About book "I Heard You Paint Houses": Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran & Closing The Case On Jimmy Hoffa (2005)
This is a difficult to review. On the one hand it includes some fanciful stories; but it also has some stories that ring true. I think readers need to be cautious with accepting this book. The epilogue includes references to other authors who based their claims on Frank Sheeran's recollections with the casual dismissal that these are incorrect or lies seriously undermines the reliability of this book.The biggest problem is that the focus of the book is not Sheeran; but rather Jimmy Hoffa. There are many books out there on Hoffa that Brandt references. Most of them he has only high praise. However, it is not clear how close Hoffa and Sheeran really were. Sheeran's recollections are broken and scattered. Brandt tries to bring them together in chronological order; but it is not always successful, and many chapters read as though something was missing. Sheeran's life itself appears to have been fascinating. His combat record, his life in the Teamsters, and involvement in organized crime. But so much is missing. His relationship with Russell Bufalino appears incomplete. Sure, they could have met when Bufalino fixed his truck; but casually seeing each other in Philadelphia just does not seem right. Sheeran describes the Teamsters also like a separate Mafia organization with their own specialists for bombings, strikes, and murders. This surprisingly rings true. His descriptions of strike breakers planning activities and holding legitimate jobs are some of the more interesting parts of the book. The depiction of the Teamsters as mostly legitimate people who played roughly is fascinating; but frustratingly limited in this book. It seems clear that Sheeran was purposely avoiding this because it can implicate him in worse activities than being a mob hitman....Perhaps he has some guilt about his activities apart from murdering his friend and mentor, Hoffa. Brandt and Sheeran noticeably gloss over Sheeran's racketeering convictions and daily dealings with his Teamster local. Some stories ring true; but others sound like the broken records of many other books. He claims to have had tangential involvement in the Bay of Pigs and JFK Assassination. He claims to have single-handily murder Crazy Joe Gallo - despite multiple witness claims that there were two gunmen. He also claimed to have killed other New Jersey wiseguys. All of this seriously weakens the authenticity of the book. When describing the Hoffa murder, his story sounds plausible if not true. Parts of his story surfaced in the other Hoffa books. Brandt appears to have done considerable fact-checking and analysis to make this climax chapter as accurate as possible with little cause for refutation. Overall, it is a well-written book, if parts appear incomplete or outright questionable. The most relevant aspect of the book is looking at the basic machinery in the Teamsters rather than just looking at the actions of the presidents.
I really and truly couldn't care less who killed Jimmy Hoffa, but if he's the catalyst for this book being written--well then, cry me a river. Charles Brandt is the nominal author here, but it's Frank Sheeran's book all the way, and is he ever a genius storyteller! Okay, he killed Hoffa, but let's put that into perspective by noting that Hoffa was just one notch on what was apparently one of the longest gunstocks in the history of man. In between killings--or, as he delicately put it, "taking care of a couple of matters"--he attended christenings, went to prison multiple times, drove all over creation for his very favorite mob boss, Russell Bufalino, played a part in the JFK assassination, loyally talked a bunch of shit about Bobby Kennedy, Hoffa's nemesis, and--most of all--enthusiastically commented on food of any kind whatsoever wherever he went, right down to the "out of this world" chocolates he sent his lawyers' wives. You can learn a ton of stuff from this book, like what to do with a gun you've just used in a crime (throw it into a river, get a brand new one just like it, and keep it in its box until you need to use *that* one. Lather, rinse, repeat.) If you need to kill someone in broad daylight, be sure to use a .45 or something else really loud to scatter any witnesses, but if you just need to make a quick little neighborhood hit at night, use a .22 so you don't disturb anyone's sleep. Also etiquette: never kill anyone in front of his family unless that person is a total disgrace; never bring a girlfriend to dinner at a restaurant on the designated "wives' night," always be thoughtful and check to make sure that your employer doesn't own part of a building you plan to burn down.The mob idioms are a high point: "going to school"= going to jail); "going to Australia" = shot and buried "down under"; and of course "painting houses," named for subsidiary blood spatter.I hear Martin Scorsese has bought the film rights to the book, but plans to call the film "The Irishman," which would be a total travesty. Why mess with the best title ever?
Do You like book "I Heard You Paint Houses": Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran & Closing The Case On Jimmy Hoffa (2005)?
I enjoyed this book in a way I didn't really expect to. I picked it up to hear the voice of Frank Sheeran but ended up being far more fascinated by the voice of Charles Brandt. Throughout the book, he allows Sheeran's story to come through as a first person narrative, interrupting occasionally to provide analysis and his own commentary. It was insightful and the extra information was really helpful for someone who hadn't heard of the Hoffa case much before - like me. What I really found interesting, however, was Brandt's altitude towards Sheeran. It is clear from the concluding section that they developed a close relationship and that Brandt did care for him. From the audience's point of view, I found this a little disturbing. Having read the stories Sheeran was telling, I couldn't imagine seeing him in such a positive light, so it was a good perspective to get. I do think, however, that it did affect his analysis.What I would really like to know is how many of Frank's daughters went to his funeral.
—Carlisle
So many rumors float around about events that it can be hard to decide what to believe. I think this book dispelled many rumors that I've heard over the years and not just about the killing of Jimmy Hoffa. "I heard you paint houses" is an euphemism about being a professional killer for the mob. Charles Brandt writes about events from Frank Sheeran's experiences with his father, the U.S. Army, and the Teamsters that form Sheeran's personality and lead to his subsequent life in crime. Especially chilling is his recounting details of various murders--it was a job that needed to be done. Sheeran's involvement in the Teamsters Union provides a prospective into the mob's corrupt dealings that I vaguely remember hearing about when I was very young. Particularly interesting is the mob's involvement with politicians and the influence on American life and events from the 1950's through the 1970's. The mob's hatred for Bobby Kennedy and the insights provided by Sheeran lends extensive credibility to some of the early conspiracy rumors that I remember hearing about JFK's assassination. I felt the book was a riveting read. Martin Scorsese in collaboration with Robert De Niro planned to make a film called The Irishman based on this book. I found references about the project back in 2008, 2010, and more recently in 2012; but nothing is in production.
—Ruth Ann
Wow! After completing this book, you'll be sure you know the real truth behind the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa- and even if you didn't care before, you will now! It's the memoir of Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran, told to the author over the course of a few years before Frank dies. Not only is it a confession of the Jimmy Hoffa murder, it also lays out in chilling detail just how much power and influence the mafia had (or has?) over the lives of every American, from labor issues to the economy and even presidential elections. This is an incredibly interesting book.
—Liz
