
The Good Rat
A True Story
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $17.16
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Richard Davidson
-
By:
-
Jimmy Breslin
About this listen
Jimmy Breslin can sniff out a story like he can sniff out a rat. Here, he tells a lifetime of anecdotes in his inimitable New York voice, giving us a view through the keyhole of the people and places that define the Mafia: characters like Sammy the Bull, the original snitch; Gaspipe Casso, named for his weapon of choice; and hangouts like Pep McGuire's, the legendary watering hole where reporters and gangsters (all hailing from the same working-class neighborhoods) rubbed elbows and traded stories.
But best of all, Breslin captures the moments in which the Mafia was made and broken. Breslin was there the night John Gotti celebrated his acquittal, for example, having bribed his way to innocence.
In The Good Rat, Breslin brings together the most recent, most memorable, and the long forgotten stories to create a sharp-eyed portrait of the mob as it lived and breathed, as it sounded and survived.
©2008 Jimmy Breslin (P)2008 BBC Audiobooks AmericaListeners also enjoyed...
-
Five Families
- The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires
- By: Selwyn Raab
- Narrated by: Paul Costanzo
- Length: 33 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Genovese, Gambino, Bonnano, Colombo, and Lucchese. For decades these Five Families ruled New York and built the American Mafia (or Cosa Nostra) into an underworld empire. Today, the Mafia is an endangered species, battered and beleaguered by aggressive investigators, incompetent leadership, betrayals, and generational changes that produced violent, unreliable leaders and recruits.
-
-
7326451
- By Mark on 10-13-16
By: Selwyn Raab
-
Gaspipe
- Confessions of a Mafia Boss
- By: Philip Carlo
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso, the boss of New York's Lucchese crime family, was a Mafia superstar, responsible for more than 50 murders. Currently serving 13 life sentences at a federal prison in Colorado, Casso has given journalist and New York Times best-selling author Philip Carlo the most intimate, personal look into the world of La Cosa Nostra ever seen.
-
-
The author fails the objectivity test
- By William on 11-29-08
By: Philip Carlo
-
Murder Machine
- A True Story of Murder, Madness, and the Mafia
- By: Gene Mustain, Jerry Capeci
- Narrated by: Victor Bevine
- Length: 15 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
They were the DeMeo gang - the most deadly hit men in organized crime. Their Mafia higher-ups came to know, use, and ultimately fear them as the Murder Machine. They killed for profit and for pleasure, following cold-blooded plans and wild whims, from the mean streets of New York to the Florida Gold Coast, and from coast to coast. Now complete with personal revelations of one of the key players, this is the savage story that leaves no corpse unturned in its terrifying telling.
-
-
stop browsing and just get it.
- By Patrick on 04-20-21
By: Gene Mustain, and others
-
Sonny
- The Last of the Old Time Mafia Bosses, John "Sonny" Franzese
- By: S.J. Peddie
- Narrated by: Tanya Eby
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
John "Sonny" Franzese reportedly committed his first murder at the age of fourteen. As a "made man" for the Colombo crime family, he operated out of his Long Island home specializing in racketeering, fraud, and other illicit deeds he would deny to his dying day. His career in organized crime spanned over eight decades - and he was sentenced to fifty years in prison for robbery. This is the true story of an old-school Mafioso as it's never been told. Newsday reporter S. J. Peddie interviewed Franzese in prison and uncovered a lifetime of shocking secrets from the legend himself.
-
-
Absolute BS
- By Lingerfelt on 04-20-22
By: S.J. Peddie
-
The Lost City of Z
- A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon
- By: David Grann
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A sensational disappearance that made headlines around the world. A quest for truth that leads to death, madness or disappearance for those who seek to solve it. The Lost City of Z is a blockbuster adventure narrative about what lies beneath the impenetrable jungle canopy of the Amazon. After stumbling upon a hidden trove of diaries, acclaimed New Yorker writer David Grann set out to find out what happened to the British explorer Percy Fawcett and his quest for the Lost City of Z.
-
-
A Worthy Read for Armchair Explorers
- By Jennifer Seattle, WA on 03-01-09
By: David Grann
-
Mafia Democracy
- How Our Republic Became a Mob Racket
- By: Michael Franzese
- Narrated by: Michael Franzese
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Greed. Lies. Corruption. These are the foundational elements of the American Mafia story. Here, the pursuit of power overshadows even the desire for a dollar, and self-interest outweighs the greater good. It’s a world that’s foreign to the average American—or is it? The values of our democracy and those of Mafia culture are separated by a thin line that’s quickly disintegrating.
