Takedown

The Fall of the Last Mafia Empire

By: Rick Cowan, Douglas Century

Narrated by: Christopher Meloni

Length: 5 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

Great story

insane story. Great story telling. I struggled with the accent, wish the narrator was a New Yorker

Gripping

The narration was so good, I felt like I was watching the movie. Great story.

Fantastic Listen

Great narration and a truly riveting story; an absolute must hear.

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.

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.

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.