If you wish to contribute with a review, please go ahead. Don't worry if a particular synopsis about a book has already been made, if you can add to it or have a difference in opinion I can whack it in. This is to help people with a Mafia interest in choosing what they'd like to read.

So if you wish, post your review in this forum as a seperate thread, people can respond to it there and I will happily add the review to this thread. Full name and credit will be given to you for it.

A Man of Honor by Joe Bonanno – it's a self serving autobiography, but its fun reading to see his side of the story.
By SC


Black Book and the Mob (The) by Ronald A. Farrell and Carole Case. Definitive history of gambling in Nevada and how the Mob came to dominate it. Makes "Casino" read like a dime novel.
By Turnbull


Bloedsporen: een Reis naar de Mafia (Bloodtracks: a Journey to the Mafia) by Danny Ilegems and Raf Sauviller

This book was written by two Belgian writers, it's in Dutch, I tried to find English translations but couldn't find them.

It deals with Silvio Berlusconi and his Forza Italia (the book was published in '95 so not exactly up to date), the very beginning of the mafia, the 60s and 70s in which Milan would to become Italy's biggest Northern-Italian mafianest, the late 70s and the 80s of Toto Riina and heroin, uptil 1995. Also, the immigration of the Sicilians in the 50s and 60s in the BENELUX who came to recognise that Holland and Belgium are walhalla for criminals.

Very interesting for Dutch and Belgian people who are fairly new to the subject of organised crime (This is only my second book), but not particularly interesting for those who have read more about it.
By Michael Corleone 14.


The Boardwalk Jungle by Demaris - a little long in some spots, but some good insight into the Mob in Atlantic City.
By SC


Bound by Honor: A Mafioso's Story By Bill Bonanno. As with most books written by former mobsters, this book is a bit self-serving. But, it is an interesting read, especially the parts about how the mob got Kennedy elected, and then how and why they took him out.
By Rocky


Boss of Bosses by Joseph F. O'Brien and Andris Kurins. Life and downfall of Paul Castellano, told by the FBI guys who wiretapped his mansion. Pretty good.
By Turnbull


Capone, by John Kobler - a factual, easy-to-read life story of Big Al.
By SC


Capone by Laurence Bergreen. Most recent bio of Snorky has many interesting updates and theories. Kobler's book is the better read, but this is pretty good.
By Turnbull


Casino by Nicholas Pileggi, upon which the fim is based (with all the characters real names) and for which he also wrote the screenplay.
By Plawrence


Complete Idiot's Guide To The Mafia (The) by Jerry Capeci.
Really good book for a starter, it just tells the basic facts, La Cosa Nostra's history, family structure, etcetera. Everything's told by “subject”, so it's not chronologicly like an encyclopedia. Can at times get a little boring, there's a lot of dates, events and info that you have to absorb, but still a really good book for starters. By Michael Corleone 14.
Comrade Criminal by Stephen Handelman details life in modern (published in 1993, so modern minus about twelve years) Russia after to collapse of the Soviet Union. It tells how the different gangs came from, how they've evolved, and what kind of scams they run. It also deals a lot with political corruption but, because it's in Russia and it's twelve years old, those parts aren't really all that interesting.

Overall Comrade Criminal is a pretty good bood, I'd give it a B-.
By Cancerkitty.


Donnie Brasco: My Undercover life in the Mafia by Joe Pistone. If you like your true crime or more specifically Mafia books you're more than likely to enjoy this. Amazingly, Joe Pistone under the alias of Donnie Brasco infiltrated the Bonanno Family in New York posing as a jewel thief for 6 years. Pistone is a hero for the work he has done, his case alone sent away many mobsters to prison and his testimony in later cases such as the Commission case helped in sending some of the top echelon members of the New York Mafia. Some even suffered a fate worse than prison. Sonny 'Black' Napolitano, a Capo, was whacked based on the relationship he had with Donnie because he treated him as a made guy.

From start to finish the book is gripping, much better than the film which is rather inaccurate. But hey, that's Hollywood. From the Colombo's to the Bonanno's to the Wiseguy bosses in Florida and Milwakuee, Pistone gives his account of his undercover life. Not to be missed.
By Turi


For The Sins Of My Father (2002) by Albert DeMeo, son of Roy DeMeo, a notorious hitman in the Gambino family in the 1960s.
By Plawrence


Frank Costello: Prime Minister of the Underworld by George Wolf - some good insights.
By SC


GOTTI: Rise And Fall (1996) by Jerry Capeci and Gene Mustaine. This book is a pretty good read I'm on page 164. It has all the info on Gotti from when he first started out in the mob as a truck highjacker up to the case that put him in prison and all the stuff inbetween based on facts, recorded conversations and personal interviews with Gotti. By scarfacetm.


