Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba...and Then Lost It to the Revolution

Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba...and Then Lost It to the Revolution

by T. J. English
Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba...and Then Lost It to the Revolution

Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba...and Then Lost It to the Revolution

by T. J. English

Paperback(Reprint)

$18.99 
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Overview

In modern-day Havana, the remnants of the glamorous past are everywhere—old hotel-casinos, vintage American cars & flickering neon signs speak of a bygone era that is widely familiar & often romanticized, but little understood. In Havana Nocturne, T.J. English offers a multifaceted true tale of organized crime, political corruption, roaring nightlife, revolution & international conflict that interweaves the dual stories of the Mob in Havana & the event that would overshadow it, the Cuban Revolution.

As the Cuban people labored under a violently repressive regime throughout the 50s, Mob leaders Meyer Lansky & Charles "Lucky" Luciano turned their eye to Havana. To them, Cuba was the ultimate dream, the greatest hope for the future of the US Mob in the post-Prohibition years of intensified government crackdowns. But when it came time to make their move, it was Lansky, the brilliant Jewish mobster, who reigned supreme. Having cultivated strong ties with the Cuban government & in particular the brutal dictator Fulgencio Batista, Lansky brought key mobsters to Havana to put his ambitious business plans in motion. 

Before long, the Mob, with Batista's corrupt government in its pocket, owned the biggest luxury hotels & casinos in Havana, launching an unprecedented tourism boom complete with the most lavish entertainment, the world's biggest celebrities, the most beautiful women & gambling galore. But their dreams collided with those of Fidel Castro, Che Guevara & others who would lead the country's disenfranchised to overthrow their corrupt government & its foreign partners—an epic cultural battle that English captures in all its sexy, decadent, ugly glory. 

Bringing together long-buried historical information with English's own research in Havana—including interviews with the era's key survivors—Havana Nocturne takes readers back to Cuba in the years when it was a veritable devil's playground for mob leaders. English deftly weaves together the parallel stories of the Havana Mob—featuring notorious criminals such as Santo Trafficante Jr & Albert Anastasia—& Castro's 26th of July Movement in a riveting, up-close look at how the Mob nearly attained its biggest dream in Havana—& how Fidel Castro trumped it all with the revolution. 

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780061712746
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication date: 06/09/2009
Edition description: Reprint
Pages: 432
Sales rank: 109,436
Product dimensions: 5.90(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

T. J. English is a noted journalist and author of the New York Times bestsellers Havana NocturnePaddy WhackedThe 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 EsquireVanity Fair, Playboy, and New York magazine, among other publications. He lives in New York City.

Table of Contents


Introduction     xiii
Mobster Mambo
Feeling Lucky     3
The Mob's Playground     30
El Judio Maravilloso (The Marvelous Jew)     51
Well-Charactered People     72
Razzle-Dazzle     93
The Ghost of Jose Marti     115
Gambler's Paradise     139
La Enganadora (the Deceiver)
Arrivederci, Roma     161
A Bullet for El Presidente     183
Carnival of Flesh     205
Tropical Vengeance     226
A Handmade Woman     247
The Sun Almost Rises     268
"Get the Money"     289
Epilogue     321
Acknowledgments     331
Appendix     335
Notes     337
Sources     369
Index     381

What People are Saying About This

Sam Giancana

“Finally, the definitive book has been written on the Mob’s heyday in Cuba. Havana Nocturne is at once compelling and incisive—an entertaining page-tuner that will both shock and inform.”

From the Publisher

"English's engaging narrative reads with the gripping quality of fiction.... Highly recommended." —-Library Journal

Legs McNeil

“Sex and drugs and rockin’ mambo! Havana Nocturne is a dazzling parade through the Mob’s interests in Cuba. A must for Mob fans everywhere.”

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