-
-
Pro Trump drivel
- By mrr1111 on 04-18-23
By: Michael Franzese
-
Five Families
- The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires
- By: Selwyn Raab
- Narrated by: Paul Costanzo
- Length: 33 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Genovese, Gambino, Bonnano, Colombo, and Lucchese. For decades these Five Families ruled New York and built the American Mafia (or Cosa Nostra) into an underworld empire. Today, the Mafia is an endangered species, battered and beleaguered by aggressive investigators, incompetent leadership, betrayals, and generational changes that produced violent, unreliable leaders and recruits.
-
-
7326451
- By Mark on 10-13-16
By: Selwyn Raab
-
Gaspipe
- Confessions of a Mafia Boss
- By: Philip Carlo
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso, the boss of New York's Lucchese crime family, was a Mafia superstar, responsible for more than 50 murders. Currently serving 13 life sentences at a federal prison in Colorado, Casso has given journalist and New York Times best-selling author Philip Carlo the most intimate, personal look into the world of La Cosa Nostra ever seen.
-
-
The author fails the objectivity test
- By William on 11-29-08
By: Philip Carlo
-
Murder Machine
- A True Story of Murder, Madness, and the Mafia
- By: Gene Mustain, Jerry Capeci
- Narrated by: Victor Bevine
- Length: 15 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
They were the DeMeo gang - the most deadly hit men in organized crime. Their Mafia higher-ups came to know, use, and ultimately fear them as the Murder Machine. They killed for profit and for pleasure, following cold-blooded plans and wild whims, from the mean streets of New York to the Florida Gold Coast, and from coast to coast. Now complete with personal revelations of one of the key players, this is the savage story that leaves no corpse unturned in its terrifying telling.
-
-
stop browsing and just get it.
- By Patrick on 04-20-21
By: Gene Mustain, and others
-
Sonny
- The Last of the Old Time Mafia Bosses, John "Sonny" Franzese
- By: S.J. Peddie
- Narrated by: Tanya Eby
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
John "Sonny" Franzese reportedly committed his first murder at the age of fourteen. As a "made man" for the Colombo crime family, he operated out of his Long Island home specializing in racketeering, fraud, and other illicit deeds he would deny to his dying day. His career in organized crime spanned over eight decades - and he was sentenced to fifty years in prison for robbery. This is the true story of an old-school Mafioso as it's never been told. Newsday reporter S. J. Peddie interviewed Franzese in prison and uncovered a lifetime of shocking secrets from the legend himself.
-
-
Absolute BS
- By Lingerfelt on 04-20-22
By: S.J. Peddie
-
The Lost City of Z
- A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon
- By: David Grann
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A sensational disappearance that made headlines around the world. A quest for truth that leads to death, madness or disappearance for those who seek to solve it. The Lost City of Z is a blockbuster adventure narrative about what lies beneath the impenetrable jungle canopy of the Amazon. After stumbling upon a hidden trove of diaries, acclaimed New Yorker writer David Grann set out to find out what happened to the British explorer Percy Fawcett and his quest for the Lost City of Z.
-
-
A Worthy Read for Armchair Explorers
- By Jennifer Seattle, WA on 03-01-09
By: David Grann
-
Mafia Democracy
- How Our Republic Became a Mob Racket
- By: Michael Franzese
- Narrated by: Michael Franzese
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Greed. Lies. Corruption. These are the foundational elements of the American Mafia story. Here, the pursuit of power overshadows even the desire for a dollar, and self-interest outweighs the greater good. It’s a world that’s foreign to the average American—or is it? The values of our democracy and those of Mafia culture are separated by a thin line that’s quickly disintegrating.
-
-
Pro Trump drivel
- By mrr1111 on 04-18-23
By: Michael Franzese
-
The Mob and the City
- The Hidden History of How the Mafia Captured New York
- By: C. Alexander Hortis
- Narrated by: LJ Ganser
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Forget what you think you know about the Mafia. After reading this book, even life-long mob aficionados will have a new perspective on organized crime. Informative, authoritative, and eye-opening, this is the first full-length book devoted exclusively to uncovering the hidden history of how the Mafia came to dominate organized crime in New York City during the 1930s through 1950s.
