Reviews
A dramatic investigation into one of the most notorious Mafia gatherings, shining a spotlight on the mob--with much fresh material, The infamous Apalachin gangster conclave of 1957 is best remembered for the images of hoods in $1000 suits scrambling through the muddy upstate New York woods after the cops closed in. Gil Reavill's Mafia Summit at last fleshes out the story to give us the gang wars that led up to the gathering and the law enforcement turf battles that followed it. Here is gangland history that is compelling, thoughtful and well-grounded in scrupulous research. With a lively cast of characters that includes ruthlessly ambitious bosses such as Vito Genovese and ambitiously ruthless politicians such as Bobby Kennedy, Mafia Summit is a set-the-story-straight page-turner., "A well-written, well-researched book about the watershed event in the tiny upstate town of Apalachin, NY that pushed J. Edgar Hoover to admit the existence of the Mafia." - Gang Land News "Screenwriter and playwright Reavill ( Aftermath, Inc.: Cleaning Up After CSI Goes Home , 2007, etc.) vividly recreates that miasmic era of ignorance and innocence with all the blunt-end aplomb befitting coldblooded killers and crooked lawmen. . .Lively, detailed reporting sets intriguing characters on both sides of the law on an inexorable crash course for the sleepy woodlands of upstate New York. Some of the intimate portraits stretch back before World War II and from as far away as Sicily, but the colorful writing makes the events as accessible and immediate as if they were unfolding today. In addition to requisite stories of bloody mob hits and ruthless grabs at power, there are shocking reversals of fortune, incredible examples of collusion between the mob and the U.S. government, and an eye-opening look at how the Mafia built its highly durable and lucrative narcotics trade. While none of that came to a screeching halt on that fateful day in Apalachin, Croswell's dogged determination forced law enforcement agents to confront the mob like never before. An exciting, comprehensive chronicle of one of the most pivotal events in mob history." - Kirkus "The infamous Apalachin gangster conclave of 1957 is best remembered for the images of hoods in $1000 suits scrambling through the muddy upstate New York woods after the cops closed in. Gil Reavill's Mafia Summit at last fleshes out the story to give us the gang wars that led up to the gathering and the law enforcement turf battles that followed it. Here is gangland history that is compelling, thoughtful and well-grounded in scrupulous research. With a lively cast of characters that includes ruthlessly ambitious bosses such as Vito Genovese and ambitiously ruthless politicians such as Bobby Kennedy, Mafia Summit is a set-the-story-straight page-turner." -Gus Russo, author of The Outfit and Supermob "A dramatic investigation into one of the most notorious Mafia gatherings, shining a spotlight on the mob-with much fresh material" -Tim Newark, author of Boardwalk Gangster and Mafia Allies "Gil Reavill's Mafia Summit is the best, and best-written, true-crime story I've ever read. It's as suspenseful, detailed, racy and knowing as a novel by Hammett or Chandler. At its heart is a bona fide American hero, Sgt. Edgar Croswell. Sgt. Croswell's tireless investigation of the mobster bosses who met at the tiny upstate New York hamlet of Apalachin provides a unique window into the "turning point in American law enforcement's battle against organized crime." MAFIA SUMMIT is a terrific read about one very good policeman's courageous fight to put many very bad criminals exactly where they needed to be behind bars." - Howard Frank Mosher, author of Walking to Gatlinburg, Advance Praise for Mafia Summit "Screenwriter and playwright Reavill ( Aftermath, Inc.: Cleaning Up After CSI Goes Home , 2007, etc.) vividly recreates that miasmic era of ignorance and innocence with all the blunt-end aplomb befitting coldblooded killers and crooked lawmen. . .Lively, detailed reporting sets intriguing characters on both sides of the law on an inexorable crash course for the sleepy woodlands of upstate New York. Some of the intimate portraits stretch back before World War II and from as far away as Sicily, but the colorful writing makes the events as accessible and immediate as if they were unfolding today. In addition to requisite stories of bloody mob hits and ruthless grabs at power, there are shocking reversals of fortune, incredible examples of collusion between the mob and the U.S. government, and an eye-opening look at how the Mafia built its highly durable and lucrative narcotics trade. While none of that came to a screeching halt on that fateful day in Apalachin, Croswell's dogged determination forced law enforcement agents to confront