Honor thy Father by Gay Talese. Intimate account of the relationship between Joe Bonanno and his son Salvatore (Bill). Not a Mafia book per se, but a uniquely close perspective on this father/son relationship.
By Turnbull


King of the Mountain: Life and Death of Giuliano the Bandit. (1988) by Billy J Chandler. Readers of the Sicilian will recall Salvatore Guiliano immortalised by Mario Puzo in the fictional novel based on the real life bandit's life. King of the Mountain does a great job of commentating on the bandit's life and the struggle he led to fight the Mafia, award Sicily with independence and even contemplated annexing the Mediterranean island to America. It's the most unbiased account of his life available, whilst he was the Sicilian Robin Hood to some people he was also a terrorist in the eyes of others. The massacre at the Portella Della Ginestre is given exceptional importance in documenting Giuliano and leaves the reader to decide what happened. Overall an outstanding book on an outstanding person. Che Guevara still captures the hearts of many today – why shouldn't Giuliano.

So die all who betray Giuliano
By Turi


The Last Gangster (2004) by George Anastasia, the story of Ron Previte and the recent demise of the Philadelphia mob.
By Plawrence


The Last Testament of Lucky Luciano by Gosch Martin A. Gosch & Richard Hammer - informative, fact filled.
By SC

Little Man: Meyer Lansky and the Gangster Life by Robert Lacey - THE book to read about Lansky.
By SC


Made Men: The True Rise and Fall of a New Jersey Mob Family By Greg B Smith

On it's own it's just non fictional account of the New Jersey Mafia and most of it is based around one of the latest mob informers of that region, associate Ralphie Gaurino. This alone makes it a decent read for the avid Mafia enthusiast. Though it is not too exciting. What did higher my rating of the book were the relevant Sopranos name-dropping and similarities to the real New Jersey wiseguys. It's quite interesting realising that actual plot lines and characters from the Sopranos were stolen from current Mafia members from NJ. Not many shows would be audacious enough to that.

Overall, it's a good book worth reading, like I said, for the avid Mafia fan and made better if you're a fan of the Sopranos. Don't expect anything too exciting or a 'can't put down book'.
By Turi.


Mafia: The First 100 Years - Balsamo & Carpozi
Not a recommended book for a newcomer, due to it reading much like a novel for the first half, and not like non-fiction should do, for me. It gives an overall view of how the heads of the families work, without really giving any info on the specifics. Perhaps starting out on somebody in particular is a better way to go about it, and then broaden out to find other things about it. But if you're a newcomer to the subject, this is not recommended.
By Capo De La Cosa Nostra


Mafia U.S.A. by Nicholas Gage - somewhat outdated now, but some good general stuff here.
By SC


Mob Star: Story of John Gotti. by Gene Mustain, Jerry Capeci. This is probably the best Gotti book available which isn't saying much when the main rival is by the same authors. It's a fairly decent book with plenty of information on Gotti and his crew but a lot of it is questionable.

The main problem with the book is that it's outdated. First printed in 1988 before the Gotti saga had ended or at least semi ended when the once named Teflon Don for his ability to avoid conviction finally was put away. This "updated" version is only updated with a few extra chapters at the end and they very much feel like they've been rushed and just slapped on. Probably because John Gotti had recently died at the time and the authors wanted to cash in on it.

This book could have been a lot better if instead of sticking a few extra chapters at the end, the whole book was reworked. Because up to chapter 28 it is still based on information from 1988. You read it and you think they could have at least updated it with all the information provided now.
By Turi


Mob: Stories of Death and Betrayal from Organized Crime by Clint Willis

This is a great compilation of stories taken from the Mafia's greatest books, both fiction and non fiction. This book is great for beginners because it gives you pretty much a manual to the Mafia in novel form and written by some of the Mafia's greatest writers. It is also just genuinely enjoyable considering that, among books like Underboss, by Peter Maas and The Godfather, by Mario Puzo, there were also stories from other books that I had never even heard of like Defending the Mafia, by Frederic Dannen and The Don is Done, by Jeffery Goldberg. Together this a genuinely good book great for beginners and experts.
By Moscarelli


Murder Machine: A True Story of Murder, Madness and the Mafia. By Jerry Capeci and Gene Mustain. It's an average book at best. The lead character we follow is Dominick Montiglio, nephew to the Gambino Capo, Anthony Gaggi, loyal to the Castellano side of the Family. Montiglio tells his story, seeking pity and then ultimately his decision to rat and plays the victim. He's a very boring guy and most of the book is tiresome to get through.

