Gangster Squad: Covert Cops, the Mob, and the Battle for Los Angeles

Gangster Squad: Covert Cops, the Mob, and the Battle for Los Angeles by Paul Lieberman is the gripping true story behind the hit Hollywood film of the same name — a meticulously researched account of the secret unit assembled by the Los Angeles Police Department in the late 1940s to take on the Mafia's grip on the city by any means necessary. Based on Lieberman's original award-winning series of articles for the Los Angeles Times, this book reads with the pace of a thriller while delivering the texture and authority of serious narrative journalism.

The Gangster Squad was an off-the-books unit of tough, streetwise cops assembled by LAPD Chief William Parker to fight the East Coast mob's ambitions in Los Angeles — specifically the ambitions of Mickey Cohen and the broader organisation that had established deep roots in the city's gambling, prostitution, and corruption networks. Operating with minimal oversight and maximum aggression, the Squad fought fire with fire in ways that were not always within the letter of the law.

Lieberman brings the period vividly to life — the glittering surface of post-war Los Angeles, the corruption beneath it, and the genuinely complex moral universe of the men who fought in its shadows. Gangster Squad is essential reading for fans of true crime, LA history, and narrative non-fiction at its most cinematic and compelling.

Product Details

Author: Paul Lieberman
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN-13: 9781447222309
Dimensions: Approx. 20 × 13 × 2 cm
Weight: Approx. 0.28 kg
Delivery Time: 3–5 Business Days