Black Mass: Whitey Bulger, the FBI, and a Devil's Deal
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-03-28 13:17:22
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Dick Lehr
- ISBN：1610395530
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Summary
John Connolly and James “Whitey” Bulger grew up together on the tough streets of South Boston。 Decades later in the mid-1970s， they met again。 By then， Connolly was a major figure in the FBI’s Boston office and Whitey had become godfather of the Irish Mob。 Connolly had an idea， a scheme that might bring Bugler into the FBI fold and John Connolly into the Bureau’s big leagues。 But Bulger had other plans。 Soon to be a major motion picture starring Johnny Depp as Whitey Bulger， Black Mass is the chilling true story of what happened between them—a dark deal that spiraled out of control， leading to drug dealing， racketeering， and murder。
Reviews
BagelBitch 69
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fucking NUTS。 super well written。
Jess （bibliophilly_） B。
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So incredibly well-researched and well-written！！ A tad too detailed at times but I have so much respect for all of the work that went into this。 Very interesting look at the corruption in the Boston FBI around the 1980s。
Kevin Carlin
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What a wild ride。 In the 90s when this story broke， I was a teenager who didn't care about the news， so I knew next to nothing about the Whitey Bulger story。 As I got to the end of this book， I was on the edge of my seat， not knowing in advance how it ends for everyone。 I had to stop myself from going and looking people up before I finished the book。 It's an intense story。 What a wild ride。 In the 90s when this story broke， I was a teenager who didn't care about the news， so I knew next to nothing about the Whitey Bulger story。 As I got to the end of this book， I was on the edge of my seat， not knowing in advance how it ends for everyone。 I had to stop myself from going and looking people up before I finished the book。 It's an intense story。 。。。more
Jesse
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As much as I wanted to love this book I just can't。 It had been on my to read list for awhile and I was super excited once I got it。 It's a book of facts about the relationship between an fbi agent and his Irish mob snitch。 Thays all it is no story no dialog just facts。 It was a grind and I would not remind it。 Looks and sounds way cooler then it actually is。 As much as I wanted to love this book I just can't。 It had been on my to read list for awhile and I was super excited once I got it。 It's a book of facts about the relationship between an fbi agent and his Irish mob snitch。 Thays all it is no story no dialog just facts。 It was a grind and I would not remind it。 Looks and sounds way cooler then it actually is。 。。。more
Jean Hamer
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Great book but needs to be updated。 🤷♀️
Brandon Hinners
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If you like to read about organized crime， you will enjoy it。 It's repetitive and a bit scattered。 Would have been better if it was 50 pages shorter and had more chronological structure， but I like reading about organized crime and I enjoyed it。 If you like to read about organized crime， you will enjoy it。 It's repetitive and a bit scattered。 Would have been better if it was 50 pages shorter and had more chronological structure， but I like reading about organized crime and I enjoyed it。 。。。more
Michael Jolls
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I appreciate a book that is well researched， as "Black Mass" is， nevertheless it's such a cumbersome read。 There are so many names and characters that keep flooding the pages that。。。 one almost wonders if they were to shorten the book， remove some of the side stories and characters， if the book would be an easier read？ Of course the story is incredible， but it's just not told well。 I appreciate a book that is well researched， as "Black Mass" is， nevertheless it's such a cumbersome read。 There are so many names and characters that keep flooding the pages that。。。 one almost wonders if they were to shorten the book， remove some of the side stories and characters， if the book would be an easier read？ Of course the story is incredible， but it's just not told well。 。。。more
Andrew Coes
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Compelling story。 Clunky writing。
Laurel
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I'd seen this on a list of the greatest true crime books of all time， and it certainly isn't。 Dry as hope， and incredibly longwinded。 I first learned about Whitey Bulger with regards his place as a possible suspect of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist， and I kind of hoped he'd be another level of criminal mastermind。 He isn't: he's a totally run of the mill thug， who just lucked into a relationship with a particularly corrupt FBI agent slash enabler。 I'd seen this on a list of the greatest true crime books of all time， and it certainly isn't。 Dry as hope， and incredibly longwinded。 I first learned about Whitey Bulger with regards his place as a possible suspect of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist， and I kind of hoped he'd be another level of criminal mastermind。 He isn't: he's a totally run of the mill thug， who just lucked into a relationship with a particularly corrupt FBI agent slash enabler。 。。。more