There's plenty of good books on the Mafia I'd choose before reading this.
By Turi


My Life in the Mafia by Vincent Teresa. Absorbing account of day-to-day life in the New England Mob. Very good details of fascinating scams. Many interesting asides on other Mob families.
By Turnbull


Outfit (The) by Gus Russo
This is a very informative book, about 400 pages, I believe, of the Chicago Outfit history. This is pretty much everything you need to know about the outfit and its stretch to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Washington. And of course, its untimely fall, head first into the ground. It is a story of a rebel among rebels, one of the most powerful criminal organizations and widely outcast by most of the underworld. The Outfit is your manual to the Chicago Underworld.
By Don Genco


Playboy's Illustrated History of Organized Crime by Hammer - a truly wonderful general book (the stories are overly simple, but the pics and drawings are superb).
By SC


Red Mafiya by Robert I. Friedman deals with Russian organized crime in the Non-Russian world, mostly in the United States. I liked this one a lot better than Comrade Criminal because it focused more on the United States. The book profiles several different Russian gangsters and goes into detail on their different crimes. It's a pretty scary subject considering the nuclear situation.

I'd give this on a B+.
By Cancerkitty


Unless you have major interest in Atlantic City, stay away from this one. Not only is it long in some spots, it can also be extremely boring.
By Plawrence


Rise and Fall of the Jewish Gangster in America (The) by Albert Fried. Well researched account of Jewish gangsters, who were often bigger than Italian gangsters.
By Turnbull


Underboss: Sammy the Bull. By Peter Maas. For the avid Mafia reader this is a must. Sammy does blow his own trumpet a bit, but rightly so. He was a Wiseguy held with a lot of respect and power. Peter Maas does a great job keeping it balanced and fair throughout with his commentary. But most of it is written straight from Gravano's mouth and that's why it's so good to read.

Some points are controversial. Like in Boss of Bosses, the book on Castellano that was written by the FBI going after him, they claim to have implanted the bug in his Todt Hill mansion by a covert break in operation. In Underboss, the Bull refutes this. I guess it's up to us to decide what really happened.

Sadly the book only covers upto the Bull going into witness protection and then a slight update of him leaving it. But haters of him will be pleased to know Gravano, is now back in jail on drugs charges. He's unlikely to see freedom again. He ruined the fresh opportunity open to him to begin a new life. With the extraordinary deal the government gave him for his ratting, maybe this latest chapter on Sammy's life is well deserved.
By Turi


Valachi Papers. By Peter Maas. Usually whilst reading accounts of Wiseguys straight from their own mouths can be perturbing, you want to believe what they say is true, but their whole life revolves around scheming, lying, cheating and the whole "respect' thing etc. So you usually take what's said with a pinch of salt, conversations and events may not have gone like the Wiesguy wants you to believe. The Valachi Papers is different. For Joe Valachi has an amazing recall and sharpness of memory as both Maas and law enforcement officials will attest to. Everything is confirmed and it leaves you with piece of mind and even a little trust for Valachi.

It's an excellent book into the "rats' life, from his earliest burglary days, through the Castellamarese War, Vito Genovese ascension to power and finally the brutal act in prison in which he bludgeoned an innocent man whom he mistook for another inmate, a Mafia hitman was actually out to kill him because they wrongly believed he was an informer.

In the confinement of prison where their was no escape, he had two options, die by the hands of the Mafia and be forever branded a rat in his death, or actually become a rat and live. The rest is history.
By Turi


Way of the Wiseguy The by Joe Pistone. Flyweight addition to "Donnie Brasco" is still a quick and lively read.
By Turnbull


Wiseguy By Nicholas Pileggi, is the book that paved the way for the hit movie 'Goodfellas' to be made. We listen to the story of gangster Henry Hill as he tells us of his glorious days in the Mafia starting with when he was a kid in the 50's to when he became a major player in the 70's. The book shows you the rise and fall of a real gangster.
By Patrick

Monster: The Autobiography of an LA Gang Member By Sanyika Shakur AKA Monster Kody Scott, is a great gangsta book. It hasn't been made into a movie, but I think it definetly should be. We follow the life of Crip Kody Scott from his days as a kid to becoming one of the biggest gangstas in South Central LA. It's definetly one of the greatest books I've ever read.
By Patrick

Wiseguy By Nicholas Pileggi, is the book that paved the way for the hit movie 'Goodfellas' to be made. We listen to the story of gangster Henry Hill as he tells us of his glorious days in the Mafia starting with when he was a kid in the 50's to when he became a major player in the 70's. The book shows you the rise and fall of a real gangster.
By Patrick

The Boardwalk Jungle by Demaris - a little long in some spots, but some good insight into the Mob in Atlantic City.
By SC

Unless you have major interest in Atlantic City, stay away from this one. Not only is it long in some spots, it can slo be extremely boring.

