulgers and Boston townie politics is evident on every page of this lightly dramatized true The Brothers Bulger: How They Terrorised and Corrupted Boston for a Quarter of a Century book. At times, the chip on the author's shoulder rubbed me the wrong way multiple potshots at a former Globe columnist, however slimy he may have behaved, seemed especially inappropriate. I was also turned off by passages that collapse Whitey's rumored homosexual experiences into The Brothers Bulger: How They Terrorised and Corrupted Boston for a Quarter of a Century alleged rapes and pedophilia. Homophobia is apparently one of the few shameful legacies that Carr is not willing to tackle here. Although I would have preferred a more balanced take on the wink-and-a-handshake governance of my city's past, The Brothers Bulger provides a incredibly dense, compelling portrait of a many-faceted web of crime, politics, racism, and violence that beset Boston for the greater part of the 70s and 80s. View 1 comment. If you like Howie Carr this book reads just like his dialogue on air. It is rich in the history of Southie, the politics of Massachusetts, and the inside truth behind the Bulger brothers. He seemed like a typical politician, rather dry much like the dinner they served. I love this read Aug 25, Kenneth P. This is a fascinating and frightening story of corruption and terror. Agents on the take look the other way as a crime wave wreaks havoc on the neighborhood of South Boston. Dozens of murders are ignored by authorities. It's an incredible story but Howie Carr is not the man for this job. Throughout this book he takes shots at The Brothers Bulger: How They Terrorised and Corrupted Boston for a Quarter of a Century who have nothing do to This is a fascinating and frightening story of corruption and terror. Throughout this book he takes shots at people who have nothing do to with the story he is telling. He creates awkward segues in order to do so. It's as if he just can't stop himself. What does that say about his objectivity? His agenda is obvious, his anger palpable. I agree that the Bulger brothers were a disaster for the city of Boston. But the author exercises no control, no professionalism. How does it bolster his thesis when he tells us that a certain politician was "the pound Speaker," or that John Kerry has a lantern-jaw, that one of Whitey's girlfriends had varicose veins or that Billy, over and over again, was the "Corrupt Midget? But I wonder who is smaller, Billy or Howie? Baseless assertions are made that are hard to believe. Bush down 17 points in polls that a tour of polluted Boston Harbor would serve the candidate well. I remember it. It was a good idea from Bush's perspective. It was a black eye for Gov. But Carr suggests that it was a catalyst that resulted in a 30 point swing in the polls that assured Bush's victory; an incredible stretch. Worse, Carr does not elaborate. He just leaves it there. No sources are cited. We're supposed to take his word for it. This is one example of many. I have an idea. Prove your assertions. Be a journalist. Jul 27, Madeleine McLaughlin rated it really liked it Shelves: true-crimehistory. Great read about the regime of Billy and Whitey Bulger in Boston. This book throws up so much dirt about the politics of the city and the FBI, that I had to take a shower after reading it. Aug 26, Walt rated it liked it Shelves: organized-crime. Carr is a good story-teller. I enjoy reading his works on the Bulger Gang. Something about his writing makes the story of corruption at the FBI and the decline of organized crime in Boston more accessible than the plethora of other books written about Bulger. Even though Carr admits that much of the material comes from the original Black Mass by Lehr and O'Neill, Carr manages to add enough material for this book to stand out. That is not to say this book is without its problems. Foremost is Carr Carr is a good story-teller. Foremost is Carr's bizarre fixation on Billy Bulger. Carr's stinging sarcasm and open hostility towards Bulger means that the book is heavily biased - and that is saying something for a book on Bulger. When viewed from this angle, it appears that Carr reverts more towards sensationalism than documented fact. The result is that his book becomes more like a trashy tabloid than non-fiction. I have read a lot about Whitey Bulger. I can make up my own mind what a sleazy guy he was. I cannot say the same for his brother. Carr certainly tries to portray him as just as rotten as Whitey; but it is difficult for the reader to accept when considering Carr's acerbic prose. The sarcasm and insults bound nearly every page. In some places I actually felt sympathy for the man! Was he really that much worse than his peers of the era? Were the scandals of Billy Bulger worse than or comparable to the Big Dig scandal?