Harlem Godfather, Mayme Hatcher Johnson
Harlem Godfather, Mayme Hatcher Johnson
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List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
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Harlem Godfather
The Rap on My Husband, Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson

Author: Mayme Hatcher Johnson, Karen E. Quinones Miller

Narrator: Patricia R. Floyd

Unabridged: 7 hr 48 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 09/28/2021


Synopsis

The first and only full biography on legendary Harlem gangster Bumpy Johnson, who was depicted in the movies Cotton Club, Hoodlum and American Gangster

Al Capone may have ruled Chicago. Lucky Luciano may have run most of New York City. But from the 1930s to the late 1960s, when it came to Harlem, the undisputed king of the underworld was Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson.

Bumpy was a man whose contradictions are still the root of many an argument in Harlem. But there is one thing on which both his supporters and detractors agree: In his lifetime, Bumpy was the man in Harlem.

Harlem Godfather: The Rap on My Husband, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson is the first complete biography of a man who for years was Harlem's best kept, and most cherished, secret.

There is also a full chapter on Madame Stephanie St. Clair, the infamous Harlem numbers banker who instigated the famous fight with Jewish mobster Dutch Schultz.

The book is written by Bumpy's widow, Mayme Johnson, and details not only his criminal life but also his personal life.

This book also details Bumpy's relationship with Harlem dope dealer Frank Lucas, who has called himself Bumpy's right-hand man but was—according to Mrs. Johnson—little more than a flunky.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Ian on December 01, 2021

Vivid memoir of Ellsworth ‘Bumpy’ Johnson, Harlem street legend and husband of co-author, Mayme Johnson. The book paints a compelling and authentic picture of the man and the world of Harlem he operated in and dominated skewering and correcting many of the mistruths and fabrications in Hollywood fil......more

Goodreads review by Nandi on March 10, 2008

Mayme Hatcher Johnson is the 94 year old widow of famed Harlem Gangster Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson, who was portrayed in the movies "Hoodlum" starring Laurence Fishburne, and most recently "American Gangster" starring Denzel Washington. It is only now when Frank Lucas was promoting American Gangster......more

Goodreads review by Sunny on August 21, 2024

Loved getting to “know” these famous and infamous people. Society tends to celebrate and remember the old gangsters who weren’t black. If we’re gonna do some remembering, let us bring them all out in the sunlight and share their stories. The book was narrated in a very close and accessible way, alm......more

Goodreads review by Brian on August 17, 2023

I almost DNF because the 1st chapter was mostly about the author (Bumpy's wife), who gave me a bad impression. She strikes me as a gold digger who thinks her stuff dont stink. She is really full of herself, and it really turned me off from the book. Fortunately, the rest of the book is about Bumpy a......more

Goodreads review by Steven on March 16, 2023

A FRANK AND REVEALING PORTRAIT OF ‘BUMPY’ JOHNSON Mayme Johnson wrote in the first chapter of this 2008 book, “It wasn’t unusual for a gunshot victim to be wheeled into the operating room… But this was no usual gunshot victim. This was my husband, Ellsworth ‘Bumpy’ Johnson. The man who, according to......more