THE BROTHERS BULGER How They Terrorized and Corrupted Boston for a Quarter Century

There's some intriguing history in this well-researched book and some transcendent lessons, like the synergy Carr notes between school desegregation busing of the 1970s and the ability of Mobsters to increase their reign. And there's the usual Irish and Italian Mafia goings-on to marvel at in disgust: adultery, alcoholism, bigotry, corruption, drugs, decapitations, fraud, homosexuality, money, murder, and sex. However, there's a problem with this production. It's like having Tom Brokaw reading the Sunday newspaper to you with a cold. Michael Prichard is flat and nasally throughout, a quality that takes some getting used to. But he's got the "ums" and "ers" of natural conversation down pat. D.J.M. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/ SEP 06]