Grace: Her Lives - Her Loves (67 page)
At the height of his notoriety, Meyer Lansky was reckoned to be, and was targeted by the U.S. Justice Department as, the biggest gangster in the United States — a dangerous lawbreaker of extraordinary power. He was identified as the Mafia’s banker, the boss of the National Crime Syndicate, the head of the Combination — the Chairman of the Board.
All these job descriptions were symbolic, attempts from the outside to interpret the strange and secretive subculture that Meyer Lansky inhabited. He experienced his own criminal career in one fashion. Trying to make sense of it, the world experienced it in another. So this book is one gangster’s story. But its purpose is also to examine the myths, the legends — and, sometimes, the sheer fantasy — that America has woven around the reality of the gangster life.
About the Author
R
obert Lacey is a British historian noted for his original research, which gets him close to - and often living alongside - his subjects. He is the author of numerous international bestsellers.
After writing his first works of historical biography, Robert wrote
Majesty
, his pioneering biography of Queen Elizabeth II. Published in 1977,
Majesty
remains acknowledged as the definitive study of British monarchy - a subject on which Robert continues to write and lecture around the world, appearing regularly on ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’’. In 2002, the Golden Jubilee Year of Queen Elizabeth II, he published
Royal
(
Monarch
in America), which was hailed by Andrew Roberts in London’s Sunday Telegraph as ‘compulsively readable’, and by Martin Amis in The New Yorker as ‘definitive’. In 2012 Robert brought readers up to date with
A Brief Life Of The Queen
, a slim volume successfully intended to stand out for its brevity at the time of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
The Kingdom
, a study of Saudi Arabia published in 1981, is similarly acknowledged as required reading for businessmen, diplomats and students all over the world. To research
The Kingdom
, Robert took his family to live for eighteen months beside the Red Sea in Jeddah. Going out into the desert, this was when Robert earned his title as the ‘method actor’ of contemporary biographers. In the aftermath of 9/11, Robert returned to Saudi Arabia to research the Islamic Awakening there for a new book
Inside The Kingdom
. Much acclaimed for its balanced insights and fluency, this 2009 publication was an account of Saudi life and history from 1979 to 2009, told through the personal experience and memories of Saudis.
Following the many & varied bestsellers, Robert returned to his first love, history, with his trilogy,
Great Tales from English History
- the first narrative history of England (and to some extent Britain) written in and for the 21st century.
Robert is presently writing
Model Woman: Eileen Ford and the Making of American Beauty
.
You can find more information about Robert and his books at:
http://
www.robertlacey.com
Publishing information
PUBLISHED BY APOSTROPHE BOOKS LTD
www.apostrophebooks.com
ISBN: 9781910167441
First published in hardback by G P Putnam’s Sons (New York) and Sidgwick & Jackson (UK) 1994.
Paperback and digital editions produced by Apostrophe Books Ltd (2014).
Copyright © Robert Lacey 1994 and 2014.
Robert Lacey has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or
otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
Apostrophe Books Ltd Reg. No. 7612239.
Cover image:
Princess Grace Arriving in Paris
, photograph by José Berrueta.
Monaco Wedding of 1956:
© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS.
Scene from To Catch a Thief:
© John Springer Collection/CORBIS.
All reproduced with permission from Corbis Images.
All other photographs reproduced with kind permission of British Pathé.
Embedded video: Princess Grace, Patricia Kelly and Prince Rainier III of Monaco visit Brussels World’s Fair - MGM PICTURES, UNIVERSAL-INTERNATIONAL NEWSREEL, USA.© Film Chest Media Group, reproduced with permission.
Cover design by Jamie Downham.
Table of Contents
AUTHOR’S NOTE
AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The feature films of Grace Kelly
Books and articles about Grace Kelly