As a huge mafia aficionado, this was a great read. I loved the perspectives shared in here and found it to be a unique retelling of the res world of organized crime and the fight to take it down. Highly recommend.

The Italian Squad is a small part of NYPD history that has gone unnoticed for a long time. A very interesting and illustrative book.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the Publisher for a copy of THE ITALIAN SQUAD by Paul Moses in exchange for a review.

All opinions are my own!

3 and a half stars for The Italian Squad.

I was really excited about this book! It sounded immediately interesting and made me want to know more about how the designated Italian detectives unit of the NYPD became what’s now known as the NYPD bomb squad.

It does a great job of giving you an interesting history and spans the entire short existence of the unit, but for me it went a little too into the political world of early 1900s New York City. I understand why, because politics played a huge part in why the squad was broken up and divided several times, their work completely ignored in favor of more politically “appealing” crime; but it just wasn’t what I was expecting as deep as it went into it. Paul Moses also does a great job of giving you the entire story from both sides, while still holding sympathy for the ones affected by the crimes pushed aside.

If you want an interesting history and view of the NYPD, I’d definitely recommend this book! For me, I just wasn’t prepared for the tone of the book, and how deep it went into the political world, which is why it’s 3 and a half stars!

Picked up from Netgalley on a whim, I'm dead happy with this little impulse. It is at times a little repetitive, which is the flaw of writing a chronological history, but the subject matter is deeply interesting and Moses brings it to life. I knew nothing about the policing of Italians in New York in the early 20th century, and how city and immigrant community dealt with each other, and that was my loss. The subject has a certain evergreenness too.

Gritty read about the earliest days of mafia crime in NYC. The criminals and the cops fighting are equally fascinating to read about. Perfect for those with an interest in mafia history.

Thanks to NetGalley and NYU Press for access to this arc, which I voluntarily read and reviewed.

"The Italian Squad: The True Story of the Immigrant Cops Who Fought the Rise of the Mafia" by Paul Moses is a fascinating and well-researched book that provides a unique look into the early years of the fight against organized crime in New York City. The Italian Squad, made up of Italian immigrants themselves, was instrumental in the fight against the rising power of the Mafia in the early 20th century. Moses tells their story with great detail, providing a vivid picture of the times and the people who made a difference. This is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of law enforcement and the fight against organized crime.

A very great history book of both the Italian police and Mafia
This is the first book I have read by Paul Moses and The Italian Mafia is about the immigrant Police who fight the Mafia. The book is the history starting with the shooting of Joseph Petrosino who was the first commander of the Italian Squad starting in 1904.
The book follows the lives of the Italian Squad, Mayors, the police commissioners, the criminals, and their victims.
Paul Moses goes into great detail about the life’s of the police who are mainly Irish immigrants instead of Italian. This means the police are hated by the black hand who are mainly Italian thugs or are related to other gangs or the mafia. The black hand goes around committing bombings, shooting, kidnapping and extortion against the police or local people who have businesses or are perceived to have money. Children are the biggest kidnapping cases in this book and some live and some do not. The police also come under scrutiny as they can be very heavy handed and many of them are corrupt.
Most of the stories in this book I have never heard of before, but the stories are well laid out flow nicely easy to read and are done in years starting in 1904-1909 then moving up every few years. A very nice touch which I found is that there are also plenty of photographs which I found great as I could relate better to the characters in this book. A very great history book of both the Italian police and Mafia and for true crime and history buffs a must read which I thoroughly enjoyed and learnt plenty from. Thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers of this book for giving me a free advance copy of the book to preview and I am leaving this review voluntarily.