Best known for his searing portrait of the Hell's Kitchen Irish gang The Westies, author T.J. English has now turned his attention to the broader story of Irish-American organized crime in "Paddy Whacked: The Untold Story of the Irish American Gangster." English goes all the way back to early 19th Century New York where the seeds of organized crime were watered by desperation and political corruption. Along the way we meet a rogue's gallery of charmers and killers from New York, Kansas City and elsewhere. There's Owney Madden, "Mad Dog" Coll and "Bugs" Moran, not to mention the FBI's most wanted man, South Boston's Whitey Bulger. English's sections on The Westies, not surprisingly, are outstanding. English fills a much-need hole in the publishing world by finally exploring the full history of Irish gangsters. ($27.95 / 480 pages /Regan Books)