Whitey

The Life of America's Most Notorious Mob Boss

By: Dick Lehr, Gerard O'Neill

Narrated by: John Rubinstein

From the best-selling authors of Black Mass comes the definitive biography of Whitey Bulger, the most brutal and sadistic crime boss since Al Capone.

Drawing on a trove of sealed files and previously classified material, Whitey digs deep into the mind of James J. "Whitey" Bulger, the crime boss and killer who brought the FBI to its knees. He is an American original - a psychopath who fostered a following with a frightening mix of terror, deadly intimidation, and the deft touch of a politician who often helped a family in need meet their monthly rent. But the history shows that despite the early false myths portraying him as a Robin Hood figure, Whitey was a supreme narcissist, and everything - every interaction with family and his politician brother Bill Bulger, with underworld cohorts, with law enforcement, with his South Boston neighbors, and with his victims - was always about him. In an Irish-American neighborhood where loyalty has always been rule one, the Bulger brand was loyalty to oneself.

Whitey deconstructs Bulger's insatiable hunger for power and control. Building on their years of reporting and uncovering new Bulger family records, letters, and prison files, Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill examine and reveal the factors and forces that created the monster. It's a deeply rendered portrait of evil that spans nearly a century, taking Whitey from the streets of his boyhood Southie in the 1940s, to his cell in Alcatraz in the 1950s, to his cunning and corrupt pact with the FBI in the 1970s, and finally to Santa Monica, California where for 15 years he was hiding in plain sight as one of the FBI's 10 Most Wanted. In a lifetime of crime and murder that ended with his arrest in June 2011, Whitey Bulger became one of the most powerful and deadly crime bosses of the 20th century. This is his story.

©2013 Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill (P)2013 Listening Library

Critic reviews

"Whitey is the definitive word on the whole sordid saga of the Bulger mob. Expertly crafted, beautifully told." (Dennis Lehane, author of Live by Night)

"Having first uncovered the terrible Bulger story, Gerard O'Neill and Dick Lehr have now brought it full circle - a true circle of hell. Exemplary journalism, high drama, and, for Bulger's victims, an ongoing tragedy: Rarely has a book mattered more.” (James Carroll, author of An American Requiem)

" Black Mass, also by Lehr and O'Neill, was the definitive book on the corrupt relationship of the Boston office of the FBI and the notorious gangster, Whitey Bulger. Whitey will stand right next to it as the most in-depth portrayal yet of the life of the man who ruled the South Boston underworld by terror and duplicity. In this groundbreaking, intimately researched work, we learn how he became the person who was feared by so many. Once you start reading, you don't want to put it down." (Bill Bratton, former Boston and NYPD Police Commissioner and LAPD Police Chief)

Entertainingly written story

The story is accurate, detailed and well written. The story moved swiftly and was always entertaining along with being detailed and accurate.

simply "LOVED IT"

I saw the film "Black Mass" and wanted to know about this "Man". I wanted to know what made him the way he is known now. Now I have more insight and understand this was unfortunately his destiny. The stars were aligned for this Monster!!! I admit I was a wee bit prejudiced before reading this book. But the amazing way his story was written helped quell this predicament. I couldn't turn it off. I made excuses to listen as often as I could. I did other people's errands and cleaned my house more often than usual :). It flew by faster than I wanted. Oh my soooo good. I became the story covered within every word and every sound. After I finish writing this review I am off to listening once again. Enjoy!!!!!!!

Excellent in-depth book

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This book covers a lot of things that are in almost every other book about Whitey. There are parts that go farther then any other book out there. Also, there are times when they assume you know certain things about Whitey already. My advice would be to either listen to this one only, or get a smaller book about Whitey and have some basic knowledge about him already. If you already know a lot about Whitey, like I did, there is not much new. But it does go into a lot of personal things that I have not heard in other books, or that other books don't go into near as much detail.

Slow start but don't give up

Almost gave up at beginning. First three hours consist of Bulger family history and the history of the Irish in Canada and Boston. Also the CIA experiments with LSD in the 50s, which have been covered elsewhere. Read this book for Whitey Bulger, not a history lesson. I read Black Mass nearly 20 years ago and wondered if this title would be just padding. But it picked up after once Bulger hit his teenage years and began his life of crime. Real insights into Bulger's character and adds Bulger's 16 years as a fugitive.

Amazing story of a mob boss

What did you love best about Whitey?

Truly a case of truth being stranger than fiction !!

Any additional comments?

Good narration and easy to listen

Whitey was misunderstood!

Pick in’ on Whitey. Give the guy a break. His mom loved him. That’s all for now.

History & Context

This is the entire life story of Boston’s boogeyman, including his disappearance and capture. Whitey’s dad and JFK’s dad knew each other? That makes sense.

NOT Osama bin-Laden

The opening segment of this work claimed that James J. "Whitey" Bulger was, after Osama bin-Laden, "America's most notorious criminal."

Hardly.

That attempt at puffing up Whitey's imprint on our country, however, did not detract from the overall enjoyment of the book. This is the third in a trilogy of works devoted to the life and times of Whitey. This final installment, like the previous "Black Mass", is more an indictment of FBI corruption than a frightening account of a notorious Irish gangster.

In fact, rather than a "criminal mastermind" as described by the authors, Whitey turns out to be simply a local Boston-based hoodlum, with a penchant for hands-on violence, surrounded by a gang that couldn't shoot straight.

The authors' discursions into topical events of the 1960s, 70s and 80s are enjoyable and do not detract from the pace or direction of the story. Whitey's participation in CIA backed LSD experimentation on prisoners is one example of hidden nuggets in this work, otherwise freighted with minutia about Whitey, his family and criminal associates.

John Rubenstein does an outstanding job of reading this work. His delivery carried me over passages bloated with detail and historical data that, after a while, left me overwhelmed and numb.

In sum, a good story about a small time crook, whose grasp eventually exceeded his reach.

Worth the money and time.

Hands down, read this.

What did you like best about this story?

Whitey was ruthless, the background details of his life shine some new perspective on the things he did and how he got away with it all for such a long time.

Any additional comments?

If you like true crime, you can not pass this book up.

more complete book than black mass

great book if you are interested in sociopaths and organized crime or Whitey. this book gives great history about how he came to be and all the way to the trial