Books to Read Before the Movie Comes Out

Charismatic and rakish, Johnny Depp is an inspired casting choice to play Whitey Bulger—the South Boston mobster who ruled the city for decades—in the September release of Black Mass. But the way Bulger ruled has to be read to be believed—he managed a network that included hit men, an FBI agent who willfully turned a blind eye to his misdeeds and his own brother, who headed the Massachusetts Senate while Whitey claimed power. The book’s cast of characters lists more than 50 gangsters, cops and FBI agents, and Black Mass weaves an intricate web to show how each played a role in Bulger’s unlikely role as Beantown’s biggest underground power broker.