Briar's Reviews
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I picked up Black Mass because I saw the movie （which I didn't enjoy， by the way）。 I wanted to read some more non-fiction books and also some more books that were turned into movies。 Johnny Depp did a great job as Whitey Bulger， so why not pick up the book？ It seemed like it should be good。For me， it wasn't。 I don't normally venture into these kinds of books so it fell flat for me。 That was the point on why I read it （expand those horizons， ya know？）， but it did exactly as expected。I found this I picked up Black Mass because I saw the movie （which I didn't enjoy， by the way）。 I wanted to read some more non-fiction books and also some more books that were turned into movies。 Johnny Depp did a great job as Whitey Bulger， so why not pick up the book？ It seemed like it should be good。For me， it wasn't。 I don't normally venture into these kinds of books so it fell flat for me。 That was the point on why I read it （expand those horizons， ya know？）， but it did exactly as expected。I found this book too slow。 The content is really cool， especially how it follows the FBI through all of this。 It was really intriguing and I can see why so many people would enjoy a book like this。 For me， it's just too slow and didn't have enough of the other side of the story。 It felt way too slow and factoid than actual story。One out of five stars。 。。。more
Caleb Sommerville
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Wow。An exhaustive and harrowing account of Whitey Bulger and the insanely corrupt John Connolly， Black Mass is nothing if not thorough。 It's written by reporters， and it shows。 The research that went into this （especially， as an afterword expounds， working on dispelling myths and even self-held prejudices about Bulger that Bostonites have had for decades） is astonishing and I'm glad to have devoured this book。The movie dramatizes it all， yes， but Connolly's arrogance， Bulger's chilling rule， and Wow。An exhaustive and harrowing account of Whitey Bulger and the insanely corrupt John Connolly， Black Mass is nothing if not thorough。 It's written by reporters， and it shows。 The research that went into this （especially， as an afterword expounds， working on dispelling myths and even self-held prejudices about Bulger that Bostonites have had for decades） is astonishing and I'm glad to have devoured this book。The movie dramatizes it all， yes， but Connolly's arrogance， Bulger's chilling rule， and the rest of the assorted assholes in this book all serve as a cautionary tale about power， assumptions， and， well， NOT GETTING INVOLVED WITH THE MOB。（But seriously。 I felt absolutely terrible for the Rakeses; their liquor store was basically snatched out from under them。 That story in particular hit hard。） 。。。more
Karen
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Way too long。 Too much detail made for a slow （almost painful） read。
Kristin Blanchard
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Took me longer than I would like to admit to finish this one。 For the first few chapters， I just couldn’t get into it but decided to stick with it because I really like true crime novels。 I’m glad I did because this is a really good book and gives you a lot insight into the mob era in Boston。
Bob
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Dark。
Martyna
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From narrative perspective， "Black Mass" is an extremely unattractive reading。 However， it raises such shocking topics that， paradoxically， it is impossible to break yourself away from it。 From the very beginning to the end you feel a journalist tenacity in finding facts and reliability in reporting events。 Perhaps that is why the dynamics of action suffered， due to inefficient building of drama （it is really a pity that we learn about the most significant losses of the FBI's cooperation with Bu From narrative perspective， "Black Mass" is an extremely unattractive reading。 However， it raises such shocking topics that， paradoxically， it is impossible to break yourself away from it。 From the very beginning to the end you feel a journalist tenacity in finding facts and reliability in reporting events。 Perhaps that is why the dynamics of action suffered， due to inefficient building of drama （it is really a pity that we learn about the most significant losses of the FBI's cooperation with Bulger only in the epilogue）。However， the story of the decades-long， far beyond legal boundaries and competence of agents， corruption in the ranks of the Boston FBI is worth knowing。 "Black Mass" may not rise to the heights of non-fiction literature and is far from being a masterpiece of reportage but as documentation - supported by a meticulous journalistic investigation - this intricate and shocking history works very well。 。。。more
