Preview
  • Mad Ones

  • Crazy Joey Gallo and the Revolution at the Edge of the Underworld
  • By: Tom Folsom
  • Narrated by: Josh Clark
  • Length: 6 hrs and 8 mins
  • 3.6 out of 5 stars (40 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Mad Ones

By: Tom Folsom
Narrated by: Josh Clark
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $18.03

Buy for $18.03

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

The Mad Ones chronicles the rise and fall of the Gallo brothers, a trio of reckless young gangsters whose revolution against New York City's Mafia was inspired by Crazy Joe Gallo's forays into Greenwich Village counterculture.

Crazy Joe, Kid Blast, and Larry Gallo are steeped in legend, from Bob Dylan's 11-minute ballad "Joey" to fictionalizations central to The Godfather trilogy and Jimmy Breslin's The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight.

Called the toughest gang in the city by the NYPD, the Gallos hailed from the rough Red Hook neighborhood on the Brooklyn waterfront. As low-level Mafiosi, they were expected to serve their Don quietly, but the brothers stood apart from typical gangsters with their hip style, fierce ambition, and Crazy Joe's manic idealism.

Joey aspired to be more than a common hood and immersed himself among the Beatniks and bohemians of the Village. Yearning to live the life of an artist, Joey wrote poetry, painted, and got his kicks devouring existential philosophy. Celebrated as the "king of the streets" by Dylan, Joey was embraced by the city's leading cultural figures as an antihero straight out of Camus.

Here, for the first time, is the complete story of the Gallos' war against the powerful Cosa Nostra, an epic crime saga that culminates in Crazy Joe's murder on the streets of Little Italy, where he was gunned down mid-bite into a forkful of spaghetti in 1972. The Mad Ones is a wildly satisfying entertainment and a significant work of cultural history.

©2009 Tom Folsom (P)2009 Highbridge
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

"Riveting, richly atmospheric pulp nonfiction...prose as tight and hard-boiled as any James Ellroy novel...[A] novelistic study of an iconoclastic criminal in revolutionary times." ( Kirkus Reviews)
"The real fun of this book is [you're] never quite sure what's going to happen next....You couldn't make this up." (Associated Press)

What listeners say about Mad Ones

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    14
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    13
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    5
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    17
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    4
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    16
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great read for Brooklynites !!!

Was great to hear about the old neighborhood. This really brought back memories of the good ole days.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The Godfather meets On The Road

This reminded me of what it would have been like if Jack Kerouac had written about the Mafia
Excellent read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

save your time

and also save your money...i was expecting some great anecdotes and never got one...the narrator tries to sound like a tough guy....he is rediculous..trying to imitate a brooklyn accent..it's a joke...pass on this one

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful