thats what i thought, what about pictures? Are there any new or unseen pictures in it?

I ordered Motor City Mafia, Goodfella Tapes and
GANGSTERS AND ORGANIZED CRIME IN BUFFALO - MICHAEL F. RIZZO.

^ I woulda have given you the GoodFella Tapes you should of saved your money...

Yes, there are some good pictures in the Casso book. I´ll post some of them if you´d like, as soon as I find time for it.
In my opinion, Motor City Mafia is a good read. It deals with the Tampa Family from the prohibition to the time of Santo Trafficante´s death. The Tampa mafiosi had a close working relationship with the New York guys for many years and shared interests in the gambling industry in Cuba. The book touches on that.
I haven´t read the Rizzo book and The Goodfella Tapes kinda left me somewhat disappointed, perhaps because I was expecting more of it before I bought the book. There are some good wire tap transcripts in it though...

I actually enjoyed Gaspipe, despite a few obvious errors the book overall is a good read (especially on the lucchese family). Some decent pics in there as well.I think people overemphasize the author's propensity to make errors and thus that clouds their judgement on all his books, which it shouldnt for obvious reasons.

If he doesnt want them, I would gladly take it off your hands.

Hey guys,

I'm currently looking to read a book about Joe Massino, do you guys recommend King of the Godfathers or The Last Godfather first?

Also, any good books out there about Joe Masseria?

Forget which book he wrote, however the author DeStefano? Im told wrote the best Massino book

Thanks for all the feedback, i will think about it. Hairy, if you can post pictures that would be wonderful.

Thanks Dicknose, i appreciate your offer but you can give them to Dapper if you want

King of Godfathers and The Last Godfather are the same book. I believe "King.." is the updated version.

http://www.amazon.com/King-Godfathers-Massino-Bonanno-Pinnacle/dp/0786018933

http://www.amazon.com/The-Last-Godfather-Massino-Berkley/dp/0425209393

How can they be the same book, different authors and publishers?

read the last godfather by destefano, great book and best one on massino IMO!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0806527...7099850?ie=UTF8


I met the author when he was doing the round on this book and suggested in the future he should write a book on either gigante, sonny franzese, or basciano and sure enough his new book is on basciano

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0806527...7099850?ie=UTF8

On May 27, 2008, a trade paperback edition of the "The Last Godfather" became available under the title "King of The Godfathers." This is an updated edition of the mass market paperback published in June 2007. It is in the larger trade format and contains an extra chapter, dealing with Vincent Basciano and developments in the Bonanno crime family through the end of 2007.

http://tonydestefano.com/id2.html

So it seems Destefano is the authority on Massino, thanks guys.

As to the second part, any good books out there dealing with Joe Masseria?

There is no ONE book on Masseria, I´m afraid. But there are small snippets of info on Masseria in various books, for example "Five Families" by Selwyn Raab, "American Mafia" by Thomas Reppetto, "The First Family" by Mike Dash, "Lucky Luciano" by Tim Newark, "Gangster City" by Patrick Downey and "The Origin of Organized Crime in America" by David Critchley (to name just a few).
Basically, look for books about the early NY Mafia. If Masseria (who played an integral part in the éarly days) is not mentioned in any book covering the early NY Mafia, then maybe the book is not worth buying.

Anybody ever read or heard about the book Rogue Mobster by Mark Silverstein? I know guys from his hometown that knew him personally so it'd be an interesting read to me especailly since he talks about a guy i know in the book, tryin to get my hands on it

is that the jewish guy who claims he was a made guy in the patriarca fam?

I've read, "Gaspipe: Confessions of a Mafia Boss" and it was alright. I chuckled at how Carlo said Gotti had a high IQ because he remembered numbers.

Also, I've read the "Rise and Fall of the Mafia" - a written account off the actual documentary.

Family Secrets: The Case That Crippled the Chicago Mob by Jeff Coen
The Little Black Book of Mafia Wisdom

Do you guys recommend The First Family by Mike Dash?

I do for one. It deals primarily with the Morello family and how they controlled the American Mafia. If you are into the early Mafia, perhaps with the exception of David Critchley´s book, I don´t think there is any other book better researched than this one. The book is diffrent from any other book covering this era. When the book first came out, I regarded it as ground-breaking and somewhat of a revelation, because this book sets the facts right, debunking myths and assumptions, stated as "facts" in other notoriously unreliable books dealing with this subject. (Early Mafia appr 1890-1930.) If you are into this subject, the book is an extremely interesting read.

A very nice addition, btw, are the many interesting photos found in the book.

http://www.amazon.com/The-First-Family-E...rds=mike+dash#_

I always wanted to know more about Morello. Thanks for that, I had no idea there was a book that had so much detail on him and his family.

Can anyone recommend any good Mafia books? I don't actually own any yet but want to start reading more about it. I'm most interested in the John Gotti, Philly Mob (mainly Scarfo and Merlino), and the Genovese crime family.

Thank and if you have any recommendations not on these topics feel free to say.

All you have to do is to start on the first page of this thread and scroll through. You'll find all the recommendations you'll ever need.

The First Family by Mike Dash is a terrific book. Not only is it insightful, its also interesting as well. I'm about halfway through it.

Being that I'm in the beginning stages of research for a book I'm writing. I recently plunked down almost $97 bucks on four books from Amazon, which should be arriving on Monday.

The four books I bought include "Gangs of St. Louis: Men of Respect" by Daniel Waugh. Waugh also wrote a book on the Egan's Rats. I haven't had a chance to read it but much like his other book "Gangs of St. Louis" from what I hear its supposed to be really good.

The second book I bought was "The Rise and Fall of the Cleveland Mafia: Corn Sugar and Blood" by Rick Porrello. Since I'm from Detroit, and a good four hour drive from Cleveland I've always been intrigued by the Cleveland faction of the mafia. I recently watched the indie film Kill The Irishman which is about Danny Greene, and is based on another book that Porrello wrote.

The last two books I bought were "The Business of Crime: Italians and Syndicate Crime in the United States" by Humbert S. Nelli. And "Theft of the Nation: The Structure and Operations of Organized Crime in America" by Donald R. Cressey, and James O. Finckenauer. The last two books are supposed to be on par with "The Origin of Organized Crime in America" by David Critchley, as the books are academic style narratives. I've got the Critchley book as well I usually read it when I have a chance to so I can digest everything.

westies & murder machine are great

well put lilo, intellegent man

Iceman Audiobook

I am also interested in Sicilians. I just read the Milwaukee Mafia, very short with lots of pictures but so interesting, all Sicilians from the same part of Sicily

any books on the purple gang from east harlem?

Pleasent Ave Connection, wouldnt call it about Purple Mob. However all the players are focused on in the book. One and only mob book I ever bought! Fairly accurate.