joe dogs
5 families
boss of bosses
take down
bringing down the mob

I recently picked up "The Bureau: Inside Todays FBI" (well, "today" as in 1994) by Diarmid Jeffries
I was thumbing through what was an undoubtedly dated and slightly trashy book at the 50 cent bargain bin at my local second hand bookstore when I saw it contained a chapter entitled "Rico and wiseguys" as well as a few pictures of 80's era Patriarca gangsters.

Despite it being, as I mentioned, a very dated book, it nonetheless offered some good info on Hoover's legacy at the FBI and a surprisngly good rundown of the events surrounding the William Grasso murder and leading up to the notorious bugged induction ceremony.

It also contained a reference to the longtime Genovese presence at the Fulton Fish Market that is so cheesy it almost makes the whole book worth it (Genovese Fish Pie; Take a labour intensive industry with a perishable product, add a corrupt trade union and throw in a pinch of extortion. Serve very, very cold)

Oh, that's just awful .

I knew I wouldnt be the only one to get a kick outta that. They should have added "add copious amounts of cheese for the purpose of one over blown analogy"

Picked up the Valachi Paper's for 50 cents at the local 2nd hand book op. shop bargain bin. 50 frickin' cents. Possibly the best half a dollar I ever spent. While I read this book years ago, having recently re-read I can see how it paved the way for mob lit. in general. As "coached" as he may have been on certain subjects, as overblown and ultimately low end as Valachi was, this is a great book. IMO, one of the best on the subject. Some may disagree, but however you look at it, Maas's book was a landmark in mob lit.

Wow, what a great thread. I USED to think I had a pretty good knowledge of org crime history. I havent even scratched the surface. I have a lot of reading to do. Thanks to all posters =)

How detailed does Valachi go in his book about breaking down the families and family life?

Just read Havana Nocturne... I have to say I think I'm beginning to like TJ English' style.

I received Andre Cedilot & Andre Noel's "Mafia Inc" today in the mail, grabbed it from Amazon for like $24 total. Great looking book, I really like the cover, size, pages, decent photo section etc...

When this came out I was worried the English version was going to take forever to come out, thankfully it came out very soon after the French version. Look forward to reading it!

I also picked up a relatively new book (March 1st 2011) by William Ouseley & Monroe Dodd called "Mobsters In Our Midst" which is about the Kansas City Family. Apparently William Ouseley was a FBI agent for 25 plus years who spent his time on the KC family. Anyone read it yet? They only have a paperback version right now which blows but whatever.

English is a great writer. If you haven't already, check out The Westies. IMO its the definitive account of Coonan and Featherstone.



Very detailed. At least in regards to how a low level soldier would see it. Certain editions of The Valachi Papers have a chart of sorts, which lists the early leaders of the Five Families and their affilaitions and protege's.

$24?! Awesome. I've had my eyes on that book for a while now. I know exactly what you mean, it felt like the english version was never going to be released. By all accounts, this book details a huge amount of information on Canada and its mafia dynamics, and go's a fair way towards illuminating much of the intrigue and developments over the last few decades. Let me know how you go and what you think, Id be interested to hear Mooney.

FWIW, certain guys have rated it and 'Mafia Export' as two of the best works on the subject in many years.

As far as 'Mobsters In Our Midst', its been well reccomended by KC guys like joey dice and others. Looks great. Again, let us know what you think when you're done!

Ive used up my birthday and christmas presents from the missus with the Song of Ice and Fire series by Martin. Since were saving for a house now, as well as various other baby related stuff, I cant just go out and drop dollars on newly released books like I used to. Have the squirt, do the work I guess.

You might include my own book:

David Critchley, "The Origin of Organized Crime in America: The New York City Mafia, 1891-1931"

It got excellent reviews and is the best factual book by far on the early New York City Mafia.

Hope your writing is better than your proofreading.

Welcome Dave. Glad you could sign up with virtually no issues over here. Ya know.

Just re-read my post and I know what you mean. I need to get on a typing course, that's for sure.

Just playing with ya. I knew what you meant. Welcome, again.

I do know your book did very very well, all kidding aside.

While I have you, is there a way of my advertising my book to forum readers for example by including the blurb about it on Amazon?

Oh I'm not sure on that. One of the mods would be in to better inform you.

But, I tell ya what I can do..I will tell all my friends on here about your book. Of course I haven't read it and I have like one friend on here, but hey... better than nothing, no? Now, if I could only remember just who is that one friend.

Can you give the contact details for the moderators? Yes, I know the "who is my friend" bit - jollity mixed in with "help."

Send a PM (private message) to Geoff, the owner and administrator of these boards. Ask his permission to do so. He's very fair.

I emailed someone through "Contact us" at the bottom of the page, if that's Geoff.

Just purchased Lou Ferrante's "MOB RULES: What the Mafia can teach to big business"... will let everyone know how it is.

Is The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia good text for me to start about mafia?Persnoaly,i'm more curious about mafia structure only!

is good to get the basics and understanding and will help you have knowledge on posts and to join in intelligently on posts. the idiots guide that is.....

Idiots Guide is an excellent start, i know i started with that years ago. But i moved on to the heavy one, Five Families. I just got Mob Files- Anastasia. Any good?

Just picked up "The Weasel" By Andrian Humphreys (who also co wrote the 6th family)

" In the world of organized crime the bosses grab the headlines, as the names Capone, Gotti, Bonnano, Cotroni and Rizzuto attest. But a crime family has many working parts and the young mobster known as The Weasel was the epitome of a crucial, invisible cog-the soldier, the muscle, the driver, the gopher.

By a quirk of fate, Marvin Elkind-later The Weasel-was placed in the foster home of a tough gangster family, immersing him from the age of nine in a daring world of con men, cheats, bootleggers, loan sharks, bank robbers, leg breakers and Mafia bosses. During a Golden Age of underworld life in New York, Detroit and across Canada, The Weasel found himself working with a surprising cast of colourful characters. He befriended powerful gangsters by smuggling bottles of Scotch to their tables as a waiter at New York's famed Copacabana; he was pushed to be Jimmy Hoffa's chauffeur."

Seems like it will be an ok read, apparently this Marvin Elkind guy was close to johnny papalia. I have faith because it's written by Adrian Humphreys and the 6th family was a great book.

This book marks my 75th hardcover mob book, the collection is looking amazing. Man, do I love hardcovers!

Elkind was a Vic Cotroni's driver for some time. Looks like a mildly interesting book, but the guy also claims to know where Hoffa's buried. Id take it cum grano salis

Are you gonna let me know what you thought of Mafia Inc? Like, ever?

I also recommend David's book. It's the best-researched book about the mob I've ever read.

Be advised though that it's an academic history rather than a "true crime book". But it's well written and readable.

LOL, i forgot! sorry bro! Mafia Inc is a good read for sure! Definitely worth picking up. Some of the info is some of the same stuff you would read in the 6th family but it also has a lot of info worth reading that was not in the 6th family. It also touches more on the post project colisee doings, which is pretty much where the 6th family left off.

Which book should i take to help me start knowing mafia structure?If you could recommend couple of them,and i'm interested mostly in structure and mafia business,behavior ..

You could start off with "Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia" (note: the "complete idiot" thing in the title is an ironic joke in case you aren't aware). It has a couple of mistakes in it, and the "current" information is a bit dated, but it is a good primer on everything.

After that, check out "Blood and Honor" and "Wiseguy" to get a good representative view from inside a family from the soldier and associate perspectives, respectively. You'll get a thorough sampling of the rackets, scams, violence, betrayal, politics, and the like from those two books.

These three books will give you a good foundation of knowledge on which to build.