''Easy Street: The True Story of a Mob Family'' (1981) is the first
memoir
A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobio ...
of
Susan Berman
Susan Jane Berman (May 18, 1945 – December 23, 2000) was an American journalist and author. The daughter of mobster David Berman, she wrote about her late-in-life realization of her father's role in organized crime.
In 2000, Berman was f ...
,
daughter
A daughter is a female offspring; a girl or a woman in relation to her parents. Daughterhood is the state of being someone's daughter. The male counterpart is a son. Analogously the name is used in several areas to show relations between ...
of
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...
mobster
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix ''-ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and r ...
David Berman. In it, Berman chronicles her mother Gladys's and her own obliviousness to what went on around them. When they finally became aware of their
Mafia
"Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of ...
family, Berman's mother ended up dying in a
mental institution
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...
and Susan endured a lot of
psychotherapy.
''Easy Street'' received critical acclaim and was optioned for a movie, but the film was never made.
Berman wrote a second non-fiction book, part memoir and part history, titled ''
Lady Las Vegas
The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Inform ...
: The Inside Story Behind America's Neon Oasis''.
Berman was murdered at her home by her close friend
Robert Durst, and her body discovered on Christmas Eve day 2000.
Further reading
''
Murder of a Mafia Daughter'' by crime writer
Cathy Scott
Cathleen "Cathy" Scott (born c. 1950) is a ''Los Angeles Times'' bestselling American true crime writer and investigative journalist who penned the biographies and true crime books '' The Killing of Tupac Shakur'' and '' The Murder of Biggie Sma ...
(Barricade Books, 2002)
References
External links
''Easy Street'' on AmazonNYMag Article: Who Killed the Gangster's Daughter?
{{DEFAULTSORT:Easy Street
1981 non-fiction books
American memoirs
Non-fiction books about organized crime
Organized crime memoirs
Dial Press books