Five Families: the Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires
This biography explains the roots and crimes of the American mafia. Information technology's well written with loads of historical facts. 8 of 10 stars
A more accurate championship would have been "New York: A History of Police force Enforcement Tactics Used Against the Mafia in the 20th Century". At that place were too many important Mafia events that were glossed over or omitted for this to truly have been a book about the five families. The primary focus seemed to exist on the response that state and federal governments had to the Mafia and the tactics that were used to gainsay them. It was an interesting read and certainly well researched, although the editor should exist very embarrassed. There were many obvious typos and name switches throughout, basic errors that an editor is supposed to correct and however failed to do so. If you are looking for books that are actually well-nigh the five families, I would suggest something more along the lines of "Donnie Brasco: My Secret Life in the Mafia" by Joseph Pistone or "Boss of Bosses: The FBI and Paul Castellano" by Joseph F. O'Brien and Andris Kurins. Those are both still written by federal agents (or former federal agents) and are, of course, written from that perspective, however, in my opinion they requite more than information about the families and how they operate than this book did. Read this volume if you want to know more about law enforcement tactics and the RICO law.
Firstly, thanks to my friend Christian for lending me this book, this was a challenge ! A claiming every bit I accept never read a novel with 784 pages and read in seven days. Well I think simply for the research of this book it deserves four stars, the information is incredible, theis has taken many years of research and knowledge. This really is a "History" book of the Five Families of the mafia in New York... A book that as you read you see so many names that audio then familiar, especially for myself later on reading books on The Iceman, Richard Kuklinsky, and Gaspipe, Anthony Masso. Familiar names like Paul Castellano, John Gotti, Lucky Luciano, Bugsy Siegel, Joseph Colombo, Vincent Gigante, Joe Bonanno, Cerise Galante, Joe profaci, Tommy Lucchese, Anthony Corallo. The History of the "Five Families of the Cosa Nostra in New York, from the 20's to 2003/2005. The careers of the boss's of the families, the downfalls. The amazing thing here is when reading the volume is , how many of these famous mafia members when arrested talked and so took Witness Protection. We must have in USA many mafia members living under the Witness Protection Programme, maybe more than those who end up in prison. How many top mafia members snitched/talked most the boss'due south of the 5 families. Also how many mafia members are buried and hidden never to exist constitute, hundreds I am certain. This book is like reading a history book, well it was I guess. Information technology is tense and heady, thrilling, no, but interesting, shocking and brutal. Four stars.
Would have gave xx stars if possible. What an astonishing epic tale. I was so sad when I finished reading this book. I didn't want it to cease. The nearly in-depth telling of the five families. I don't ever expect to detect a more administrative book about the American Mafia. I knew cipher of the more "recent" mafia figureheads. This book fifty-fifty goes fairly in-depth almost them. Jaw-dropping from beginning to finish, I was totally blown away. (Maybe a poor option of words considering the aforementioned subject thing but hey what can ya exercise?)
This volume attempts to cover a wide period in the history of the New York Mafia - from the days of Prohibition, when the streets of the urban center were awash with illicit booze and the Mafia was coalescing into an arrangement from the disparate rabble that information technology previously was, to the plow of the twenty kickoff century, when many of the onetime values put in place by Lucky Luciano in the early on thirties were being dismissed by a new brand of more selfish, individualistic mafioso. Information technology is probably the most comprehensive book I've read on the topic, non only in the menses of history it covers, but also in the depth of information which it provides. Information technology would therefore be fair to say that information technology is rich in information and very educational for anyone interested in the subject. My master criticism would be that it is non ever the easiest volume to follow, skipping over some aspects which would perhaps benefot from further caption. I still do non have a full understanding of how unions and the construction industry were manipulated. A lot of the discussion on the Mafia's influence on blue collar industry were sketchy, making the pages which did contain data less valuable than they would have been had this been delved into in more detail. This but serves to prolong the volume unnecessarily. Nonetheless, historical explanation of the origins of the mafia, the lawless escapades of some of the early bosses and descriptions of how mafioso thought and operated were fascinating and made this volume well worth the effort required to complete it.
Some years ago curiosity led me to dine at a longtime, local Italian Pitza-rea that I'd passed by many times but never patronized. Information technology was the lunch hour, simply as I entered the door the vast place was completely empty of patrons. Expecting a starting time-grade lasagna from the proprietor -- a heavy set fellow with jowls and eyebrows who stood resolutely behind the counter, peradventure wondering who this unknown client was -- I was instead served what was conspicuously a 2nd-rate soggy thing that had been stored in a freezer and tasted warmed in a microwave. I began to wonder how the guy managed to stay in business so long serving up such disappointing fare, when my answer came strutting through the door in the course of a youngish human with slicked back, Brill-creamed raven pilus and an impeccable blackness tailored pinstripe suit. Plunking himself downwardly at a table like he owned the identify, the guy haughtily proclaimed in a staccato voice lifted straight from The Godfather: "Geez, I just played the track and lost a bundle." Every bit he allow out a low-key wheezed laugh, I thought: "Holy shit, I've just landed myself into a hive of scum and villainy; this is a Mafia money laundering front business!" I gladly paid the bill and left with a substandard meal in my belly and a prayer to the Saints that I'd escaped with my life. But information technology was all worth it, just to take a nice little story to tell y'all guys. This book, Five Families is kind of like that meal, at least in the sense that I was left wanting by its execution, but filled with too many amazing stories. It's a big book about fiddling men who were big bullies. So, reading this massive, sweeping account of the history of the American Mafia, and the vast cast of characters who fabricated up the mafiosi of mid- to late- 20th-century New York, was akin to existence at the best Italian wedding meal of your life -- with all the variety arrayed beyond endless tables gear up for delectation but having it served in the incorrect order: like having the aperitivo served tertiary, the antipasti served last, the primo piatto served second to final, the secondo piatto served whenever, and dolce -- dessert -- served in dollops randomly in between. It was offputting in the manner it was served, but was nonetheless the best repast you lot've ever had. For the tape, I've but been to one Italian wedding dinner -- the nuptials of a higher friend some years ago -- and information technology was heavenly; and served in the correct order. Taking into account other justifiable criticisms from other reviewers of the volume here on Goodreads, I observe myself not disagreeing about the book's dizzying organization of the cloth, equally if writer Raab and his editors were a bit intimidated by the task in forepart of them. Simply then, intimidation may exist apt, given the subject. Raab tries to nowadays this material in a roughly linear order, just does tend to repeat himself, finally doubling back and presenting the stories of the five families in the second half later having introduced them and presented various accounts of their doings, and those of law enforcement, earlier in the text. It's kind of similar a Pimsleur linguistic communication form presentation, layering the cloth and then as to help in comprehension. I'one thousand not sure it entirely works, but the stories are then engrossing and the grisly doings so wincingly fascinating that the accumulation of it all ends up beingness a memorable reading experience. This is the divergence between a book getting five stars, as opposed to getting 5 stars plus my personal Silver and Holy Grail awards, designations I but award to perfect or nearly perfect books. Obviously, no one book is going to do justice to the giant story of the American mob, and that's why y'all need to go to individual accounts of specific mobsters for more detail -- and, of course, at that place are tons of those books out there. But, for a one-stop, one-source overview, this volume is it: a great place to become familiar with the whole crazy quilt kaleidoscope. Fifty-fifty if most of us haven't paid with our lives at the easily of the Mob, we have paid out of our pocketbooks. At that place is not one American who has not, directly or indirectly, filled the coffers of organized criminal offence, typically through the inflated costs of goods resulting from criminal easily in the till of the nigh mundane services we all use and depend on. One of the interesting aspects of the book is how clueless and in denial law enforcement, particularly Hoover's FBI, were for decades about the mob and its influence. Just after the efforts ot JFK and RFK and the later advent of the RICO laws did diverse levels of the law finally brainstorm to catch upwards to the vastness of the problem and be able to exercise something about it. Equally Raab has pointed out, the Mob were the mirror epitome of commercialism. They just managed to cut out the various inconveniences of legality. Which begs a lot of questions near how irresponsible and inhumane our "legal" businesses operate while exploiting the public welfare inside the thin shell of bought-off laws. Unfortunately, information technology seems, at that place is always going to be a "mob" of sociopathic elites hellbent on keeping the states under their thumbs. They may not "whack" us, necessarily, but they certain as hell will brand our lives unduly miserable. That is another subject... KR@KY 2021
