T.J. English

T.J. English

T.J. English (Thomas Joseph English) was born on October 6th, 1957 and is currently 68 years old. T.J. English was born in Tacoma, WA, USA. English attended Loyola Marymount University where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree.

T.J. English is an author and journalist who made his name writing deep dives into culture, criminal justice, and organized crime.

Early on, he worked as a taxi driver in New York City during the night while he freelanced as a journalist during the day. As such, taxi driving is a common metaphor for his writing process, as he explains meeting strangers, unfamiliar streets, and writing stories of the underworld.

His journalistic works have been featured in the likes of JazzTimes, Vanity Fair, The New York Times, Esquire, Los Angeles Times Magazine, Playboy, The Village Voice, and New York Magazine.

T.J. English’s reporting often dives into corruption and crime. He produced The New Mob, a three-part series for Playboy in which he chronicled the changing face of organized crime in America. He also wrote a detailed exploration of the drug war in Mexico and the impact it has had on the border of El Paso and Juarez in the work Narco Americano.

In his investigative pieces, T.J. English has exposed misconduct, such as the DEA agent who was charged with framing innocent people.

Outside of crime journalism, he is a huge lover of music, especially jazz. Between 2019 and 2020, he was the host of a popular Latin jazz series in Manhattan. He has also written a few pieces about jazz that have been regularly featured in JazzTimes.

T.J. English has conducted interviews with political and cultural figures such as George Carlin, Bill Murray, Martin Scorsese, and Richard J. Daley. He has also traveled all over the world, building a reputation for immersing himself in the world of music, politics, and crime.

In his debut work, The Westies: Inside New York’s Irish Mob, T.J. English follows Mickey Feathestone and Jimmy Coonan, who became very powerful men in the Irish mob of New York during the 1970s.

Jimmy is a charismatic and ruthless leader, while Mickey is a veteran of the Vietnam War turned enforcer who was known for extreme violence, as he often left bodies tossed out the window or mutilated.

Mickey and Jimmy were responsible for making Hell’s Kitchen infamous for its brutality. However, when Mickey was sent to jail for a murder he is innocent of, he thinks Jimmy is behind it. In retaliation, he decides to break the code of silence and expose everything about organized crime.

In one of his very popular works, Havana Nocturne, T.J. English exposes how Charles Luciano and Meyer Lansky, who were American mafia, turned Havana into an organized crime haven.

Getting support from Fulgencia Batista and his regime, the Mafia had control of the nightlife, luxury hotels, and casinos, resulting in a booming tourist industry characterized by decadence, celebrities, and gambling. However, everything came crashing down when Guevara and Castro toppled Batista.

He chronicles the rise of the criminal underworld in Havana in addition to the rise of the Revolution, as he shows how rebellion, corruption, and glamour collided in one of the most volatile political and cultural battles.

T.J. English: Awards & Accolades

T.J. English books have been nominated for multiple awards, The Savage City: Race, Murder, and a Generation on the Edge was nominated for the Macavity Award, Best Mystery Critical/Biographical, in 2012. Dangerous Rhythms: Jazz and the Underworld was nominated for the Goodreads Awards, Best History and Biography, in 2022.

Related Authors

Fans of T.J. English also enjoy these authors:

1. Stephen King, author of The Dark Tower Series.
2. Erik Larson, author of: The Devil in the White City.
3. David Grann, author of: Killers of the Flower Moon.
4. Malcolm Gladwell, author of: The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference.
5. David Baldacci, author of the Amos Decker Series.

T.J. English: F.A.Q