Gus Russo Books

Set against the backdrop of November 22, 1963, the narrative captures the immediate reactions of various individuals as they learned about President John F. Kennedy's assassination. Through personal anecdotes and evocative archival images, it explores how this tragic event altered the course of American history. Tom Brokaw's interviews with those affected, including politicians and cultural figures, provide a poignant reflection on the nation's grief and the profound questions about what could have been. This volume offers a unique perspective on a defining moment in history.

Presents the story of the great Chicago crime family called The Outfit.

In 1980, my life as a 'Goodfella' came to an end...I traded my Brioni and Armani suits for T-shirts and jeans. I became a normal citizen. I became Joe Schmoe,' says Henry Hill, author of GANGSTERS AND GOODFELLAS and subject of WISEGUY, which was the inspiration for the blockbuster film GOODFELLAS.After a quarter of a century of silence, Hill can finally tell us the rest of the story, Gangsters and Goodfellas picks up where Wiseguy left off, taking readers on the crazy ride of Henry's life - hiding out in the Witness Protection Programme, doing prison time for drug charges, testifying in high-profile, heavily guarded mafia trials, leaving his wife and children and eventually ending up in the entertainment business. Including an exclusive selection of photographs from Henry's personal collection, Gangsters and Goodfellas also reveals Henry's lifelong struggle with addiction, his 'business' relationships that have ranged from mob bosses to movie producers and how, through everything, he survived: ' Its been a hell of a journey, and if I hadn't lived it myself, I would never believe it. I survived the mob. I survived the government, now I'm trying to survive Hollywood.

"Humiliated at the Bay of Pigs, John and Robert Kennedy sought desperately to eliminate Castro. Their strategies for overthrowing the Cuban leader were so elaborate and bizarre, they could only engender paranoia. Castro openly threatened to retaliate.Pro-Castro agitator Lee Harvey Oswald learned that Robert Kennedy was personally supervising groups plotting against the Cuban leader. Filled with rage and a sense of destiny, Oswald went to the Cuban embassy in Mexico, announcing he would kill America’s president in exchange for sanctuary in Havana. Live By the Sword forces the conclusion that members of the Cuban regime accepted the troubled American’s offer. Russo shows that Oswald was indeed JFK’s lone assailant, but that after the president’s murder, a devastated Robert Kennedy and key officials launched a comprehensive coverup to hide its true causes.Gus Russo, based in Baltimore, Maryland, has reported for acclaimed ABC and PBS documentaries on JFK, and done research for authors Gerald Posner, Seymour Hersh, and Anthony Summers. Exhaustively researched, Live by the Sword ends 35 years of public mistrust and confusion over the Kennedy assassination."