The never-before-told story of the Peppermint Lounge, the famed 1960s Manhattan nightspot and mobster hangout that launched an era."True crime meets pop-music history in this history of the Peppermint Lounge, the Twist and the Mafia's unwitting role in starting a national craze. . . . A fun and fascinating read." — Kirkus ReviewsThe Peppermint Lounge was intended to be nothing more than a front for gambling and other rackets but the ...

"[A] fascinating new book about mafia boss Alfonso D'Arco, who became the federal government's most successful cooperator." — The Village VoiceAlfonso "Little Al" D'Arco, the former acting boss of the Luchese organized crime family, was the highest-ranking mobster to ever turn government witness when he flipped in 1991. His decision to flip prompted many others to make the same choice, including John Gotti's top aide, Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano, and...

Hollywood Godfather is Gianni Russo's over-the-top memoir of a real-life mobster-turned-actor who helped make The Godfather a reality, and his story of life on the edge between danger and glamour.Gianni Russo was a handsome 25-year-old mobster with no acting experience when he walked onto the set of The Godfather and entered Hollywood history. He played Carlo Rizzi, the husband of Connie Corleone, who set her brother Sonny—played by James...

Not many memoirs are generational events. But when Sly Stone, one of the few true musical geniuses of the last century, decides to finally tell his life story, it can’t be called anything else.As the front man for the sixties pop-rock-funk band Sly and the Family Stone, a songwriter who created some of the most memorable anthems of the 1960s and 1970s (“Everyday People,” “Family Affair”), and a performer who electrified audiences at Woodstock and elsewhere, Sly Sto...

A riveting memoir of disco-era nightlife and the outrageous goings-on behind the doors of New York City's most famous and exclusive nightclubIn the disco days and nights of New York City in the 1970s and 1980s, the place to be was Studio 54. Andy Warhol, Liza Minnelli, and Bianca Jagger were among the nightly assortment of A-list celebrity regulars consorting with New York's young, wild, and beautiful. Studio 54 was a place where almost nothing was taboo, from nons...

Thirty years after she first heard his voice singing to her from a jukebox at her local drive-in, Barbara began her love affair with Frank Sinatra. After a tempestuous courtship, she finally heard him say the wedding vows that began his fourth, final, and most enduring marriage; one that would last more than two decades until the end of his life. Generous and jealous, witty and wicked, Frank comes alive in this poignant inside story of the highs and lows of marriage to one of the world's m...

Why Me? is the self-portrait of one of the extraordinary men of our time, who became a figure of controversy because he dared to live his life not as a Negro but as a man. "I've got to be a star like another man has to breathe," write Sammy Davis. "I've got to get so big, so powerful, so famous that the day will come when they'll look at me and see a man, and then somewhere along the way they'll notice he's a Negro."

This true crime memoir of Mafia-controlled NYC goes from mean streets to shadowy back rooms and the glittering Copacabana at its peak.Joe Silvestri was a tough kid from Queens who went on to be one of New York's most respected mafia muscle man. He worked security at the glamorous Copacabana, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Tom Jones and Frank Sinatra. He was there as a guest of Sammy Davis, Jr., the night Mickey Mantle and other legendary Yankees got involved i...

'The master storyteller of our times' Hillary Rodham Clinton'The whole story of his truly astonishing life' Bob Woodward'The book was damn near addictive. I loved it' Ron Howard'At times his poignant narrative will bring you to tears' Patricia Cornwell'A compelling account of the life events that shaped an extraordinary man' Nicholas Sparks'So much content and ins...

'Ashley took me to the Roxy one afternoon to meet John Lennon. The Roxy was a new Elmer Valentine and Lou Adler club on the hallowed ground of the old Largo Strip Club, next door to the Rainbow. In the middle of the day, it was normally closed and empty, but today John Lennon was up in the private club all by his lonesome, playing Pong, the simplistic first-generation video game. We exchanged pleasantries, and John challenged me to a game. I had never even heard of Pong but was happy to go...

"No one knew more about the mob, Hollywood and Las Vegas than Johnny Rosselli, and Lee Server got it all in Handsome Johnny." —Nicholas Pileggi, author/screenwriter of Goodfellas and CasinoA singular figure in the annals of the American underworld, Johnny Rosselli's career flourished for an extraordinary fifty years, from the bloody years of bootlegging in the Roaring Twenties—the last protégé of Al Capone—to the modern era of organized cr...

Say What? is a compilation of 670 of the most memorable things that should never have been said. You'll find, of course, quotes from dictators, drug lords, and murderers, but much more shocking are the entries by Nobel Prize winners, religious leaders, and beloved icons.Doreen Chila-Jones has collected hundreds of extraordinary quotes, and everyone is fair game—even Mother Teresa: "I think it is very beautiful for the poor to accept their lot, to share it ...