Welcome to Litsy!

#2024Book38

Seriously?

I wanted to like this, but I found it mostly meh. Albert Hicks was a killer, a horrible man who took what he wanted and didn't care who he hurt. The murders that finally got him caught don't seem so ghastly or notable for the times. It's an interesting view of pre-Civil War New York City. 3 💥💥💥
1st book for #20in4 @Andrew65

This is a nonfiction piece of history about, Albert Hicks, a scoundrel in the 1860‘s. He and his trial were quite infamous in the day and I‘m glad to learn about this American pirate. It‘s a pick for me within its genre. However, the title, marvelous as it sounds, is a miss because it makes the book sound like it‘s going to be an exciting mystery novel.

Lastly a #weeklyforecast for His Elderliness. He still has most of the pile I gave him last week but I‘ve added these two to it this morning. He‘s most interested in reading the 9/11 book. Hopefully he has enough books and dinners in the freezer to keep him happy while we‘re away up north 😊 (luckily he has two other daughters close by so he won‘t even notice I‘m gone 😂)

I was expecting so much more from this. I mean it promises pirates, gangsters, & a ghost ship. What's not to like? What it ends up being is a true crime story of a murderer. Not even a clever one; who was caught and brought up on piracy charges. The ghost ship is not one because it can't be a ghost ship if you know what happens to the crew. And the gangster nation thread? Tenuous at best. All in all it was fine but it was not what was promised.

The best part of the book is the story of the detectives tracking the murderer from Connecticut back to New York City. The killer‘s confession is gruesome. Also, “the Birth of a Gangster Nation” must have been added by the publisher, because the book has virtually nothing to say about it.

Fascinating story of Albert Hick- his crimes, his confession & death. It was fascinating, not just the seedy underbelly of nineteenth century New York, but also the relationships developing between criminals, the law & the press. Albert Hick's story is said to be the one that really launches the New York Times. Interesting interview with the author - https://www.wnyc.org/story/last-pirate-new-york-ghost-ship-killer-and-birth-gang...

Classic way to start .... once upon a time...👍🏼

#newbookday

Great historical crime story. Very enjoyable

Oops.... may well have just listened to this and then accidentally gone online and *BUY*. Oops!

https://lithub.com/rich-cohen-on-the-first-gangster-of-new-york-city/

This was a fascinating story. It was interesting to read about New York and the buckaneer culture when it was alive and thriving. The ruthlessness of the murder and the gleeful circus-like treatment of the final punishment was very skillfully, almost journalistically, described. #recentlyread #nospoilers #crimefiction #blameLitsy #blameMrBook #LITSYloveslibraries ❤️😎

30 pages left and I just want to finish this book!!!

Feel like this rainy foggy night is fitting for this book 🏴‍☠️

So this happened... 😮😊 #blameLitsy #blameMrBook #LITSYloveslibraries

#TBRtemptation post 6! Just released. For fans of Gangs of New York and Boardwalk Empire, here‘s the true story of Albert Hicks, who was either #NYC‘s last pirate or first gangster. In the mid-1800s, he frequented the Five Points. He became NYC‘s most feared criminal figure. At his peak, he was to rob an oyster sloop but something went wrong. Police found the ship near Coney Island, lots of blood & gore but no bodies. #blameLitsy #blameMrBook 😎

Meh. Alfred Hicks was a bad dude who sort of fell through the cracks historically. He‘s interesting, but this book wasn‘t so much. I didn‘t like the author‘s style or the structure of the story. Other people probably will, but it wasn‘t for me. #ARC

#BookMail

“Was he New York City‘s last pirate . . . or its first gangster? This is the true story of the bloodthirsty underworld legend who conquered Manhattan, dock by dock—for fans of Gangs of New York and Boardwalk Empire.”

I really liked this ARC I received from a #goodreadsgiveaway. I learned a lot and it read like a novel, I'd highly recommend for fans of true crime, old NYC, Erik Larson /Jon Krakauer.