Original Gangster: The Real Life Story of One of America’s Most Notorious Drug Lords
About this audiobook
In his own words, real-life American gangster Frank Lucas recounts his life as the former heroin dealer and organized crime boss who ran Harlem during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Determined to break the Italian Mafia's monopoly over drug smuggling in New York, Frank cut out middlemen and began smuggling heroin into the United States directly from his source in Vietnam using the coffins of dead American soldiers. Making a million dollars per day from his "Blue Magic," the purest heroin on the street, Frank Lucas became one of the most powerful crime lords of his time, while rubbing shoulders with the elite in entertainment, politics, and crime. This powerful memoir reveals what really happened to the man whose rise and fall was dramatized in the 2007 feature filmAmerican Gangster, exposing a startling look at the world of organized crime.
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About the author
Frank Lucas’ organized crime career was the focus of the 2007 film American Gangster.
Aliya S. King is the coauthor of the New York Times bestseller Keep the Faith. She has held editorial positions with Billboard and the Source, and her articles have appeared in Essence, Ms., Vibe, Vibe Vixen, Uptown, CMJ: New Music Monthly, Teen People, Black Enterprise, and many others. She is currently a senior writer for Giant magazine and a contributing editor for Upscale magazine.
Cary Hite has performed in several theaters across the country as a cast member in the longest-running African American play in history, The Diary of Black Men. He also appeared in Edward II, Fences, Macbeth, Good Boys, Side Effects May Vary, and the indie feature The City Is Mine. He has voiced several projects for AudibleKids, including Souls Look Back in Wonder, From Slave Ship to Freedom Road, and Papa, Do You Love Me?