This is a pretty comprehensive overview of the mob. It's useful for putting a timeline together in your head and there were a few interesting new stories, but the more than exposure you already accept to mafia not-fiction the fewer surprises will be in store. As an overview, it never actually gets into all that much depth well-nigh whatever particular story or individual (understandably, every bit it would take required a multi-volume fix to exercise that), then you will find a more complete and circuitous business relationship in books that focus on i era/issue/mobster. I did find out a few things I didn't know earlier, though - for case, I didn't know about all the controversy surrounding Kurins and O'Brien'southward Boss of Bosses or the diverse means the mob infiltrated constabulary enforcement (even the FBI!) or all that much about the Gaspipe Casso stuff. Also the tone tin be a bit moral-panicky, especially towards the terminate. For instance, the commentary on the Sopranos was very silly ("OMG information technology glorifies the mob" - mmm not really, or at least far less then than the classic mafia films; "a mafia leader could never see a shrink or it would make him look weak" - yep that's a plot point on the prove, they deal with that straight; bluntly 1 of the most interesting things well-nigh this volume was noting which plots from the Sopranos were based on real events!). Similarly, the commentary on gender and the mob seemed similar a disingenuous tack-on (it'due south certainly true that the mob is sexist, but surely the author could have done a better job illuminating that as he told the individual stories of mobsters throughout the volume, by mentioning all the cheating and domestic violence and pimping that was happening at the same time as the other crimes and immoralities he found worthy of mention). He does at least occasionally criticize the FBI and the other authorities investigations, at least.
So I am FINALLY done with this volume. It was very proficient, just at times I felt like I was slogging through it. Because how much I generally enjoy slog-worthy books (the denser the better), I'm non sure what my outcome is with this one. First of all, it was well-written and the information was actually interesting. Secondly, I learned a lot of details on mob history I didn't know. But that'south it. I didn't look frontwards to reading it. I certainly didn't choose to read it over knitting or doing something else, like listening to my audiobook on the Gulag (it'southward crawly, but a bit of a slogger, too, in parts). I didn't dread reading Five Families either. It merely "was." Kind of similar having to read ethnography upon ethnography in graduate school, or worse, articles and more articles on archaeological studies of hunters and gatherers in the prehistoric past. I'm an archaeologist. I should dearest that shit no thing what. But at times, that shit (coprolites anyone?) was torture. (Good affair I'm a historical archaeologist - no hunter gatherers in places similar Louisville and Lexington in the late nineteenth century). Anyway, enough rambling. I guess my point is (finally), that I would recommend this book if you are actually interested in the history of the mafia; in particular, the events that occurred from the 1970s through the 1990s. The court case histories probably were my favorite part of the book. It'due south adept. Just don't conceptualize anything besides sensational. You'll merely be disappointed and start watching reruns of The Sopranos, dripping tears onto your biscotti, hoping to finally become your "mob prepare" (I didn't do that by the mode - it'southward just with all the mafia stuff on TV these days [Mafia Wives, anyone?], people tin can't become enough of the sensationalism).
A very in-depth and detailed wait at the five mob families and their cappos, and also from the law enforcement side Dewey Robert Kennedy and Giuliani and some of the FBI are heavily reported on.
A poorly edited headache of a volume with little to offer on tiptop of its chief sources in the LCN not-fiction canon equally to be a near-full waste of time. Somehow includes less material on the pre-Apalachin menstruation than your boilerplate Wikipedia commodity, but packs in more sensational junk near John Gotti than the New York Post and all the books written by his family combined. Departures from its chronological arrangement are frequent, making an already long and complex history even harder to follow than necessary (even for someone familiar with the subject affair). On summit of this a sanctimonious, law-enforcement-triumphalist tone I find unwelcome. I put this thing down later on finishing almost seventy% and read _Donnie Brasco_ instead: I recommend you skip it altogether and become straight to the main sources.
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