“wide-ranging . . . spry . . . entertaining”
— Kirkus Reviews

“encyclopedic. . . N.Y.C. history buffs should take note.”
— Publishers Weekly

“If you’re interested in the mobsters, grifters, showgirls, corrupt cops, and crooked judges of New York in the 1920s (and it’s hard not to be), Gangsterland is for you. David Pietrusza’s tour of the bars and nightclubs, the floating crap games and bucket shops, the whorehouses and the courtrooms, brings the era’s underworld into vivid light. You can tell that Pietrusza had a blast writing it!”
— Daniel Okrent, author of Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition 

“David Pietrusza brings history alive like very few authors can. Weaving journalistic accounts together with meticulous research and lively prose, Pietrusza makes it feel as though you’re on a tour right through the heart of Jazz Age Manhattan. I plan to take Gangsterland with me next time I’m in Midtown and follow in David’s footsteps, reading each story as I go and imagining the scene from a century ago.”
― Kevin Balfe,  Founder, CrimeCon: The World’s No. 1 True Crime Event

“David Pietrusza is a national treasure. Few historians can match his one-two punch of gorgeous prose and deep insight. This combo delivers the kind of haymaker that would have made Jack Dempsey proud. Gangsterland is a true crime heavyweight champ, filled with stories of New York’s seedy past and must reading for anyone interested in the murder and mayhem of the Roaring Twenties–and who isn’t?”
― Bob Batchelor, cultural historian, author of The Bourbon King: The Life and Crimes of George Remus, Prohibition’s Evil Genius 

“When David Pietrusza walks down the sidewalks of New York, he doesn’t see modern skyscrapers and Starbucks coffee shops. Reading Gangsterland you will see what he sees: hideouts, speakeasies, murder sites, and theater stages where the mistresses of both mob bosses and the city’s good-time mayor trod the boards. His book gives a literary tour of New York when the Twenties were roaring and reminds us that a single building can have many lives. Fascinating and fun!”
― Kathryn Smith, author of  Baptists & Bootleggers: A Prohibition Expedition Through the South…with Cocktail Recipes