The Good Rat: A True Story

by Jimmy Breslin

Overview

In his inimitable New York voice, Pulitzer Prize winner Jimmy Breslin gives us a look through the keyhole at the people and places that define the Mafia—characters like John Gotti, Sammy "the Bull" Gravano, Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso (named for his weapon of choice), and Jimmy "the Clam" Eppolito—interwoven with the remarkable true-crime saga of the good rat himself, Burt Kaplan of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, the star witness in the recent trial of two NYPD detectives indicted for carrying out eight gangland executions. Through these unforgettable real-life and long-forgotten Mafia stories, Jimmy Breslin captures the moments in which the mob was made and broken.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780060856694
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	02/10/2009
Series:	P.S. Series
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	94,419
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Jimmy Breslin was born in Jamaica, Queens. He was awarded the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for distinguished commentary. His bestselling and critically acclaimed books include The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight; Can't Anybody Here Play This Game?; The Short Sweet Dream of Eduardo Gutiérrez; several anthologies; and the memoir, I Want to Thank My Brain for Remembering Me. He lives on Broadway, the Big Street, in New York City.

What People are Saying About This

Nicholas Pileggi

“The Good Rat tells us about the corkscrew workings of the criminal mind where Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment left off.”

T.J. English

“Jimmy Breslin still hits the high notes...entertaining, insightful and 100% Grade-A Breslin.”

Pete Dexter

“Breslin returns to us from brain surgery intact, writing the way he writes, which is very good stuff indeed.”

Editorial Reviews

Breslin returns to us from brain surgery intact, writing the way he writes, which is very good stuff indeed.

Pete Dexter

Jimmy Breslin still hits the high notes...entertaining, insightful and 100% Grade-A Breslin.

T.J. English

The Good Rat tells us about the corkscrew workings of the criminal mind where Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment left off.

Nicholas Pileggi

A great look at the ugly and anything-but-glamorous truth of organized crime. This is Breslin at his Runyonesque best.

Rocky Mountain News

[The Good Rat] is Jimmy Breslin at his best.

New York Times

Breslin put his notes to brilliant use in a colorfully nuanced depiction of Burt Kaplan. Kaplan is The Good Rat, and while Breslin doesn’t put a gloss on his crimes, he uses him wisely and well to tell us once again about New York’s underbelly. And, in such memorable terms.

New York Daily News

Completely sure of what he’s doing, the author knows how to hook a reader.

New York Observer

Breslin is a writer of the heart. It’s hard to name another author who demonstrates a better understanding of the passions of urban misrule.

Playboy

Bad cops, good crook, great story.

USA Today

The ineffable Breslin, the mob’s Homer, may not have done much to ensure Kaplan’s longevity, but he has surely granted him immortality.

Boston Globe

Breslin chronicles the cops’ sordid tales with a mixture of awe, repugnance and perfect diabolical detail. He remains a master at transforming crookery into opera.

New York Times Book Review