-
-
Hard one to rate....
- By Jeffery D. Giuliani on 09-24-20
-
The Brotherhoods
- The True Story of Two Cops Who Murdered for the Mafia
- By: Guy Lawson, William Oldham
- Narrated by: Dick Hill
- Length: 24 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Brotherhoods is the chilling chronicle of the shocking crimes of NYPD detectives Stephen Caracappa and Louis Eppolito, notorious rogue cops convicted in April 2006 of the ultimate form of police corruption-shielding their acts behind their badges while they worked for the mob. Their crimes included participation in the murders of at least eight men, kidnapping, torture, and the betrayal of an entire generation of New York City detectives and federal agents
-
-
AMAZING!
- By The Louligan on 11-07-14
By: Guy Lawson, and others
-
Lord High Executioner
- The Legendary Mafia Boss Albert Anastasia
- By: Frank Dimatteo, Michael Benson
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 8 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Umberto "Albert" Anastasia was born in Italy at the turn of the century. Five decades later, he would be gunned down in a barber shop in New York City. What happened in the years in between is one of the most brutal and fascinating stories in the history of American organized crime. This in-depth account of the man who became one of the most powerful and homicidal crime bosses of the 20th century from Mafia insider Frank Dimatteo is the first full-length book to chronicle Anastasia's bloody rise from immigrant to founder of the notorious killer's club Murder, Inc.
-
-
Great book
- By Christina Fox on 06-03-20
By: Frank Dimatteo, and others
-
The President Street Boys
- Growing Up Mafia
- By: Frank DiMatteo
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Frank DiMatteo was born into a family of mob hit men. His father and godfather were shooters and bodyguards for infamous Mafia legends, the Gallo brothers. His uncle was a capo in the Genovese crime family and bodyguard to Frank Costello. Needless to say, DiMatteo saw and heard things that a boy shouldn't see or hear. He knew everybody in the neighborhood. And they knew him...and his family. And does he have some wild stories to tell....
-
-
The Real Deal
- By Stef on 04-04-18
By: Frank DiMatteo
-
Wiseguy
- By: Nicholas Pileggi, Martin Scorsese - introduction
- Narrated by: Ari Fliakos, Corey Brill, Hillary Huber, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the true crime best seller that was the basis for Martin Scorsese’s film masterpiece GoodFellas, which brought to life the violence, the excess, the families, the wives and girlfriends, the drugs, the payoffs, the paybacks, the jail time, and the Feds...with Henry Hill’s crackling narration drawn straight out of Wiseguy and overseeing all the unforgettable action.
-
-
Finally unabridged
- By Rodney on 12-16-19
By: Nicholas Pileggi, and others
-
Billy Summers
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Paul Sparks
- Length: 16 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Billy Summers is a man in a room with a gun. He’s a killer for hire and the best in the business. But he’ll do the job only if the target is a truly bad guy. And now Billy wants out. But first there is one last hit. Billy is among the best snipers in the world, a decorated Iraq war vet, a Houdini when it comes to vanishing after the job is done. So what could possibly go wrong?
-
-
Absolutely amazing
- By Victor @ theAudiobookBlog dot com on 08-03-21
By: Stephen King
-
The Boys from Biloxi
- A Legal Thriller
- By: John Grisham
- Narrated by: Michael Beck
- Length: 17 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For most of the last hundred years, Biloxi was known for its beaches, resorts, and seafood industry. But it had a darker side. It was also notorious for corruption and vice, everything from gambling, prostitution, bootleg liquor, and drugs to contract killings. The vice was controlled by small cabal of mobsters, many of them rumored to be members of the Dixie Mafia.
-
-
Long and boring
- By ATM on 10-20-22
By: John Grisham
-
Gotti's Rules
- The Story of John Alite, Junior Gotti, and the Demise of the American Mafia
- By: George Anastasia
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The notorious Gotti family is the stuff of mob legend. The "Dapper Don", John Gotti Sr., and his son John A. "Junior" Gotti ran New York's powerful Gambino crime family and were well known for their flamboyant style and brutal ways, an image perpetuated in popular Mafia mythology. John Alite, a mob hit man, associate, and close friend of the Gottis, has a very different story to tell.
