Overview

Go deep into the L.A. underworld with the true story of one obsessive gangster’s unparalleled quest for privilege, power, and paydays This biography of celebrity gangster Mickey Cohen digs past the sensational headlines to deliver a remarkable story of a man who captivated, corrupted, and terrorized Los Angeles for a generation. When Bugsy Siegel was murdered, his henchman Mickey Cohen took over the criminal activity in Los Angeles. Mickey Cohen attained such power and dominance from the late 1940s until 1976 that he was a regular above-the-fold newspaper name, accumulating a remarkable count of more than 1,000 front-pages in Los Angeles papers alone, and was featured in hundreds of articles in national and international periodicals. His story and the history of mid-century L.A. are inextricably intertwined. Mickey Cohen is a seductive, premium-octane blend of true crime and Hollywood that spins around a wildly eccentric mob boss. Author Tere Tereba delivers tales of high life, high drama, and highly placed politicians, among them RFK and Richard Nixon, as well as revelations about countless icons, including Shirley Temple, Lana Turner, Frank Sinatra, and the Reverend Billy Graham. Meticulously researched, this rich tapestry presents a complete look at the Los Angeles underworld.

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9781770410008

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Reviews

In Mickey Cohen , Tere Tereba brings to life the pugnacious nature of a hoodlum unique in the annals of American gangsterism. . . . Tereba captures the essence of the man and his times with insight and flair. --T.J. English, New York Times bestselling author of Havana Nocturne and The Westies Mickey Cohen is electric -- filled with detail that makes your senses tingle. . . . If you love The Godfather , The Sopranos or Boardwalk Empire , run -- don't walk -- to read this book. --Rikki Klieman, attorney, TV legal analyst, and bestselling author, Fairy Tales Can Come True Tere Tereba gives the gangster the biography he has long deserved -- an intense, straight-shooting, rocket-fast read, full of gossip, gore, and great research. Cohen's life is a fascinating slice of American history, and Tereba captures it poignantly. --Jonathan Eig, author, Get Capone With great style and boatloads of new information, Tere Tereba has crafted a page-turner about the greatest gangster LA has ever seen. . . . Few lived on the edge as long as Cohen, and fewer still earned a biography this entertaining. --Gus Russo, Pulitzer Prize-nominated author, The Outfit and Supermob This highly factual, rapidly paced biography chronicles not only tough-guy poster boy Mickey, but the City Noir whose appetites and ambitions he serviced, exploited, and, paradoxically, exemplified. --Kevin Starr, professor of history, University of Southern California An arresting, high-speed account of Hollywood's homegrown superstar of crime --dangerous, outrageous, bulletproof Mickey Cohen, the man the mob could not kill. Tere Tereba writes a white-hot true crime classic. --Lee Server, author, Ava Gardner: Love Is Nothing Tereba brings the bantamweight crook back to vivid life in this biography, along with the night clubs and race tracks he frequented and the no-holds-barred L.A. in which he flourished. This is a remarkable biography. -- Booklist (April 2012) For readers who revel in old movies, stories about gangsters in double-breasted suits, and midcentury Los Angeles. Recommended. -- Library Journal (May 2012) This is a slashing good book -- a razor-sharp bio of malevolent macher Mickey the C: the confounding Kingpin of L.A. crime. Buy this book now -- it'll hang you out to dry!! --James Ellroy, author, The Black Dahlia and L.A. Confidential [An] absorbing and gritty account of Cohen's rise from a tough as nails pugilist from East L.A. to a seemingly untouchable gangster. --www.HollywoodOutbreak.com The author does a superb job of tracing the ins and outs of Hollywood's gang world in the 1940s and '50s. -- Wall Street Journal (May 16, 2012) [A] gripping yarn about the life and times of the 20th-century Los Angeles underworld. --www.InterviewMagazine.com Tere Tereba gives up the charismatic L.A. mobster Mickey Cohen. -- Vanity Fair (May 2012)

In Mickey Cohen , Tere Tereba brings to life the pugnacious nature of a hoodlum unique in the annals of American gangsterism. . . . Tereba captures the essence of the man and his times with insight and flair. --T.J. English, New York Times bestselling author of Havana Nocturne and The Westies Mickey Cohen is electric -- filled with detail that makes your senses tingle. . . . If you love The Godfather , The Sopranos or Boardwalk Empire , run -- don't walk -- to read this book. --Rikki Klieman, attorney, TV legal analyst, and bestselling author, Fairy Tales Can Come True This highly factual, rapidly paced biography chronicles not only tough-guy poster boy Mickey, but the City Noir whose appetites and ambitions he serviced, exploited, and, paradoxically, exemplified. --Kevin Starr, professor of history, University of Southern California With great style and boatloads of new information, Tere Tereba has crafted a page-turner about the greatest gangster LA has ever seen. . . . Few lived on the edge as long as Cohen, and fewer still earned a biography this entertaining. --Gus Russo, Pulitzer Prize-nominated author, The Outfit and Supermob Tere Tereba gives the gangster the biography he has long deserved -- an intense, straight-shooting, rocket-fast read, full of gossip, gore, and great research. Cohen's life is a fascinating slice of American history, and Tereba captures it poignantly. --Jonathan Eig, author, Get Capone An arresting, high-speed account of Hollywood's homegrown superstar of crime --dangerous, outrageous, bulletproof Mickey Cohen, the man the mob could not kill. Tere Tereba writes a white-hot true crime classic. --Lee Server, author, Ava Gardner: Love Is Nothing Tereba brings the bantamweight crook back to vivid life in this biography, along with the night clubs and race tracks he frequented and the no-holds-barred L.A. in which he flourished. This is a remarkable biography. -- Booklist (April 2012) For readers who revel in old movies, stories about gangsters in double-breasted suits, and midcentury Los Angeles. Recommended. -- Library Journal (May 2012) [A] gripping yarn about the life and times of the 20th-century Los Angeles underworld. --www.InterviewMagazine.com [An] absorbing and gritty account of Cohen's rise from a tough as nails pugilist from East L.A. to a seemingly untouchable gangster. --www.HollywoodOutbreak.com The author does a superb job of tracing the ins and outs of Hollywood's gang world in the 1940s and '50s. -- Wall Street Journal (May 16, 2012) This is a slashing good book -- a razor-sharp bio of malevolent macher Mickey the C: the confounding Kingpin of L.A. crime. Buy this book now -- it'll hang you out to dry!! --James Ellroy, author, The Black Dahlia and L.A. Confidential Tere Tereba gives up the charismatic L.A. mobster Mickey Cohen. -- Vanity Fair (May 2012)

For readers who revel in old movies, stories about gangsters in double-breasted suits, and midcentury Los Angeles. Recommended. -- Library Journal (May 2012)

Author Information

TERE TEREBA is an award-winning fashion designer and journalist. She has written extensively for Interview, her work has been featured in Italian Vogue, and her account of Jim Morrison in Paris was selected by The Doors to appear in their book, The Doors: An Illustrated History. Tereba lives in Los Angeles, and you can find her online at TereTereba.com.

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