There's another book by Demaris (with Ed Reid), called Green Felt Jungle, written in 1964.

It tells the story of Las Vegas, from the days of Bugsy Siegal through the early 60's (when it was stilled pretty much Mafia-controlled).

I'd heard of it, but never read it. I just looked it up on the Web, though, and one review stated that it had an index of all the 250 names of the individuals who were shareholders in the 15 major Las Vegas casinos at the time.

A couple of sites offered it for sale. Maybe I'll buy it.

Mmm, why doesn't somebody mention some books about the Sicilian Mob. It's all about American Mafia.

I'm more interested in Sicilian. So when somebody has some good books post them here or start another tread.

Try "Excellent Cadavers: The Mafia and the Death of the First Italian Republic," by Alexander Stille and Sarah Burnes. I don't know if it is available in the Dutch language.

Yes it is, and I already read it. It's a perfect book. I still want to buy it, but no one has it. I got the book from the library, but as you maybe know: in the Netherlands you can't buy books from the library.

Meyer Lansky Mogul Of The Mob

by : Dennis Eisenberg
Uri Dan
Eli Landau

While this book covers the relationship of The Bug and Meyer gang with Luciano and Co. It gives a very good insight into the personal life of Meyer Lansky from a young age right up until his old age. It touches also on the wars with Waxy Gordan and The Kennedy's. While the HBO movie Lansky was based on this book, the book itself is way better. A definate read for the Mafia buff.


Don Cardi

Takedown: The Fall of the Last Mafia Empire by Rick Cowan

It was a really interesting story about the an FBI infiltrating the Mob's garbage industry, however it was poorly written and got pretty boring in spots.

The The Sixth Family

by Peter Diapoulos & Steven Linakas


The story of The Gallo Family's struggle for power. Peter Diapoulos was Joe Gallo's bodyguard and right hand man.

For those who may be unfamiliar with The Gallo brothers, this was the real life family that The Rosatto Brothers in GFII were based on. Also the bar scene where Pentangelli is strangled is based on a real life attempt on Larry Gallo's life which is told in this book. A very quick and interesting read.


Don Cardi

I read this book, but it's not very authentic:
In the early '70's, Lansky moved to Israel and applied for citizenship--partly to get away from the Justice Department, partly because he had always been a strong supporter of Israel. Under Israel's Law of Return, any Jew of "good character" can become a citizen upon application. But Lansky was notorious, and he had served a short (three-month) jail term for a gambling offense. So his case had to be reviewed by the government.
To help his cause, Lansky cultivated Uri Dan, one of Israel's most respected journalists. He gave Dan "exclusive" interviews on his "life story"--something Lansky had never done before. Dan was so gaga about his "exclusives" that he swallowed everything Lansky told him--including some fictions that are so outrageous that I can only conclude that Lansky was having fun with the guy. For example:
--Lansky said that Abner (Longy) Zwillman, one of the biggest rumrunners during Prohibition and the major gambling czar afterward, "was a member of my gang when we were kids." That's a pretty good trick, considering that Zwillman lived in Newark, NJ, and it would have taken him more than two hours of commuting each way to run with Lansky's gang on the Lower East Side of NYC before the Hudson River tunnels and bridges were opened.
--Lansky said that Bugsy Siegel "sheltered Al Capone in his [Siegel's] house on 14th Street" when Capone was on the run from an Irish gang called the White Handers, and arranged for Capone's passage to Chicago. "So we always had Capone as our ally," Lansky told Dan. Yeah, right. Siegel was born on February 28th, 1906. Capone left Brooklyn for Chicago in 1919--when Siegel was all of 13 years old. Pretty good stunt for an adolescent. Probably Lansky and Siegel met Capone for the first time at the famous Atlantic City gangsters' convention in 1929.
The denouement of Lansky's Israel quest: The Justice Department leaned on the Israeli Government, which denied Lansky's application for citizenship and made him leave when his visa expired. He tried to emigrate to Paraguay, but was turned away, and was arrested when he returned to Miami International Airport (shades of GFII). But, unlike Roth, he wasn't gunned down. The government tried him on trumped up charges of "drug smuggling" (he had gone through customers with an ulcer medication for which he didn't have a prescription) and tax evasion. Lansky was acquitted of all charges. He died peacefully at 81.
The definitive Lansky bio is "Little Man--Meyer Lansky and the Gangster Life," by Robert Lacey. SC posted on it in this thread.

