🎯 Where Should I Start?
ⓘ About Hank Messick
Hank Messick was an American author and investigative journalist who was best known for his spectacular biography of Meyer Lansky and the combination of historical fiction with crime mysteries. Messick was an expert in organized crime and his later novels would continue in the same vein as his journalistic writing. He was born in Happy Valley North Carolina in 1922 and went to the University of Iowa, from where he graduated with a master’s degree. After graduating from college, he went on to work as a professor at Colorado A & M College where he taught journalism for a time. He then got a job at the Waynesville Mountaineer, a weekly where he worked as a reporter. From there, he would work for several newspapers in the state before he changed direction.
All Book Series by Hank Messick
Syndicate Wife: The Story Of Ann Drahmann Coppola
Series opener · book 1 of 14 · published 1968
The Mobs and the Mafia: The Illustrated History of Organized Crime
Book 4 of 14 · published 1972
The Beauties and the Beasts: The Mob in Show Business
Book 5 of 14 · published 1973
Gangs and Gangsters. The Illustrated History of Gangs from Jesse James to Murph the Surf
Book 6 of 14 · published 1974
King's Mountain: The epic of the Blue Ridge "mountain men" in the American Revolution
Book 9 of 14 · published 1976
The Only Game in Town: An Illustrated History of Gambling
Book 10 of 14 · published 1976
The Politics of Prosecution: Jim Thompson, Marje Everett, Richard Nixon & the Trial of Otto Kerner
Book 11 of 14 · published 1978
? Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Hank Messick?
Hank Messick was an American author and investigative journalist who was best known for his spectacular biography of Meyer Lansky and the combination of historical fiction with crime mysteries. Messick was an expert in organized crime and his later novels would continue in the same vein as his journalistic writing. He was born in Happy Valley North Carolina in 1922 and went to the University of Iowa, from where he graduated with a master’s degree.
Which Hank Messick series should I start with?
Hank Messick's books stand alone rather than forming a numbered series, so there is no reading order to follow. The natural first pick is Syndicate Wife: The Story Of Ann Drahmann Coppola (1968).
How many books has Hank Messick written?
Hank Messick has 14 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1968 and 1995. They all sit in a single category — Non-Fiction — rather than in numbered series.
In what order should Hank Messick's series be read?
No reading order is needed: none of the 14 books catalogued here do not form a numbered series, so any title can be picked up first. Within each category they are listed by publication year.
How are Hank Messick's books organised into series?
This guide splits Hank Messick's 14 books into categories rather than numbered series: Non-Fiction (14 books).