Don't Talk About Joe Mac

Springs Toledo was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts and is the author of six books, including Murderers' Row. His literary nonfiction has been featured on NPR's Here & Now, recognized in The Best American Essays (2019, 2020, 2022, 2023), and published in Ploughshares, City Journal, Salon, and several other magazines and journals.

• Prologue: August 9, 1997 Part I: The Descent Chapter 1: August 9, 1942 Chapter 2: Dear Ma Chapter 3: Joe Noir Chapter 4: A Pillow of Stone Chapter 5: The Box Part II: The Gangland War, 1961–1966 Chapter 6: “The Go-to Place for Summer Fun” Chapter 7: “Boston Was Overrun With Sick Bastards” Chapter 8: “Wait for the Splash!” Chapter 9: “Buddy Was My Best Friend”Part III: 1966–1973 Chapter 10: Walpole-28333 Chapter 11: The Friends of Kathy Murphy Chapter 12: Crimson and Clover Chapter 13: Blue Sunday Chapter 14: The Man Who Wouldn’t Die Chapter 15: Chandler’s Chapter 16: Howie Winter’s Mistake Chapter 17: Blurred LinesPart IV: 1973–1975 Chapter 18: Behind Closed Doors Chapter 19: What Happened to John Leary Chapter 20: Whitey and the Hit Squad: the Real Story Part V: 1975–1983 Chapter 21: Jim Sims Chapter 22: The Murder of Raymond Lundgren, and Then Some Chapter 23: Two Fugitives in Florida Chapter 24: Truth, Lies, and World Jai Alai Chapter 25: “Because I’m Queer”Chapter 26: Whitey Bulger v Joe Mac Part VI: 1987–1997Chapter 27: Pandemonium Day Chapter 28: The Disappearance of Jim Sims Chapter 29: Quincy Chapter 30: 41 Epilogue: Jackie, TodayAcknowledgmentsBibliographyIndexAbout the Author

Joe Mac is a stirring, lyrical work of nonfiction, written with as much empathy as the best fiction