the mob like never before. An exciting, comprehensive chronicle of one of the most pivotal events in mob history." - Kirkus "The infamous Apalachin gangster conclave of 1957 is best remembered for the images of hoods in $1000 suits scrambling through the muddy upstate New York woods after the cops closed in. Gil Reavill's Mafia Summit at last fleshes out the story to give us the gang wars that led up to the gathering and the law enforcement turf battles that followed it. Here is gangland history that is compelling, thoughtful and well-grounded in scrupulous research. With a lively cast of characters that includes ruthlessly ambitious bosses such as Vito Genovese and ambitiously ruthless politicians such as Bobby Kennedy, Mafia Summit is a set-the-story-straight page-turner." -Gus Russo, author of The Outfit and Supermob "A dramatic investigation into one of the most notorious Mafia gatherings, shining a spotlight on the mob-with much fresh material" -Tim Newark, author of Boardwalk Gangster and Mafia Allies "Gil Reavill's Mafia Summit is the best, and best-written, true-crime story I've ever read. It's as suspenseful, detailed, racy and knowing as a novel by Hammett or Chandler. At its heart is a bona fide American hero, Sgt. Edgar Croswell. Sgt. Croswell's tireless investigation of the mobster bosses who met at the tiny upstate New York hamlet of Apalachin provides a unique window into the "turning point in American law enforcement's battle against organized crime." MAFIA SUMMIT is a terrific read about one very good policeman's courageous fight to put many very bad criminals exactly where they needed to be behind bars." - Howard Frank Mosher, author of Walking to Gatlinburg, "A dramatic investigation into one of the most notorious Mafia gatherings, shining a spotlight on the mob-with much fresh material" -Tim Newark, author of Boardwalk Gangster and Mafia Allies "The best, and best-written, true-crime story I've ever read. It's as suspenseful, detailed, racy and knowing as a novel by Hammett or Chandler. At its heart is a bona fide American hero, Sgt. Edgar Croswell . . . Mafia Summit is a terrific read." - Howard Frank Mosher, author of Walking to Gatlinburg, Advance Praise for Mafia Summit "The infamous Apalachin gangster conclave of 1957 is best remembered for the images of hoods in $1000 suits scrambling through the muddy upstate New York woods after the cops closed in. Gil Reavill's Mafia Summit at last fleshes out the story to give us the gang wars that led up to the gathering and the law enforcement turf battles that followed it. Here is gangland history that is compelling, thoughtful and well-grounded in scrupulous research. With a lively cast of characters that includes ruthlessly ambitious bosses such as Vito Genovese and ambitiously ruthless politicians such as Bobby Kennedy, Mafia Summit is a set-the-story-straight page-turner." -Gus Russo, author of The Outfit and Supermob "A dramatic investigation into one of the most notorious Mafia gatherings, shining a spotlight on the mob-with much fresh material" -Tim Newark, author of Boardwalk Gangster and Mafia Allies "Gil Reavill's Mafia Summit is the best, and best-written, true-crime story I've ever read. It's as suspenseful, detailed, racy and knowing as a novel by Hammett or Chandler. At its heart is a bona fide American hero, Sgt. Edgar Croswell. Sgt. Croswell's tireless investigation of the mobster bosses who met at the tiny upstate New York hamlet of Apalachin provides a unique window into the "turning point in American law enforcement's battle against organized crime." MAFIA SUMMIT is a terrific read about one very good policeman's courageous fight to put many very bad criminals exactly where they needed to be behind bars." - Howard Frank Mosher, author of Walking to Gatlinburg, Gil Reavill's Mafia Summit is the best, and best-written, true-crime story I've ever read. It's as suspenseful, detailed, racy and knowing as a novel by Hammett or Chandler. At its heart is a bona fide American hero, Sgt. Edgar Croswell. Sgt. Croswell's tireless investigation of the mobster bosses who met at the tiny upstate New York hamlet of Apalachin provides a unique window into the "turning point in American law enforcement's battle against organized crime." MAFIA SUMMIT is a terrific read about one very good policeman's courageous fight to put many very bad criminals exactly where they needed to be - behind bars., "A well-written, well-researched book about the watershed event in the tiny upstate town of Apalachin, NY that pushed J. Edgar Hoover to admit the existence of the Mafia." -- Gang Land News "Screenwriter and playwright Reavill ( Aftermath, Inc.: Cleaning Up After CSI Goes Home , 2007, etc.) vividly recreates that miasmic era of ignorance and innocence with all the