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Double Cross
- The Explosive Inside Story of the Mobster Who Controlled America
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 13 hrs and 42 mins
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Double Cross
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Summary
One of the most feared Chicago mobsters, Sam Giancana, clawed his way to the top of the Mafia hierarchy by starting as a hit man for Al Capone. He was known as one of the best vehicle escape artists, a tenacious business man, and a ruthless killer. He partied with major stars such as Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe and did business with agents ranging from the CIA to the Vatican to the shah of Iran. When politician Joe Kennedy gave Giancana the chance to use mob muscle to get his son John elected, Giancana jumped at the task. But the Kennedy brothers double-crossed him, waging full-out war on organized crime throughout the United States. And Giancana went after them.
Written with suspense and conviction, we learn about how the CIA asked Giancana to assassinate Fidel Castro. The book includes Giancana's testimony about the truth of his involvement in the deaths of Monroe and others. Chuck Giancana, Sam's brother, contributes a unique perspective of the mob's relationship with the Bay of Pigs and many other pivotal events of the '60s and beyond. Double Cross is an eye-opening account of the interworking of the government and the mob and how this relationship has impacted American history.
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What listeners say about Double Cross
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tom O’Donnell
- 19-07-19
Loved it
Absolutely loved this book. I listened in the van on a long drive and was thinking about it every time I wasn’t in the van. Great listen. Highly recommended
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Graham G Grant
- 22-07-23
Myths, mayhem and mobsters
Sam Giancana was a high-ranking hood who used to work for Al Capone. Later, he became a senior figure in the Chicago Outfit - Capone’s criminal syndicate. Whether Sam ran the show is open to debate (though according to this book, for a lot of the time he did). The Outfit was skilled at track-covering and creating confusion about the true chieftains. But Giancana was powerful - a professional psychopath. In this book, his stepbrother Chuck, Chuck’s son Sam, and Sam’s wife Bettina piece together the life of a Mob boss. It’s listenable for the most part. The early sections are a bit repetitive and slightly struggled to hold my attention - despite the fascinating subject matter. But it becomes more compelling as the book progresses, and Giancana rises through the ranks to become a feared kingpin. Chuck’s story is an unhappy one - business ventures failed as a result of his Giancana connections, and he changed his name. Being Sam G’s stepbrother was no picnic. Chuck didn’t ask too many questions. But it seems he kept his ears open. Sam and others confided in Chuck the extent of his stepbrother’s criminal activities - eg his role in allegedly orchestrating the murder
of JFK. It’s well-documented that Giancana was hired by the CIA for a failed plot to kill Fidel Castro. So anything is possible. But after a while I began to ask questions about how much of what was alleged was true. Did Sam really kill (or have killed) the Kennedy brothers and Marilyn Monroe? Intriguing propositions. But the claim that Richard Nixon and Lyndon B Johnson knew all about the conspiracy to murder JFK is a tough one to credit. Even so, for Mafia aficionados this is entertaining fare. But it should be viewed with a degree of scepticism. Towards the end, Giancana is said to have been given the contract to kill Jimmy Hoffa (before Giancana’s own brutal murder). Is there any crime this book doesn’t solve..? Nonetheless, Giancana is a key figure in the history of 20th century organised crime, and indeed 1960s U.S. politics - to an extent. His life is worth exploring - but it’s not clear that this book really nails it. Nonetheless, it’s a good listen. Perhaps the most effective sections are to do with Chucky himself - and the impact of Giancana’s criminality on his own life. This does all sound fairly credible. As ever, the true legacy of big-league gangsters is hard to gauge - but it’s much more clear-cut when it comes to the repercussions for their families (their relatives, rather than their fellow criminals). And in the long term they’re rarely positive…
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kamehamehat
- 01-07-23
The narrator was fantastic.
Absolutely brilliant. I listened to this over 2 days at work. I wasn't expecting such a fascinating story, the best thing is that everything lines up with what we know. Although, I'm a bit skeptical about the Bay of Pigs version that's in this book. From what I know, the weapons were diverted to Israel and JFK was assassinated because he was about expose Israels nuclear ambitions.
The narrator deserves special praise. He was great at doing all the voices and was fantastic at conveying how scary Mooney was to be around.
Recommended.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Michael gray
- 11-11-21
great book
really good book as I never knew so much about the other American mafia until listening to this. you mainly only here about the new York families
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- PauseToThink
- 31-05-21
Trusted facts ?
I suspect the majority of this is fiction. It certainly makes for a good story, but I hardly believe a word of it.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- tony byrne
- 05-02-21
Good listen if you're really into you're mafia
I enjoyed it and soem good details regarding the life from castri to jfk and all other sorts
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Stephen Trinder
- 16-10-20
Interesting but tough going
Very detailed story but has a tendency to jump about a bit which makes it difficult to follow
Tough going to listen to as the mob people, and especially Sam, show themselves as the worst of humanity who will exploit anyone for their own gain
This really shows that good people should do everything they can to stop people like this
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- James
- 14-10-20
Fantastic
I absolutely loved this from start to finish brilliant. A real eye opener to life in the mob
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Angelcritique
- 11-09-20
Intersting insight
This account gives an interesting insight into what made Mafia Boss Sam Giancana into the monstrous man he became. I believe his father's appalling cruelty to him in boyhood along with the terrible poverty in which they lived were to blame. But that's no excuse for his behaviour. Marilyn and JFK were among his greatest hits. The book is well written and narrated.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Andrew Davies
- 30-06-20
Excellent
A great book, factually told by someone who was there and saw the rise, and fall of a mafia boss!
Those who live by the sword, die by it too!
I’ve always thought that the only difference between the mob and the government, is one gangster is voted in, the other rises to power with ruthlessness.... both are equally crooked! But the government gangsters are far more ruthless!
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