Takedown
The Fall of the Last Mafia Empire
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Narrated by:
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Christopher Meloni
About this listen
Seldom has the netherworld of the Mafia been revealed with such fascinating detail and sheer suspense. Like the classics of the genre - from The Godfather to The French Connection to Wise Guy - Takedown leads us to the inner ring of a conspiracy of corruption and terror that held the city in its grip for nearly 50 years.
Rick Cowan was a young NYPD detective in 1992 when he dropped by a Brooklyn waterfront warehouse to investigate a recent firebombing - only one in a string of interviews he considered routine. But what he found there was far from routine, for it would take him on a five-year odyssey and nearly cost him his life. In fact, he had stumbled on the lead of a lifetime - the suspicion that he might unearth the hard evidence police and federal agencies alike had been chasing for decades: the proof of collusion among the mob families to extort billions from the nation's most influential corporations that call New York their home.
Featuring eccentric, larger-than-life New York characters and an undercover cop on the brink of being discovered - and murdered - at every step, Takedown is a riveting real-life procedural and one of the most important investigative books of its time.
©2002 RCR Enterprises Inc. and Century Literary Enterprises Inc. (P)2002 Random House Inc., Random House Audio, a Division of Random House Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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In 1992, the deadliest year in Chicago’s history, seven-year-old Dantrell Davis was shot and killed in front of his elementary school inside the public housing complex Cabrini-Green. What happened to Dantrell led to a truce among Chicago’s gangs, but it also ignited a national panic about poverty and violence in America’s cities. Dantrell’s name would soon be used to demolish all of Chicago’s high-rise public housing, displacing tens of thousands of low-income families.
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A Gripping and Necessary Work
- By booklover on 11-24-24
By: Ben Austen, and others
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Ho Tactics
- How to MindF**k a Man into Spending, Spoiling, and Sponsoring
- By: G. L. Lambert
- Narrated by: Patrick Stevens
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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I have discovered a group of women who refuse to be exploited, are immune to manipulation, and who never settle in the name of love. These ladies know what they want and take what they want by beating men at their own game. Utilizing the secrets exposed in this book, these women gain power, money, and status. Men call them gold diggers, women call them hos, but they call themselves winners. This is the book that society doesn't want you to listen to….
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I spent $24,000 in 4 months
- By B.M. on 10-06-18
By: G. L. Lambert
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The Autobiography of Malcolm X
- As Told to Alex Haley
- By: Malcolm X, Alex Haley
- Narrated by: Laurence Fishburne
- Length: 16 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Experience a bold take on this classic autobiography as it’s performed by Oscar-nominated Laurence Fishburne. In this searing classic autobiography, originally published in 1965, Malcolm X, the Muslim leader, firebrand, and Black empowerment activist, tells the extraordinary story of his life and the growth of the Human Rights movement. His fascinating perspective on the lies and limitations of the American dream and the inherent racism in a society that denies its non-White citizens the opportunity to dream, gives extraordinary insight into the most urgent issues of our own time.
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it's Nearly perfect
- By Kerry on 09-16-20
By: Malcolm X, and others
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I Thought It Was Just Me (but it isn’t)
- Telling the Truth about Perfectionism, Inadequacy, and Power
- By: Brené Brown
- Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Based on seven years of ground-breaking research and hundreds of interviews, I Thought It Was Just Me shines a long-overdue light on an important truth: Our imperfections are what connect us to each other and to our humanity. Our vulnerabilities are not weaknesses; they are powerful reminders to keep our hearts and minds open to the reality that we're all in this together.
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I'm sure its great if you are a mother ....
- By Leslie A Hill on 08-09-11
By: Brené Brown
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Mythology: Mega Collection
- Classic Stories from the Greek, Celtic, Norse, Japanese, Hindu, Chinese, Mesopotamian and Egyptian Mythology
- By: Scott Lewis
- Narrated by: Madison Niederhauser, Oliver Hunt
- Length: 31 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Do you know how many wives Zeus had? Or how the famous Trojan War was caused by one beautiful lady? Or how Thor got his hammer? Give your imagination a real treat. This Mega Mythology Collection of eight audiobooks is for you....
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An interesting set of introductions.
