On this day‬ in 1934 the former investigative reporter for the New York Times, Selwyn Raab was born in Manhattan’s Lower-East side. Raab has written extensively about the American Mafia, as well as appearing on several TV programs and interviews.

What us Mafia buffs may now him best for is the 2005 bestseller, Five Families (which we have both read, and listened to the audiobook!). Over the last 20 years Selwyn has been a consultant on organized crime for TV documentaries, primarily on the History and Biography channels. He was involved as a consultant for the 6-part series Inside the American Mob. He was also an adviser on scripts for the 10-part television series, The Making of the Mob: New York which is based partly on Five Families which premiered on June 15, 2015, on AMC.

Happy Birthday Selwyn Raab.

On this day, 28th June 1934, Selwyn Raab was born on Manhattan's Lower East Side, a neighbourhood that itself served as fertile ground for the very organised crime world he would spend decades chronicling. Few writers have done more to document the rise, fall, and stubborn resilience of the American Mafia than Raab, whose career as an investigative reporter for the New York Times and subsequent work as an author and consultant cemented his place as one of the most authoritative voices in mob history.

Raab's journalism career was distinguished long before he turned his full attention to organised crime. His investigative work earned him a reputation for rigorous research and an ability to cut through the silence and obfuscation that traditionally surrounded the mob. When he eventually channelled that expertise into long-form writing, the results were remarkable. His 2005 bestseller, Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires, remains essential reading for anyone serious about understanding the Cosa Nostra in America. The book offers a sweeping and meticulously detailed account of the Gambino, Genovese, Lucchese, Bonanno, and Colombo crime families, tracing their roots back to the founding generation of bosses that included Lucky Luciano, the architect of the modern American Mafia, and the bloody power struggles that defined the underworld for much of the twentieth century. Even figures such as Al Capone, whose empire was rooted in Chicago rather than New York, are placed within the broader context of the national syndicate that Luciano helped construct.

The book found audiences far beyond dedicated mob enthusiasts, crossing over into mainstream bestseller territory and introducing a new generation of readers to the complexities of organised crime in America. It also demonstrated that serious, well-sourced mob history could command both critical respect and popular appeal simultaneously.

Over the past two decades, Raab has extended his influence into television, serving as a consultant on organised crime for documentaries broadcast primarily on the History and Biography channels. He was involved in the production of the six-part series Inside the American Mob and served as an adviser on scripts for the ten-part AMC series The Making of the Mob: New York, which premiered on 15th June 2015 and drew heavily from the research underpinning Five Families.

Happy Birthday, Selwyn Raab. His body of work has ensured that the true history of the American Mafia is preserved with the seriousness and depth it demands, and his influence on how the public understands organised crime continues to resonate strongly.