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  • Bugsy Siegel

  • The Dark Side of the American Dream (Jewish Lives Series)
  • Written by: Michael Shnayerson
  • Narrated by: Steven Jay Cohen
  • Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
  • 3.0 out of 5 stars (1 rating)

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Bugsy Siegel cover art

Bugsy Siegel

Written by: Michael Shnayerson
Narrated by: Steven Jay Cohen
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Publisher's Summary

In a brief life that led to a violent end, Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel (1906-1947) rose from desperate poverty to ill-gotten riches, from an early-20th-century family of Ukrainian Jewish immigrants on the Lower East Side to a kingdom of his own making in Las Vegas. In this captivating portrait, author Michael Shnayerson sets out not to absolve Bugsy Siegel but rather to understand him in all his complexity.

Through the 1920s, 1930s, and most of the 1940s, Bugsy Siegel and his longtime partner in crime Meyer Lansky engaged in innumerable acts of violence. As World War II came to an end, Siegel saw the potential for a huge, elegant casino resort in the sands of Las Vegas. Jewish gangsters built nearly all of the Vegas casinos that followed. Then, one by one, they disappeared. Siegel's story laces through a larger, generational story of eastern European Jewish immigrants in the early- to mid-20th century.
©2021 Michael Shnayerson (P)2021 Tantor
Historical True Crime
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Profile Image for Langer MD

Effective Straightforward Biography

Michael Shnyarson offers a well-researched documentary of the life of an iconic mobster: New Jersey bootlegger, Hollywood playboy, representative of 'The Syndicate' in Los Angeles, key founder of nationwide hitman consortium 'Murder, Incorporated', and singleminded creator of the legendary hedonistic - gambling & prostitution-driven - paradise known as Las Vegas.
There's nothing original here (you could get all of the information in this book from a Wikipedia page) - but it's collected nicely. Shnyarson presents it logically - albeit unspectacularly.

The narration is likewise competent but not particularly impressive. Stephen Jay Cohen reads with creditable diction, timbre, and cadence.. but he reads too slowly (set playback speed at 1.15X for the most natural experience), his voice-acting is pedestrian (when called for), and it's glaringly clear at times that Cohen is reading a book lying open on his lap (the tone is "disinterested").

Altogether, 'Bugsy Siegel: The Dark Side Of The American Dream (Jewish Lives Series)' merits 5.5/10-stars. It was a reasonable time investment as a 'Plus' selection.. but your Credit is better spent elsewhere.


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