blunt-end aplomb befitting coldblooded killers and crooked lawmen. . .Lively, detailed reporting sets intriguing characters on both sides of the law on an inexorable crash course for the sleepy woodlands of upstate New York. Some of the intimate portraits stretch back before World War II and from as far away as Sicily, but the colorful writing makes the events as accessible and immediate as if they were unfolding today. In addition to requisite stories of bloody mob hits and ruthless grabs at power, there are shocking reversals of fortune, incredible examples of collusion between the mob and the U.S. government, and an eye-opening look at how the Mafia built its highly durable and lucrative narcotics trade. While none of that came to a screeching halt on that fateful day in Apalachin, Croswell's dogged determination forced law enforcement agents to confront the mob like never before. An exciting, comprehensive chronicle of one of the most pivotal events in mob history." -- Kirkus "The infamous Apalachin gangster conclave of 1957 is best remembered for the images of hoods in $1000 suits scrambling through the muddy upstate New York woods after the cops closed in. Gil Reavill's Mafia Summit at last fleshes out the story to give us the gang wars that led up to the gathering and the law enforcement turf battles that followed it. Here is gangland history that is compelling, thoughtful and well-grounded in scrupulous research. With a lively cast of characters that includes ruthlessly ambitious bosses such as Vito Genovese and ambitiously ruthless politicians such as Bobby Kennedy, Mafia Summit is a set-the-story-straight page-turner." -- Gus Russo, author of The Outfit and Supermob "A dramatic investigation into one of the most notorious Mafia gatherings, shining a spotlight on the mob--with much fresh material" -- Tim Newark, author of Boardwalk Gangster and Mafia Allies "Gil Reavill's Mafia Summit is the best, and best-written, true-crime story I've ever read. It's as suspenseful, detailed, racy and knowing as a novel by Hammett or Chandler. At its heart is a bona fide American hero, Sgt. Edgar Croswell. Sgt. Croswell's tireless investigation of the mobster bosses who met at the tiny upstate New York hamlet of Apalachin provides a unique window into the "turning point in American law enforcement's battle against organized crime." MAFIA SUMMIT is a terrific read about one very good policeman's courageous fight to put many very bad criminals exactly where they needed to be - behind bars." -- Howard Frank Mosher, author of Walking to Gatlinburg, Screenwriter and playwright Reavill ( Aftermath, Inc.: Cleaning Up After CSI Goes Home , 2007, etc.) vividly recreates that miasmic era of ignorance and innocence with all the blunt-end aplomb befitting coldblooded killers and crooked lawmen. . .Lively, detailed reporting sets intriguing characters on both sides of the law on an inexorable crash course for the sleepy woodlands of upstate New York. Some of the intimate portraits stretch back before World War II and from as far away as Sicily, but the colorful writing makes the events as accessible and immediate as if they were unfolding today. In addition to requisite stories of bloody mob hits and ruthless grabs at power, there are shocking reversals of fortune, incredible examples of collusion between the mob and the U.S. government, and an eye-opening look at how the Mafia built its highly durable and lucrative narcotics trade. While none of that came to a screeching halt on that fateful day in Apalachin, Croswell's dogged determination forced law enforcement agents to confront the mob like never before. An exciting, comprehensive chronicle of one of the most pivotal events in mob history., Advance Praise for Mafia Summit "A dramatic investigation into one of the most notorious Mafia gatherings, shining a spotlight on the mob-with much fresh material" -Tim Newark, author of Boardwalk Gangster and Mafia Allies "Gil Reavill's Mafia Summit is the best, and best-written, true-crime story I've ever read. It's as suspenseful, detailed, racy and knowing as a novel by Hammett or Chandler. At its heart is a bona fide American hero, Sgt. Edgar Croswell. Sgt. Croswell's tireless investigation of the mobster bosses who met at the tiny upstate New York hamlet of Apalachin provides a unique window into the "turning point in American law enforcement's battle against organized crime." MAFIA SUMMIT is a terrific read about one very good policeman's courageous fight to put many very bad criminals exactly where they needed to be behind bars." - Howard Frank Mosher, author of Walking to Gatlinburg, A well-written, well-researched book about the watershed event in the tiny upstate town of Apalachin, NY that pushed J. Edgar Hoover to admit the existence of the Mafia.
