Welcome to the Jungle Inn: The Story of the Mafia's Most Infamous Gambling Den

I grew up in Warren and was relatively aware of things. I remember hearing periodic stories from my dad about how "wide open" Trumbull County was back in the 30s and 40s, how there was dog-racing and slots somewhere in the county, and how "cleaning up Trumbull County" was the major issue in a state gubernatorial election (when Gov. Lausche was elected). He pointed out a house on southern Tod Ave. where "some gangster used to live" now and then. Then of course as a current event there was the murder of Mike Farah in his front yard, just a block from my grandmother's house. And later, all the restaurant fires on the strip, the murder of our former neighbor Chuck Grisham, etc. So I knew the mob was around.But I had no idea of the scope and duration of mob activity in Warren and Trumbull County. This book is outstanding. It starts with bootlegger James Mancini ("Jimmy Munsene"), the mobster who lived in the house on South Tod my dad always pointed out and describes his nationally-reknowned nightclub, his trials where Clarence Darrow was his defense attorney, his dog-racing track at Milton Dam, and his sensational end. It largely focuses on the 30s, 40s, and 50s and perhaps most on the Farah brothers who ran "the rackets" in Warren for most of these years.I'd never heard of the Jungle Inn and that part of the book itself is worth the price. But the story is much broader than just that one club. Great book.

The Jungle Inn was around for a long time. The main characters who owned/worked at/played at the Jungle Inn didn't change much over time, although they attempted to appear to change. The book covers the inception, life, and death of the Jungle Inn and touches on some of the multiple players of the Warren area who come and go. The stories of this area are written in context, but the grammatical and spelling errors reduce the impact that it may have on an organization that was prevalent during the 1900's. Also, there was way too much he said/she said. Every step the police or sheriff took during a bust or arrest is overkill for a definitive story. Court transcripts were way overboard. Although I liked the book and gained some knowledge of the time/place, it didn't rank high on my list of pure reading enjoyment.

If you like reading about the exploits of the Mob and its various "establishments, this one is for you. The Jungle Inn was a hub of Mob activity which danced around in my memory from childhood. We passed it in the car every time we went to my grandparents house. The building and its rusting sign still existed when my son was a young child. So as any child who grows up in a Mob town (former or present) he always had questions about what he had heard. Since it is very difficult for me to separate the fact from the fiction (I am not a Mob influence student) I bought this to help him fill in the blanks!

Good history and back story for those of us who have lived in the Youngstown area.

A lot of information here, There is even a chapter on the Jungle Inn. I did find what I was looking for. May did a great deal of research. I only gave it 4 stars because it kind of droned on for me. However, if it had not contained so much information, I may not have found what I was looking for.

Grew up not far from the casino so was interested to read about its history. During the summer many an evening we could hear the music and laughter. It echoed across the golf course near the casino. As a child always wondered what went on over there!As I got older, I learned a lot but by then it was closed down. Interesting history of the place.

I am only half way through the book and finding out so much information I did not know. I really want to learn all I can know about the Jungle Inn.

It was a good book, but the editing was very bad. Also, chronologically it jumped around a lot. The Jungle Inn was closed very early in the book, and more could have been written about that as it was the title of the book.