12th and McGraw by Forrest Haskell
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(Paperback)
- Pub. Date: June 2004
- 273pp
- Sales Rank: 750,476
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Product Details
- Pub. Date: June 2004
- Publisher: Top Publications, Ltd.
- Format: Paperback, 273pp
- Sales Rank: 750,476
- ISBN-13: 9781929976294
- ISBN: 1929976291
Synopsis
12th & McGraw is the story of Forrest Haskell, Jr. and his coming of age immersed in the Detroit rackets in the1940's. His father, Forrest Haskell, Sr., having been born into near poverty and abused as a child, had acquired a tremendous thirst for wealth. In his quest for riches he operated many different types of businesses, some legal and others not. From a young age Forrest, Jr. worked along side his father and struggled with the corruption, violence, and evil that surrounded him. During these years he encountered many strange and unique characters who had been hired to help run the racketeering and other business operations.
His greatest challenge was dealing with the fallout from his father's double life. For over 50 years Forrest Sr. alternated each night between two separate families. This led to a lifelong identity crisis for young Forrest that haunts him even today. 12th & McGraw chronicles incidents of gun play, a secret language, and a custom-made automobile that was used as a rolling bank. It reveals, in detail, each of the racketeering businesses including the "Blind Pigs," bookmaking, numbers operations, loan sharking, and influence peddling that were commonplace in Detroit and all across the country during that era.
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12th and McGrawby Anonymous
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November 01, 2004: 12th & McGraw is a book that once started must be finished quickly...it is too exciting to put down. The vivid account of growing up under the tutelage of a less than exemplary father and surviving the dangers of illegal activities makes for exciting reading. Knowing the story is true makes it absolutely compelling. I look forward to another Forrest Haskell story. His first effort was a really good one!
12th and McGrawby Anonymous
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August 03, 2004: 12th and McGraw is a compelling ?boy meets underworld? memoir set within the organized crime network of post World War II era Detroit. Using the city as both backdrop and metaphor, author Forrest Haskell, Jr. invites his readers to navigate the dangerous waters of his search for his own identity and legitimacy ? a journey almost as perilous as the illegal midnight whiskey runs he took with his father on the Detroit River as a boy. Haskell brings the city and its inhabitants to life in the kind of stark detail that can only come from a firsthand witness (history and geography lessons never taught in Detroit schools abound!); but at its core, the book lays bare the complicated relationship between father and son. He wisely manages to steer clear of 'Daddy Dearest' territory, though, by tempering his honesty with humor and grace. His genuine love for his powerful, troubled father is evident, even in the midst of his frank acknowledgement of the personal and family pain caused by the elder Haskell's decisions. His own triumphs in the face of that adversity make his book a haunting coming of age story and a cautionary tale of consequence and redemption.
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