Frank Sheeran's Story: I Heard You Paint Houses - Uncovering the Mafia, Teamsters, and the Final Days of Jimmy Hoffa

The chosen one: It is the best book I have ever read

United Kingdom on Oct 10, 2023

Gaslight1944: Charles Brandt did an incredible job researching and interviewing for this book. I heard about this book while watching the Irishman documentary and was curious if it matched the movie. It goes way beyond what the movie shows. The book illustrates the connectedness to each of the mob families. It’s hard to believe these people even existed. As for Jimmy Hoffa, this book makes plausible sense as to what happened. If you want a page turner, this is it!

United States on Aug 27, 2023

Carolina: This book is the basis for "The Irishman" and does a much better job of filling in the storyline. I liked the movie, but only because I had read the book first, and wished the film had followed it better. Am sure Scorsese wanted to showcase the stars, and they did a great job, but the storyline was pretty hard to follow. The book fills in all the empty spots.

United States on Aug 03, 2023

Amazon Customer: He thought there would be info in here he didnt already know, he was wrong

United Kingdom on Jun 25, 2023

Derek: A lot more information than the movie.

Canada on Jun 10, 2023

Pedro Melo: A testament to patience and persistence in investigative journalism. I Heard You Paint Houses (a much better title than The Irishman, by the way) is a great journalistic endeavor spanning through decades, and one that gives us the fabric for the last great gangster movie. With his obsessive quest to figure out the complicated relationship between Frank Sheeran and Jimmy Hoffa, Charles Brandt's trained mind gives us insight of the last death throes of the mafia's 'golden era' if you so wish by someone who was there to witness it (although Sheeran is very careful in admitting so). This is not a book that reads like a novel, so don't expect a Scorcese script. This is a historical and factual investigation which will give a lot more insight into the mind of Frank Sheeran and his alleged involvement in Hoffa's disappearance that can, and should, be appreciated by its own merits.

Germany on Aug 13, 2020

A. Customer: "I heard you paint houses" is the first thing that Jimmy Hoffa says to Frank (the Irishman) Sheeran after being introduced by Russell (McGee) Bufalino, the boss of a mafia family in Pennsylvania,New York state,New Jersey and Florida (rather than one of the more notorious 5 families in New York City) and this is the essence of the book. Although it is sort of a 'death bed confession' from Frank Sheeran about his life to Brandt, it becomes more tied in to Hoffa's disappearance and activities with regards to the Teamsters union and their links to organised crime (Russell Bufalino) in the US at that time.
Frank Sheeran's story is very interesting. He was brought up through a very tough period during the Depression, became an infantry rifleman in the Second World War with the 45th Infantry Division, where he saw 411 days of active combat before coming back to the US and working in logistics (trucking & deliveries) running a few scams here and there to earn some extra money when he has a chance meeting with Russell Bufalino one day when his truck breaks down. One thing leads to another resulting in Sheeran murdering another gangster which in turn results in Bufalino introducing...

United Kingdom on Dec 20, 2019

Jeff SchillerJeff Schiller: My review contains spoilers about this non-fiction title. BEWARE.

I read this book for two reasons: The first is because I'm always drawn to mafia-related tales, especially true ones, and secondly, since Martin Scorsese is turning it into a Netflix film with Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Al Pacino all starring in the three main roles.

The story of Frank Sheeran is an interesting, dark, and sometimes brutal thing. This man killed everything from Nazis to gangsters, and in large quantities. The book starts with a riveting chapter that sets Frank up the night before Jimmy Hoffa is killed. It had me thinking that Frank knew who did it, but had nothing to do with the actual murder, and boy was I wrong.

The book cuts away from Hoffa's murder, and takes us into Frank's childhood, and then into his 411 days of combat service during World War II. The days Frank learned how to carry out the order to murder without hesitation, and the days where Frank learned how to outlive everyone around him. I found Frank's tour of duty to be some of the most thought-provoking stuff, but I can understand why it was hard for him to discuss, especially since he was in combat for longer...

United States on Sep 01, 2018

HAROLD J. REYNOLDS: If you think your work is killing you, what would you think if killing was your work? Nothing, if you were Frank Sheeran and had sent 25 to 30 men "to Australia".

I Heard You Paint Houses is a taped narration by 83-year-old Frank Sheeran of his life as a hit man, thief, thug, bagman, and corrupt Teamster official, to all of which he had taken like a fish to water. Against daunting evidence of his having a conscience, he asks from his grave that we believe his narrative. Still, one warms to him, a 6 foot 4 good-looking "stand up" guy known as "The Irishman", who looks like a crooked, friendly cop on the take, likable for his rough candour, boozing, and ball room dancing, noted for his cold eyed stare above a half smile look, and his stammer under stress. Hearing him in one's mind is like listening to the voice heard in darkness by a priest in a confessional box, the face of the speaker unseen. The irony that Sheeran is speaking in an assisted living facility does not escape you. Sheeran, an aged, much-used assassin, optimistically speaks of a "shot" at heaven by confessing to a priest who will grant him absolution. If Sheeran can make it, the whole neighborhood can make it....

United States on Jul 07, 2006