Mickey Cohen: The Life and Crimes of L.A.'s Notorious Mobster

by Tere Tereba, Kate Reading (Narrator)

Mickey Cohen: The Life and Times of L.A.'s Notorious Mobster is a seductive, premium-octane blend of true crime and Hollywood lore that spins around a wildly eccentric mob boss. When Bugsy Siegel was executed, ruthless Mickey Cohen, a former pro boxer and cunning provocateur, took over criminal activity in L.A., a move sanctioned by Meyer Lansky and Frank Costello. Attaining immense power and dominance, from the late 1940s until 1976 the semi-literate Angeleno became an above-the-fold newspaper name, accumulating a remarkable count of more than 1,000 front pages in Los Angeles papers alone, and hundreds of articles in national and international periodicals.

Cohen's story and the history of mid-century L.A. are inextricably intertwined, and author Tere Tereba delivers tales full of high life, high drama, and highly placed politicians, among them RFK and Richard Nixon, as well as revelations about countless icons, including Shirley Temple, Lana Turner, Frank Sinatra, and the Reverend Billy Graham. Meticulously researched, this rich tapestry presents a panoramic look at the Los Angeles underworld and immerses the listener in a dark, decadent, and dangerous side of Hollywood that has not been fully revealed until now.

Genres: True Crime, Biography, Nonfiction, History, Crime, Audiobook

Audio CD

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Kayla · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is simply not good history. The author forgets that one does not write a book unless there is something new to say on the subject, and the few things that the author did discover new about the life of Mickey Cohen, are boasted about as exclusive, like something a cheap newspaper would do. Actually this book reads a lot like a cheap tabloid. It is full of gossip and scandal more than anything else. The author is challenged chronologically, and would rather go out of the way to write in juicy bits of celebrity drug use than actually center on the main character of his history and how he rose to power and than lost it all. It was painfully disappointing.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you miss the HBO series "The Sopranos"? I'm sure if it were still running the writers of the show would have Tony Soprano conspicuously flipping the pages of Tere Tereba's fabulous book "Mickey Cohen: The Life & Crimes of LA's Notorious Mobster". You'll want to read it, too!

I can't believe I was unaware during the 16 years I lived in LA that there was such a rich and far-reaching history of syndicated crime in this city. "Mickey Cohen: The Life & Crimes of LA's Most Notorious Mobster" gave me a clue in to this fascinating subculture that is not surprisingly intertwined with Hollywood's entertainment industry. The book shines a light on legendary Mickey Cohen--a larger-than-life original bad boy that ran with celebrities while committing murder and mayhem in the city of angels.

Packed with vintage photos (the one of then-ingenue Joan Collins receiving lessons on how to be a stripper from Cohen cohort Candy Barr is in itself worth the price of the book!), this first offering from author Tere Tereba is the perfect poolside snack to have with your mojito. The writer presents her meticulously researched material in short chapters well suited for contemporary readers' equally short attention spans. I liked this no-nonsense approach and the many quoted sources interspersed throughout the book added punch to the writer's thoughtful voice. Tereba's book brought this notorious Jewish gangsta alive and it was easy to envision the movie that will undoubtedly follow. I look forward to reading more from this author and wonder what topic she'll cover next.

[CD · Rating 3 out of 5]

Readable entertaining true crime. Hollywood high crime and name dropping

[Marley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mickey Cohen was my first mobster. I was a rather strange child, and one of my early memories is one of the attempted hits on him, probably in 1949. By 1952, at the age of 7 I'd move up a bit and was advising my Republican parents that Richard Nixon was not trustworthy. But that's another story.

I was very excited to find this book by accident at Barnes & Noble recently. Although the Mick was my first mobster, I'd not read anything much about him. (My academic field is organized crime and I've read extensively on the subject and written some as well. Generally OC is not a field that academics delve into, so I'm rather alone.) I'm also from Canton, Ohio, a mobbed up town. Mickey, who had a long history in Cleveland, used to visit Canton. I worked in a bookstore in college and back before he went to he joint and became disabled in an assassination attempt he supposedly dropped by when in the area to talk to my boss for some reason. I'm sure he wasn't there to pick up a new copy of Pride and Prejudice. Anywway...

I really liked this book. Author Tere Tereba writes with the authority of a native Angelino. She knows her business and her city. She's got a solid bibliography of secondary sources and has used FOIA (she includes file numbers) disclosing information that heretofore has not been available to the public. I was unaware of Mickey's tight association with Cleveland and the Milanos, or that he was a good a boxer as he was when young (though not great). Cleveland, however, was not for Mickey. LA was his city and even today I equate the city with him and I think Tereba does, too.I can very well see myself going to LA and taking a self-guided Mickey Cohen tour.

One of the criticism I've seen here of the book is that there are so many names. True, but that's one of the beauties of it. The more names the better. (Tereba also has a nifty bio directory in the back). She nailed Jack Dragna good. What a useless piece of flesh and embarrassment to the outfit! I regretted, though, that she continually, referred to Ben Siegel as Bugsy, but that's a small problem.

