t3003 In February 1962, a barbershop in Harlem became the setting for a quiet and devastating form of justice. Twenty men were present. None of them ever spoke about what they saw. The shop belonged to Charlie, a barber who had spent 62 years cutting hair in the neighborhood. On a Tuesday afternoon, the chairs were … Read more
On the night of July 8, 1961, a red Corvette sped down Lenox Avenue in Harlem and slammed into the back of a Cadillac stopped at a red light at 125th Street. The crash was loud, metal on metal. The rear of the Cadillac crumpled. The Cadillac belonged to Bumpy Johnson, the Harlem underworld figure … Read more
La prima volta che vidi Darius Burke fu un lunedì sera di ottobre, fuori dal centro comunitario di Millbrook. Eravamo a metà del servizio di volontariato, quello che avevo iniziato dopo la morte di Evelyn per riempire le serate vuote, e lui era lì, alla guida della sua Toyota Camry color argento, con un sorriso … Read more
Risposi alla seconda squillo. Avevo sempre risposto alla seconda squillo quando chiamava quel numero, perché avevo passato diciotto anni a prepararmi: se un giorno avesse squillato, non avrei lasciato che cadesse in segreteria. Mai più. Non una seconda volta. Lo schermo si illuminò nel buio della stanza, vidi il numero e il cuore smise di … Read more
Il ginocchio di mia moglie premette contro la portiera mentre la macchina sbandava leggermente sull’asfalto bagnato. La pioggia batteva contro il parabrezza in raffiche irregolari, e i fari delle auto in senso opposto disegnavano ombre lunghe sul cruscotto. Erano le 3:22 del mattino e non avrei dovuto essere al volante. Ma non era quello il … Read more
In February 1950, a low-level mobster named Vincent Romano walked into the Seavoy Ballroom in Harlem and insulted the wife of Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson in front of a crowd of killers. Three days later, his body was pulled from the East River. No one was ever charged. No one ever would be. The story begins … Read more
The Château de Candé sits in a quiet patch of the French Loire, surrounded by woodland and the silence of old money. On June 3, 1937, the gravel drive carried one motor car after another, but the audience was small. Sixteen guests had been invited. A handful of journalists waited at the gates, kept far … Read more
Anthony Armstrong-Jones arrived on March 7, 1930, into a marriage that was already failing. His father, Major Ronald Armstrong-Jones, was a successful Welsh barrister described by biographers as having a highly sexed personality. His mother, Anne Messel, was a glittering London society beauty who appeared in the gossip columns. The marriage lasted five years. By … Read more
On July 16, 1999, at 8:38 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, a Piper PA-32R-301 Saratoga II received FAA clearance for takeoff from Essex County Airport in Fairfield, New Jersey. The pilot was John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr., 38 years old. He held a private pilot certificate and had logged 310 hours of total flight experience. He was … Read more
When Lyndon Baines Johnson died of a heart attack at his Texas ranch on January 22, 1973, the American public watched a carefully orchestrated display of national mourning. Flags flew at half-mast, foreign dignitaries filled Washington National Cathedral, and military escorts carried the casket back to the family cemetery in Stonewall, Texas. The eulogies painted … Read more