The gangs of New York

Journalist Asbury pulled this book together from several official sources, including police records as well as unofficial ones such as the rough memories of criminals. True to the title, the book is a history of crime both organized and not that permeated the dirty underbelly of New York City and its boroughs in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Some of these gangs were so vicious they would post signs warning police to stay out of their neighborhoods or else! The 1927 volume is the basis of Martin Scorsese's film of the same name starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Titanic heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio. This edition contains numerous illustrations and a foreword by Jorge Luis Borges.