The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight

THE GANG THAT COULDN’T SHOOT STRAIGHT by Jimmy Breslin is one of my all-time favorite reads. I love Breslin’s style - humorous, satirical, ‘pull no punches’ writing. I reread this title as a memoriam to Breslin who died in March, 2017. He was a hard-hitting journalist and a lovely author. He won a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1986 “for columns which consistently champion ordinary citizens”.
You will chuckle at every page reading about Kid Sally Palumbo and his ‘gang’ of incompetents.
The funniest bit (for me) was the lion in the basement!
THE GANG THAT COULDN’T SHOOT STRAIGHT was published in 1970. One of his first titles was published in 1963 - CAN’T ANYBODY HERE PLAY THE GAME? - his commentary on the New York show more Mets. A great book, also.
RIP Jimmy Breslin show less

This book has been in my mother's library since 1969. I thought it was time to give it a look and found it's a humorous satire of the Mafia's colorful—and rather stupid—members, per this author's view. The story is hilarious in some parts of the book, but I found it tedious. Are there people this ignorant in the world? Probably, but I hope not.

Hugely enjoyable, once you accept that everyone is getting what they deserve. I read this once, thirty years ago, and I can still remember Breslin's best lines.

A comic novel about the Mafia, an upstart, ambitious, but error-prone crime family and their misadventures trying to take over the Brooklyn organized crime scene. A bike race and an immigrant Sicilian for the love interest are involved, and the whole thing ends in an unexpectedly profound and satisfying wrap-up.

Pretty funny in places. Light fluffy entertainment.

not my cup of tea. copping writing style

Desmitificación del mundo de la mafia con consideraciones sobre la difícil estructura social de los Estados Unidos.