Ryan Henderson
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I would recommend Black Mass to anyone who is into crime and government or is from Massachusetts。 This is probably one of the biggest scandales in the history of the United States。 Black Mass is set in "Southie" or South Boston and exploits the deal between Boston's infamous crime boss， and it's most revered FBI agent。 It's pretty interesting to see how the FBI was so blind to everything they were doing and how easily they were willing to cover it up like it was no big deal。 This definitely will I would recommend Black Mass to anyone who is into crime and government or is from Massachusetts。 This is probably one of the biggest scandales in the history of the United States。 Black Mass is set in "Southie" or South Boston and exploits the deal between Boston's infamous crime boss， and it's most revered FBI agent。 It's pretty interesting to see how the FBI was so blind to everything they were doing and how easily they were willing to cover it up like it was no big deal。 This definitely will make you wonder what kind of other crazy scandels have happened that we have no idea about。 The only reason this every really came to light was the persistnace of the DEA and Mass State Police however without there persistnace in tracking down Bulger and Stevie they probably would have slipped away with their tracks covered。 。。。more
wally
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finished yesterday， 6th of may 2020 good read three stars liked it kindle library loaner， chronicle of the fabled effa bee eye and whitey bulger， corruption that continued to decades， and by now their corruption should be evident to all。 string the bastards up， add sedition to the charges。 put a hood over their sorry face and hang them from poles。
Becki
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I put the book down 90 pages in， and wrote this review。 Then I decided to pick the book back up again and get through it bc it’s a subject I was really into， and hey， if I could take an entire semester of nothing but Shakespeare in college， I can get through this， lol。 Updated review once I’ve read the whole book under the first one。First Review:I grew up in the 80’s in Providence and lived in Boston for a while。 I’ve always been fascinated with Bulger and the Winter Hill Gang， and Ive wanted to I put the book down 90 pages in， and wrote this review。 Then I decided to pick the book back up again and get through it bc it’s a subject I was really into， and hey， if I could take an entire semester of nothing but Shakespeare in college， I can get through this， lol。 Updated review once I’ve read the whole book under the first one。First Review:I grew up in the 80’s in Providence and lived in Boston for a while。 I’ve always been fascinated with Bulger and the Winter Hill Gang， and Ive wanted to read this book for years。 I’m sorry to say it wasn’t worth the wait。Even knowing and recognizing many of the names and places in the book， I couldn’t keep the events and people straight。 I was constantly flipping back and forth to figure out who was who， what their job was， and who they were connected to （and I’m not even talking about the mafia members！）。 I love nonfiction and journalistic books， but I gave up on this one about 90 pages in。I have seen a lot of reviews saying this read like a very long newspaper article。 However， I think it’s more like a 300+ page FBI report。 Although I didn’t expect amazing stories and character development to come out of it， I at least expected to be able to keep the main people in it straight， and to be able to picture it seems in events that were described。 But it all just jumble together in a mix of facts， dry description， when they bother to put any description in at all， and a timeline that didn’t make sense。 There was so much jumping around， that even though I grew up hearing about some of these big events， and have since read more about them， I was still confused on what happened when。It could have been an amazing book， the material is there， but the writing is not。Final Review:Ok， so now that I’ve finished the book， my opinion is a little different。 I still feel that the first 2/3 of it was boring and needs to be written by someone who isn’t all about the journalistic facts。 It was a struggle to get through it， and I know the areas and events being talked about。 But if you can strip away all the crap， there is a good story there。 The biggest problem is just that the authors don’t know how to tell it。 I basically still feel the same， but the last third of the book was written well enough to bump my rating from a 1 to a 2。5 star， and since I can’t give 2。5 stars， I just rounded down to 2。 。。。more
Jason X
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The book is okay。 Very repetitive - Bad guys do bad guy things， bad good guys get them out of trouble under pretext of getting other bad guys doing the same bad guy things。 Corruption to the core。 Also the text is dry because the events come from testimony and court records。 There is some outstanding journalism and that deserves much praise。
