The Savage City
Written by T. J. English
Narrated by Dennis Boutsikaris
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
“T.J. English has the mastered the hybrid narrative art form of social history and underworld thriller. The Savage City is a truly gripping read filled with unexpected twists and turns.”
—Douglas Brinkley, author of The Great Deluge
In The Savage City, T.J. English, author of the New York Times bestselling blockbuster Havana Nocturne, takes readers back to a frightening place in a dark time of violence and urban chaos: New York City in the 1960s and early ’70s. As he did in his acclaimed true crime masterwork, The Westies, English focuses on the rot on the Big Apple in this stunning tale of race, murder, and a generation on the edge—as he interweaves the real-life sagas of a corrupt cop, a militant Black Panther, and an innocent young African American man framed by the NYPD for a series of crimes, including a brutal and sensational double murder.
T. J. English
T. J. English is a noted journalist and author of the New York Times bestsellers Havana Nocturne, Paddy Whacked, The Savage City, and Where the Bodies Were Buried. He also authored The Westies, a national bestseller; Born to Kill, which was nominated for an Edgar Award; and The Corporation. His journalism has appeared in Esquire, Vanity Fair, Playboy, and New York magazine, among other publications. He lives in New York City.
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Reviews for The Savage City
8 ratings4 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book takes an honest look at the racial tension and resulting crime that gripped New York City throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. While nonfiction, The Savage City often reads like a suspense or thriller novel. T.J. English puts us right in the midst of the unfolding drama by standing in the middle and showing us both sides. He doesn't flinch in his honesty. His writing is gripping and the topic often beyond disturbing. We see the city and its culture at its best and at its absolute worst. The "characters" in this story are real people. Some had their lives torn apart by circumstances beyond their control. Others were the catalyst that set the destruction in motion. I couldn't put this one down.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5As I read this, it reminded me of Larson's Devil in the White City. It just flows, the way a nonfiction book should! A telling tale of the police brutality and corruption that had much to do with the NYC racial tensions at the time. Focussing on a couple of people, George Whitmore and Dhoruba Bin Wahad, and how their lives as balck men were forever changed as a result of the corruption around them.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Interesting tale of lost history
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I don't know about you, but when I think of the true crime genre it conjures up tacky little paperbacks that were thrown together as quickly as possible to leach the maximum income from the tragedy of others. They tend to be poorly written and their most notable feature is often the photos of crime scenes and dead and brutalized bodies that should never have been exposed to the public. Ghoulish and opportunistic and not something I typically read. I'll admit that Anne Rule is slightly above most in the genre, but only slightly.This is not to say that all true crime sucks. There are plenty of people writing interesting books about crime that include great history, put whatever crime they explore within its sociocultural context, and inform the reader rather than playing on their basest prurient impulses. In this category fall books like Helter Skelter and The Devil in the White City. T.J. English writes books like this - books that combine social history, crime, and good storytelling.I first discovered Mr. English when I read Havana Nocturne, a wonderful book about the mob in Cuba and their collision with Castro's revolution. It was well-written and absolutely fascinating and caused me to go look for everything Mr. English had written. He is most interested in intersections between gangs of one sort or another and the rest of the neighborhood around them. His first book, The Westies, was a brilliant look at the notorious Coonan Crew placing them into context with history of the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood (now sanitized and renamed Clinton) and in late sixties/early seventies New York. The relationship between these Irish gangbangers and the Gambino family offers a picture of the violence and insanity of the groups minusthe Hollywood romanticism.I was very excited to receive an advance copy of English's latest book, The Savage City examining a similar time period as The Westies, but a different set of neighborhoods and actors. English tells the interlinked stories of three men caught on the cusp of radical social change and the evolution of a city. Detailed, fascinating, and insightful, English brings the world of criminals, radical political activists, and the police into sharp focus. The Savage City examines the social forces that came together to create the New York we see today and the people caught in the whirlwinds of change.An excellent read for anyone interested in historical crime and violence and/or social history, in general.