Mobdaughter: New book by Karen Gravano

Mob Wives Star Karen Gravano: "Being a Gangster Was Like Being Brad Pitt in Hollywood"

By Becky Bartkowski

Apr. 13 2012

When mob heiress Karen Gravano was in her late teens, her father Salvatore "Sammy The Bull" Gravano, who was second in command in the Gambino crime family, became an FBI informant and fed juicy bits of mafia info to hungry agents that eventually took down boss John Gotti.
And apart from Gravano's own brushes with the law (including involvement in her dad's Arizona ecstasy ring, for which he's now serving time in Colorado and Karen was put on probation), that scandal is what has defined her. And much like her father gave up mob secrets, Gravano gives up her own in her new memoir Mob Daughter.
Not that Gravano is a stranger to putting the spotlight on her family and its history.
Quite the contrary: Gravano is currently starring in the second season of Vh1's Mob Wives, a "Family"-friendly reality program that seems destined for a third season. In the vein of other spousal shows like Bravo's Real Housewives franchise and Vh1's Arizona-based Baseball Wives, the show features women with varying ties to organized crime including Renee Graziano, whose father is consigliere for the Bonanno family, and spinoff-worthy Angela "Big Ang" Raiola, a Staten Island bar owner whose late uncle was a high-ranking member of the Genovese family.
Gravano, who splits her time between New York and Arizona, talked with us about reality TV, her book, which she'll sign at Barnes & Noble on Satuday, April 14, and her relationship with her incarcerated father.

Read the rest of the interview here: http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/jackalope/2012/04/mob_wives_karen_gravano_sammy_the_bull.php

May 2012

New Book Chronicles the Remarkable Story of a Rogue Mobster and the New England Mafia

When the infamous gangster Whitey Bulger went on the lam in 1995, the streets of Boston became a war zone between the Mafia and the renegades, with the Winter Hill Gang looking on. Co-written by Mark Silverman with Scott Deitche, Rogue Mobster: The Untold Story of Mark Silverman and the New England Mafia chronicles the inside story of the Boston mob wars of the 1990’s when over two dozen gangsters were killed in a vicious war for control of the Boston underworld. Rogue Mobster is told in the words of Mark Silverman, an outsider from Medford who got inside the mob and became an integral part of the ensuing war. His account is the first-ever inside glimpse into what went on at the street level, why people were killed, and what the stakes were.

Rogue Mobster: The Untold Story of Mark Silverman and the New England Mafia is available on StrategicMediabooks.com, Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and bookstores near you.

Normally, we only deal with true crime on Mob Speak. However, our friends at Strategic Media Books offer real insight into the Arab-Israeli conflict by foreign affairs commentator and award-winning journalist, David Aikman. Many would call the Middle East saga a monumental crime of historic proportions. Read on...

Former TIME Magazine Correspondent Pens Timely Thriller About the Middle East

David Aikman’s Kidnapped in Gaza is a fast-paced, action-filled thriller about an American journalist, Richard Ireton, kidnapped while on assignment in Gaza. He is under threat of execution but may be rescued just in time by Israeli Special Forces who have identified where he is being held through a GPS tracking device installed in his belt.

There is a strong undertone of romance in the novel because Ireton meets a beautiful female Israeli intelligence officer who is drawn to Ireton and wants to help him get to the bottom of the story he is investigating. Ireton is in a dilemma because his long-time girlfriend, a beautiful Filipina, happens also to be visiting Israel as a tourist when the kidnapping takes place.

The story draws on author David Aikman’s long experience as a foreign correspondent (especially in Jerusalem) and his first-hand knowledge of Israel, Gaza and the Middle East tensions in general. Enthralling, drenched with both intrigue and an understated romantic backdrop, Kidnapped in Gaza is sure to keep you turning the pages until the very final moment.

David Aikman is an award-winning print and broadcast journalist, a best-selling author, and a foreign affairs commentator based in the Washington, D.C.-area. His wide-ranging professional achievements include a 23-year career at TIME Magazine with reporting spanning the globe of nearly all the major historical events of the time. Since leaving TIME, he has authored ten books, including The Mirage of Peace: Understanding the Never-Ending Conflict in the Middle East (Regal 20009).

“Riveting. packed-full of jaw-dropping action and spellbinding information. Award-winning author David Aikman really knows the Middle East and takes you behind-the-scenes.   A magnificent tour de force for readers of all backgrounds and ages.”   Donna Rosenthal, author of The Israelis.

“Aikman knows the Arab-Israeli conflict and how to spin a yarn. The result is a page-turner that educates. How can one do better than that?”  Daniel Pipes, Director, Center for Middle East Studies.

"Few could be better positioned than David Aikman to write so sensitively, honestly and courageously about life in the Middle East... A riveting tale from a fascinating mind!"  Rev. Dr. Robert Stearns, Executive Director, Eagles' Wings NY.

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For more details about David Aikman and excerpts from his other works
please go to the website kidnappedingaza.com
For further information about the publisher: strategicmediabooks.com
For interviews or to request copy of the book e-mail:
strategicmediabooks@gmail.com or phone: 803-366-5440