My only real experience with LA has been through movies and James Ellroy. Tereba covers the absolute corruption of the police and DA's office and Hollywood--well. Of course, that goes back much farther than Cohen--about 100 years. Mickey had his fingeres in everything. I read the book as the chase for Dornan started, and it makes perfect sense.

A couple things I'd like to have seen covered further is Mickey's relationship with Irgun. Without checking back, I'm thinking that's covered rather extensively in Ovid DeMaris' The Last Mafioso. I'm pretty sure Seigel was involved in Irgun or too, or at least funding independence factions. (see Dean Jenings, We Only Kill Each Other.) Also more about Mickey's relationship with Billy Graham. I have absolutely no doubt that the Gramam organization paid him a bundle to appear with their man. Both of these are great subjects for articles.

Tereba also covers well the murder of Johnny Stompando. Who knew the Stomp had movie aspirations! I've never been convinced that Cheryl Crane did it. It never made much sense to me, but it made plenty of sense that Lana Turner would have let her take the fall.

Mickey burned himself out relatively early, but continued to play his part. The Feds fell into line. Reading the book has inspired me to get back into my OC studies and get some FOIA requests out. It also piqued my interest in Jewish mobsters. My work previously has focused on Italian and Irish.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read this after I saw the movie Gangster Squad and my mom said "You've never heard of Mickey Cohen??" Um, no. . . .

Well, now I know. I also learned that the movie Gangster Squad is more Hollywood sensationalism than an accurate bio of Mickey Cohen.

I learned a lot reading this book. There were so many characters I couldn't keep them all straight. At times it seemed like it dragged a bit, not a lot of action. I was still trying to figure out at the end just HOW he controlled L.A. like he did. Very interesting bit about Joe Stompanato and Lana Turner. I can just hear my mom saying, "You never heard about that??". Well, now I have!

Recommended for anyone looking to find out more about L.A. gangsters but unfortunately, not a very exciting book.

[Alexandrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received his book through Goodreads giveaways.

As a lover of history I was really looking forward to reading this book. I did not know much about Mickey Cohen or the other mafia in L.A I don't believe this book helped me understand Mickey's reign as mob boss.

I found the book hard to follow as it jumped from one person to another to different years then back again. I found that I learned a lot about other mobsters, policeman and movie stars. Although I liked that part of the book/history I didn't find it a good read about Mickey Cohen.

[Mara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just finished reading Mickey Cohen: The Life and Crimes of L.A.'s Notorious Mobster by Tere Tereba. As a lover of non-fiction I was truly looking forward to reading this book. I did not know much about Mickey Cohen or L.A. during his reign as the 'Boss'. I still don't.

What I wound up learning was the name of every criminal, police officer, prostitute and movie star in Mickey's lifetime. The book read more like a gossip column from the 1940's. Perhaps there is a good reason that Mickey Cohen's name isn't known by more people.

[Jannene · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a pretty dry book. I don't think it was the author's fault but that of the person it was written about. Mickey was quite the mobster. He had OCD, a love of fame and power, and felt he needed to rule everything. He became a bookie without realizing that he didn't know how to read, write, or add. I would think that would be something that should have been given some thought.

[Steve Gross · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Life and Crimes of Mickey Cohen, an LA gangster of the Bugsy Siegel era. Workmanlike biography but Cohen, all in all, is not a very interesting person.

[Brian McDermott · Rating 1 out of 5]

In my opinion: Mediocre story. Horribly written.

[Justin Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thorough. Stops short of being gossipy.

[Rachel Dows · Rating 3 out of 5]

Underwhelming, but relatively interesting. Took me forever to get through.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

While very detailed and informative, this book wasn’t all that riveting.

[Augie Swanny · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book reads like a book report you'd read in 6th or 7th grade. It was really interesting in the beginning. By the end, it was like, please end. Please just end!

[John Winkelman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Never really got inspired or impressed with Mickey Cohen, the other characters around him or the writing.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

L.A. , Las Vegas, Alcatraz, Bugsy Siegel, Stompanato, Johnny Roselli, Earl Warren, RFK, the Teamsters, and even Mobbed up Richard Nixon.

[Todd Stockslager · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review title: Send lawyers, guns, and money

Amongst the fun facts that enliven this lightweight tabloid-level biography of gangster Cohen I learned that Warren Zevon's father was a lower-level associate of Cohen. Perhaps Warren wrote the song based on his father's accounts of his old gangster days.

I also learned that there really was a Gangster Squad, a small elite unbadged corps within the LAPD given free reign to bring down Cohen. I don't know how the recently released movie tells the story, but Cohen died of cancer in 1976 at the age of 63, brought down only by disease and the IRS. Unfortunately while there might be more to the story, you won't read it here, as Tereba's account is too breezy and tabloid-superficial to dig for the story.