Yes Turnbull, there definately are several inconsistancies throughout the book. The Capone thing always bugged me too. But all in all I still enjoyed it. I'll have to put the other Lansky book on my list. Turnbull, have you ever read "JOEY" about Joe Gallo? I just got the book and it is next to read on my list.


Don Cardi

No, "Joey" is one I'll have to look for.

Has anybody read Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia by John Dickie? I just got it bought for me as a birthday present; seems a pretty good read.

Mick

I've got it but I haven't read it yet Mick. It's quite expensive but for the size of it (I've got the HB version) it certainly looks like you get your moneys worth.

I'm currently enjoying Made Men about New Jersey but unfortunately other priorities are keeping this from being a short read. This is going to be a good recomendation and especially for Sopranos fans as you'll see where characters and plot lines have been directly stolen.

Yes, just finished it. It's more my terrain of the Mafia because it's mainly about the Sicilian Mafia. It gives a great insight in the history and how the mafia got integrated in the Italian Government. It has a few pages with info about the American Mafia (Cosa Nostra). But this is mainly when Dickie talks about the movement of Sicilian mafia bosses to America. It's also a very big book. 400 pages if I'm correct. It's a lot of info but when you read this you know a lot more about the Sicilian mafia.

Hey, MM! Haven't seen you for a while, mate! Thanks for that short review. I shall let you all know what I think once I've read it (have a few books before this one though).

Mick

The Complete Idiot’s Guide To The Mafia by Jerry Capeci
Really good book for a starter, it just tells the basic facts, La Cosa Nostra’s history, family structure, etcetera. Everything’s told by “subject”, so it’s not chronologicly like an encyclopedia. Can at times get a little boring, there’s a lot of dates, events and info that you have to absorb, but still a really good book for starters.

Does anyone read the book: Organized Crime from Howard Abadinsky? It's a college book for university but it contains a lot of info. I just bought it for my 20th birthday. It was expensive but I've read 10 pages and I don't want to stop anymore.

GOTTI: Rise And Fall this book is a pretty good read im on page 164. it has all the info on gotti from when he first started out in the mob as a truck highjacker up to the case that put him in prison and all the stuff inbetween based on facts, recorded conversations and personal interviews with gotti

I haven't read it, MM, but I know that it is a college textbook, and is very highly regarded by criminologists.

I just browsed to the pages and it looks more liken an encyclopedia. And the registers in the are absolutely marvelous. They devided into two sections: you can search on names and on subjects. So when you need something about capone you search on capone and when you need something about the bootleg you search on bootleg. Very easy and it contains a lot of info. When I finsihed it (Probably over 3 months, it's a lot of pages) I shall give my comments on it.

There is this book called Capo by Peter Watson. It's alright. Well, actually it's not. I got it two years ago and still didn't finish it.

web page

Link with lot of titles of books. Just for the people who wanted to buy a book and don't know what there is for sale.

i've just brought abook by Thomas Reppetto-American Mafia-A History of its Rise to Power

Has anybody read it,is it good

I'm reading it..Im on page 100, and i like it. It's not very very good, but i think the best is yet to come...

The Outfit by Gus Russo
This is a very informative book, about 400 pages, I believe, of the Chicago Outfit history.This is pretty much everything you need to know about the outfit and its stretch to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Washinton. And of course, its untimely fall, head first into the ground. It is a stroy of a rebel among rebels, one of the most powerful criminal organizations and widely outcast by most of the underworld. The Outfit is your manual to the the Chicago Underworld.

I read it. It's pretty good. If you like the American mafia it's a good book..

Currently I'm reading Roemer: Man Against the Mob. Bill Roemer Jr. was an FBI agent working out of the Chicago office. One of his greatest accomplishments was being the first to put a microphone in the mob headquarters. (they called it "Little Al")

This is his first book, but the last of his I'm reading. I actaully really like his books. They're very informative.

I highly recommend his books as well.
The Enforcer: The Chicago Mob's Man Over Las Vegas
Accardo: The Genuine Godfather
War of the Godfathers

Of all his books War of the Godfathers seems more like fiction to me.

Has anyone read the Arnold Rothstein Bio titled :

"The Big Bankroll"?

I was looking to buy it and wanted to see if anyone knew if it was any good. Thanks!


Don Cardi