Gangster book by Villager columnist

Villager readers who enjoyed Patrick Downey’s columns on the old-time gangsters of the Village are sure to like his new book, “Gangster City: The History of the New York Underworld, 1900-1935.” Chapters focus on specific neighborhoods — “Caesars of the Lower East Side,” “Big Trouble in Little Chinatown” — and an index lets readers know if a gangster was whacked on their block. (Barricade, $23.95, 318 pp., with black-and-white photos.)