-
-
Garbage read
- By Ray on 09-02-15
By: George Anastasia
-
Mafia Hit Man
- Carmine DiBiase, the Wiseguy Who Really Killed Joey Gallo
- By: Frank Dimatteo, Michael Benson
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Joey "Crazy Joe" Gallo and his President Street mob waged a deadly Mafia civil war with the Colombo crime family, and in particular, Carmine "the Snake" Persico. And on that fateful night of April 7, 1972, in a Little Italy restaurant, Gallo was assassinated...by Carmine "Sonny" DiBiasi. This is the true story of who really whacked "Crazy Joe" Gallo on that fateful night of April 7, 1972.
-
-
Zesty, perfectly paced, great storytelling
- By Philo on 10-17-21
By: Frank Dimatteo, and others
-
The Institute
- A Novel
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Santino Fontana
- Length: 18 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the middle of the night, in a house on a quiet street in suburban Minneapolis, intruders silently murder Luke Ellis' parents and load him into a black SUV. The operation takes less than two minutes. Luke will wake up at The Institute, in a room that looks just like his own, except there's no window. And outside his door are other doors, behind which are other kids with special talents - telekinesis and telepathy - who got to this place the same way Luke did: Kalisha, Nick, George, Iris, and 10-year-old Avery Dixon.
-
-
I really wanted to like this novel.. but..
- By Wendi on 09-21-19
By: Stephen King
-
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
- A Hunger Games Novel
- By: Suzanne Collins
- Narrated by: Santino Fontana
- Length: 16 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the 10th annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to out charm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute. The odds are against him. He’s been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low.
-
-
Bad part
- By Edgars Dumins on 05-19-20
By: Suzanne Collins
-
We Are All the Same in the Dark
- A Novel
- By: Julia Heaberlin
- Narrated by: Jenna Lamia, Catherine Taber, MacLeod Andrews, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s been a decade since Trumanell Branson disappeared, leaving only a bloody handprint behind. Her pretty face still hangs like a watchful queen on the posters on the walls of the town’s Baptist church, the police station, and in the high school. They all promise the same thing: We will find you. Meanwhile, Tru's brother, Wyatt, lives as a pariah in the desolation of the old family house, cleared of wrongdoing by the police but tried and sentenced in the court of public opinion and in a new documentary about the crime.
-
-
On the edge of my ladder
- By Deirdre Hoinoski on 08-27-20
By: Julia Heaberlin
Critic reviews
"[Breslin is] the city's steadiest and most accurate chronicler." (The Village Voice)
What listeners say about The Good Rat
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Hi
- 11-19-20
great story
The actual mob guy tells a better story than the narrator. still a good book even for a snitch.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- jawnny
- 01-20-22
not bad!
a good listen, i never even heard of burt kaplan til this book, but it was a good story. alot of mob stuff and alot of gaspipe stuff. worth a listen.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- patricia joyner
- 03-04-22
story meanders
If the author had left out his strong opinions about actors and mafia men and just stuck to the story it would have been an awesome book. He jumps timelines so often that it became very confusing. I did however love how it was performed.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Gina L. Garrison-Benjamin
- 02-24-23
Great Selection
Excellent narration! Good storyline. I wasn’t bored and trying to make it to the end like I am with some books.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Roberto Falcon
- 02-22-21
EXCELLENT audiobook!
EXCELLENT audiobook by my ALL TIME FAVORITE author Jimmy Breslin!
Narrator was excellent as well
Highly re8!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- kutzkai
- 02-03-23
Descent Story
Always a fan of stories about the mafia, the best being the Godfather. This book is okay but there are bunch more better ones. But still take a listen for yourself and then decide. The narration by Richard Davidson was okay.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- robert l.
- 01-20-22
Jewish gangster Burton Kaplan
I really enjoyed this one, really enjoyed the narration and especially the story of The Last Jewish gangster.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Dale Sarver
- 09-03-22
interesting mafia stories.
this book has a lot of true stories about NY mob figures as told by people who were there. a very interesting book
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Leo
- 10-26-17
Crazy how I use to see these guys grownup
Crazy how I use to see these guys grownup and to hear there story's truly makes me understand New York was a special place. There's something's you learn in New York that are priceless grownup.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 03-23-21
A really great story
This was a great book the story was awesome generation was great it really felt like you were hanging out with mobsters or sitting in a quart room overall I truly enjoyed it I devoured this book I listen to it in three Sitting
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful