MEYER LANSKY Mogul of the Mob

Hardback. 1st US edn. The inside story of the organisation's central member - Meyer Lansky - the man at the heart of the international gambling empire. Along with Lucky Luciano, Frank Costello, Waxey Gordon and Bugsy Siegel, Lansky grew from small-time rackets to sophisticated bootlegging and emerged as the undisputed leader of a new corporation of crime. With unfailing business acumen Lansky forged a criminal network touching every sphere of American life. He set up a gambler's paradise in Cuba; transformed Las Vegas from a desert town into the casino capital of the world and became the Mob's money man - the international banker for 100s of lucrative legitimate and illegitimate interests. From the early teenage gang wars on the streets of New York's Lower East Side and the world of hit men and double-cross to the territorial battles of later years, this book is a shocking testimonial to the use and persistence of criminal power in America. It traces the violent careers of Lansky and his associates over a period of 60-yrs. Illus. + Index. 346pp. lge. 8vo. h/back. From the library of Paul Daniel, ex-editor of the 'Ripperologist' magazine (December 1996 No. 8 - February 2000 No. 27) with his name/date rubber stamp to bep. V. lightly browned edges o/w Nr. F. in Vg+ protected dw. A fairly heavy book which will require additional postage if shipped overseas.