- By Kevin Potter on 05-30-19
By: Scott Lewis
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The Philosopher's Toolkit: How to Be the Most Rational Person in Any Room
- By: Patrick Grim, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Patrick Grim
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Original Recording
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Taught by award-winning Professor Patrick Grim of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, The Philosopher’s Toolkit: How to Be the Most Rational Person in Any Room arms you against the perils of bad thinking and supplies you with an arsenal of strategies to help you be more creative, logical, inventive, realistic, and rational in all aspects of your daily life.
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This should NOT be an audio book
- By Brooks Emerson on 03-21-20
By: Patrick Grim, and others
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My Big TOE: Awakening
- Book One of a Trilogy Unifying Philosophy, Physics, and Metaphysics
- By: Thomas Campbell
- Narrated by: Thomas Campbell
- Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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My Big TOE: Awakening, written by a nuclear physicist in the language of contemporary culture, unifies science and philosophy, physics and metaphysics, mind and matter, purpose and meaning, the normal and the paranormal. The entirety of human experience (mind, body, and spirit) including both our objective and subjective worlds is brought together under one seamless scientific understanding.
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What a Trip (but to where?)
- By Michael on 11-26-13
By: Thomas Campbell
What listeners say about Takedown
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- Steve
- 04-01-09
Takedown
I kept reading other reviews about how great this book is, but I wasn't impressed. All these mob stories are pretty interesting anyway, but a much better book in this category is Iceman. Wow. Now THERE'S a story.
I would consider this a "starter mafia" look into the genre. Some people are surprised, though I don't know why, at the cruelty of violence, and the harsh language. I didn't feel this book had much (if any?) overt violence at all.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall
- Robert
- 05-04-08
Unbelievable
I did not want the book to end. How the author was able to keep his indenity from the Mob and bring down their control of the garbage and recycling industry in New York is an incredible story. The narriator does a great job of drawing the listener into the story that never slows down.
If you enjoy stories about organized crime this is a must.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Fred
- 06-24-03
Takedown
Superior, riveting! This accounting was so fascinating I thought a second listen was in order just to engage the details. The narrator, Christopher Meloni, was excellent!
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8 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Edgar
- 12-15-05
Raw and Real!
Having grown up in a city and amidst some irreputable characters, I certainly loved the realness and rawness of this audiobook. The crime aspect is entertaining enough, but the narration in that NY brogue makes you feel like you are living the story through the author's eyes. Get it - you will not be disappointed. Great mob vs. police stuff.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall
- Just Me
- 05-13-22
Great story
insane story. Great story telling. I struggled with the accent, wish the narrator was a New Yorker
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Overall
- Robert
- 07-06-03
Gripping
The narration was so good, I felt like I was watching the movie. Great story.
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9 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Todd H.
- 03-17-05
Fantastic Listen
Great narration and a truly riveting story; an absolute must hear.
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1 person found this helpful
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- JustThisGuyYouKnow
- 12-03-13
Inside the New York mafia's golden egg...garbage!
Where does Takedown rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
I would rate Takedown in my top 20 of over 500 audiobooks listened to.
Any additional comments?
The story is so absorbing, it's impossible to stop listening. Christopher Merloni nails the NYC dialect of the characters while keeping the narrative clear and understandable.
The perspective of an undercover cop who has to live 3 separate lives while keeping up his cover is like a tightrope act.
Incredibly intense story and I found it more entertaining than Donnie Brasco, which took place around the same time period.
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- Aam
- 12-12-23
Excellent explanation
I was impressed with all that Rick had to learn about garbage pickup and the gangster operations that go with it. I thought it was very educational. Bill ruckelshaus is what Rick says he is.
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Overall
- David Murray
- 01-27-06
A 'Must-Listen' in the genre
You will rarely hear a non-fiction audiobook performed as professionally as this one, especially when you consider how much like an exciting fiction story it is told. The story, by the way, is exciting by itself, but it's almost worth listening to this audiobook just to hear how astounding the narrator is. This fellow talks in one continuous flow with the appropriate accent of a New York police detective and amazing impressions of crime-family gansters. There are no inappropriate pauses or any other indications that he is reading text; you would almost think that he has memorized the entire book.
In short, this is one book that you will go through quickly because once you start it, you'll have a difficult time turning it off!
P.S. Occasionally, the language used by the gangsters is foul, but to use any other language in the narration would not be true to the subject at hand since, apparently, this is the way 'wise-guys' talk.
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6 people found this helpful