Still, while not great writing, this is a fun companion volume to the DVD double feature I just enjoyed: Chinatown and L. A. Confidential. The booming desert town on the edge of the Pacific was the real star of both movies, and for twenty years it was Mickey's town. The center of the action was the Sunset Strip, where the divided jurisdiction of L. A. county and city made for lax and uncertain enforcement and marginally legal businesses like those Cohen ran to front his real moneymakers could flourish. And it is fun to learn about some of the real life haunts we see in those movies, like the Pantages Theatre. And Tebera's book provides some useful background that makes L. A. Confidential's action make sense, such as the corruption within the LAPD and the police forces war against out of town gangsters, especially those from Cleveland (Cohen earned his gangster
stripes there, and may have been controlled by Cleveland crime families even during his L. A. time).

Teresa does include an extensive bibliography, where it appears that most gangsters were busier telling their stories to ghostwriters than they were strong arming legitimate businesses or muscling in on rival gangs. Much like the outlaws of the Wild West, it appears that the gangsters of the following century were at least in part products of their own publicity. So you can dig deeper and read the accounts from the primary and secondary sources Tereba cites if you really want the truth behind the headlines.

But if you just want the headlines from today's "Hollywood Nite Life" (Cohen's tabloid mouthpiece) just hit play on Chinatown and L. A. Confidential and flip to page one.

[Jody · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I had signed up to win it on here a few months ago and lost and to be honest, I forgot all about this book. One day while checking out the new non-fiction shelf I saw this book and checked it out and then couldn't put it down. It doesn't go into a lot of details about Cohen's life but it does give you a quick, easy to read brief biography of LA's little big man. It brings in all sorts of hoods you have probably heard of and a lot you haven't. This book ties in a lot of A-list celebraties during that era and shows you how connected they were to the underworld. If you want a boring fact filled book to read before you go to bed this is not it. If you want something that will fly through the high points of Cohen's life and reads like a thriller then check this one out.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

TRUE CRIME AND LOCAL HISTORY.

My opinion of the audiobook edition of ‘Mickey Cohen: The Life and Crimes of L.A.’S Notorious Mobster,’ by Tere Tereba (Kate Reading, Narrator) ran the gamut from ‘a total piece of exploitation crap’ to ‘an amazingly interesting and insightful look’ at both the underworld on the west coast, and at the mid-20th century history of Los Angeles. Often sounding (/reading) like a Hollywood Confidential gossip rag, with exhausting lists of names, addresses, dates and FBI file numbers; it is successfully redeemed by its collection of terrific, up close and personal, anecdotes of well known people and places.

Recommendation: If ’40s, ’50s and ’60s Los Angeles/Hollywood holds any fascination for you, this book is gold.

MP3 audiobook on loan from http://overdrive.colapublib.org

[Jimmy]

A biography of an Old Time gangster of L.A. I enjoyed the book primarily because it was a window into the times of L.A. of the 1940s, 50s and 60s. Mickey Cohen was a colorful character, almost fitting the Hollywood stereotype of a gangster of that era. I also found the book fascinating since it provided a picture of what old school LAPD use to be like during the days of Chief William Parker.

[Pat Lampe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting history of Los Angeles in the 40s and 50s. Wish I had known more about it and could have discussed with my parents. The narrator had a pleasant voice but someone should have corrected her pronunciation of streets and even common words such as penitentiary. And Melvin Belly instead of Melvin Bell-eye. Distracting to say the least.

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book very interesting. I knew the studios ran the lives of their actors. I didn't know how Mickey Cohen and other mobsters were involved with or influence the studios. Readers of mob and/or motion picture history should enjoy this book.

[Nicole Marble · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grew up in the LA area and recall Mickey Cohens name in the news from my early years, but really knew nothing about him. Now I do.
The writing is good and the story interesting.
But this was an audio book and the reader mispronounced, well, a lot.

[William Matthies · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I've said in other reviews, I enjoy non fiction crime stories, particularly those about individuals who lived when I did or just before. Mickey Cohen is one of those and his story takes place Los Angeles where I was born during the height of his prominence.

[Jd · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read a lot of books about organized crime and find the topic interesting. However, this one lacked a cohesive story to tie it together. It was hard to follow with tons of names being thrown out and accounts coming out of order. Overall, it read too much like a textbook.

[Jennipher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found the material was an easy read & very interesting.

[Carol Storm · Rating 5 out of 5]

The definitive Bio of LA's crime king! A must read for all James Ellroy fans!

[Joseph Luizzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the most interesting fact, was that before he was a kingpin in LA, he was a hood in Cleveland. Back then it was the fifth largest city in America. Times have changed!

[Metalkween · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's great as a factbook. The writing was too convoluted for my taste. A lot of run-on sentences.

[Mark Levandoski · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting history lesson of the crime fraction of L.A. . If you liked the movie LA Confidential you will like this book.