Books like The Boys in Chicago Heights by Matthew J. Luzi

Unveiling the Shadows of Organized Crime: The Life of Clyde Smaldone

Former Boston gangster narrates his partnership with FBI informant James "Whitey" Bulger, the ensuing murders, false accusations, and ultimate cooperation with the authorities, revealing the brutal truth of organized crime in South Boston.

Investigative journalist Phoebe Eaton separates man from myth, journeying past cartel checkpoints up to El Chapo’s remote hometown hideout in the Sierra Madre. She meets Chapo's family and reveals the surprising telenovela details of his childhood, discovering exactly how this third-grade dropout, Mexico’s most controversial narcotrafficker, rappelled his way from the rock pile that is La Tuna, Sinaloa, onto Forbes magazine's big-time billionaire list, governing a $14-billion empire even as he was on the lam, living in simple pine shacks with plastic folding chairs where the phone service went down if it was raining. She discovers the Pentecostal faith his mother (and he) credit with keeping him alive all these years and helping him escape jail and the authorities numerous times, the gift his mother and sisters (and perhaps even he) have of speaking in tongues. Including many never-seen-before color pictures from Chapo's haunts in La Tuna in Badiraguato, the surprising seat of his empire, and also rare material from his 12-week Brooklyn court trial where he was convicted on ten felony counts before shipping off to a life term in Colorado's Supermax prison.

Fourteen‑year‑old Shem endures six months alone in Michigan’s wilderness, guided by a dying Ottawa Indian woman who teaches him survival and self‑discovery, preparing him to face life as a cripple in a frontier village.