Kira
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This took me longer than I thought it would take me but I also felt like there was a lot that was not needed to go into details。 But there was so much that happened and I guess it was better to just give us all the details than to leave anything out。 I am still pretty interested in the whole deal but haven't seen the movie adaptation。 I remember watching when he was caught the last time。 This took me longer than I thought it would take me but I also felt like there was a lot that was not needed to go into details。 But there was so much that happened and I guess it was better to just give us all the details than to leave anything out。 I am still pretty interested in the whole deal but haven't seen the movie adaptation。 I remember watching when he was caught the last time。 。。。more
B。W。 Edwards
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Whitey Bulger and his gang were people to stay away from！
Mike Murray
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Slow at times， but overall interesting。
Scott
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Although now outdated with Bulger's capture， conviction， and eventual death in captivity， this was an excellent compilation of investigative journalism and research about an astonishing story。 I'm left wishing I knew more of the details of John Connolly's eventual conviction。 I can't seem to find much online。 Although now outdated with Bulger's capture， conviction， and eventual death in captivity， this was an excellent compilation of investigative journalism and research about an astonishing story。 I'm left wishing I knew more of the details of John Connolly's eventual conviction。 I can't seem to find much online。 。。。more
Nick
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Lehr presents a detailed account of Bulger's life of crime and his cooperation with the FBI。 The authors show the importance of journalism in the United States， although it took Boston Reporters several years to fully catch up to the story of Bulger's cooperation。 Considering the depth of corruption in Boston's police agencies during this era， Lehr also makes a compelling case for leaking information to journalists when the local， state， and federal authorities are all corrupted。 When public ins Lehr presents a detailed account of Bulger's life of crime and his cooperation with the FBI。 The authors show the importance of journalism in the United States， although it took Boston Reporters several years to fully catch up to the story of Bulger's cooperation。 Considering the depth of corruption in Boston's police agencies during this era， Lehr also makes a compelling case for leaking information to journalists when the local， state， and federal authorities are all corrupted。 When public institutions fail， journalists can hold them accountable and get the story out， as ultimately happened in this case。One incredible aspect of Black Mass is how many people looked the other way to allow Bulger to continue committing his deadly crimes。 Not only did FBI agents and prosecutors rationalize the good that came out of Bulger's informing， the public seemed comfortable with Bulger's role in society。 Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Black Mass is how it shows that many people must look the other way for illegal and deadly acts to be carried out， from minor drug crimes to murder。 Readers of this book should consider what they would have done if they were a resident of South Boston or a member of one of the police organizations investigating Bulger。 In confronting the painful idea that many people simply ignore evil in the world can we find the courage to confront that evil ourselves。 。。。more
Catherine
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This is a detailed reporting of the corruption that occurred in the FBI for twenty years and the struggle of honest men to bring the corrupt individuals to justice。
Eric Pool
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This book has more details about the FBI。 Like Whiteys dinners with them etc。 Not so much on the murders and not details on the Indian war。 Also the one I bought on google five years ago did not have a solid update since 1999。
Christopher
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Tedious and repetitious; an unbelievably compelling true story so poorly written， I almost didn’t finish it。
Patty
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This is a great story - fascinating to read about all the corruption that occurred。 I wish the presentation could've been organized better。 It's a lot of information， and I did like the style of its telling。 This is a great story - fascinating to read about all the corruption that occurred。 I wish the presentation could've been organized better。 It's a lot of information， and I did like the style of its telling。 。。。more
Johnny King
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4 stars。 Informative and interesting。
Christopher
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