Thank you, Harper, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Mr. Book just finished Wiseguys and the White House: Gangsters, Presidents, and the Deals They Made, by Eric Denzenhall.

This book is a fascinating look at presidents and their connections to the Mafia.

The highlights of this book are FDR’s use of the Mafia to go after Germans inside the US during World War, Truman’s career-long connections to the Mafia, the Johnson’s administration’s use of Mafia members as informants to infiltrate white supremacist groups and assist in prosecutions in civil rights cases, Nixon’s involvements with the Mafia (including a story in which a bank was robbed of about $9 million by burglars going after an alleged Nixon slush-fund) and Trump’s career-long involvement with the Mafia.

I give this book an A. Goodreads and NetGalley require grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, an A equates to 5 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).

This review has been posted at NetGalley, Goodreads and my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews

Mr. Book originally finished reading this on July 26, 2024.

This book will be released to the public on January 14, 2025.