BADABING...BADABOOM...
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This book provides a wonderful birds-eye view into the early Cosa Nostra. Well- written and well-researched by the author, he skillfully organizes the thoughts of Joe Valachi, a racketeer and soldier in the Cosa Nostra from way back when. Valachi's reminiscences of the mob of the nineteen twenties through the nineteen sixties come alive for the reader in the expert hands of the author, an award winning investigative journalist. It is a cohesive, interesting, and painstakingly detailed account of life in the Cosa Nostra.
This was one of the first such insider accounts of the Cosa Nostra, and it almost never got written, as the federal government sought to bar the author from writing and publishing such a book. The author, however, took on the federal government on that issue and filed a lawsuit. Ultimately, he emerged victorious, and the book, one of the first of its kind, became a bestseller and a motion picture that was a box office hit.
For those who enjoy reading about true crime and the Mafia, it doesn't get much better than this.
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superb, Valachi is a great character
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As is sometimes the case with biographical/autobiographical accounts of someone's role in the 'mafia' there is sometimes the danger that they can become 'big headed' and tell lies. In this book though it is not the case. Valachi's almost photographic memory sees to this as does the follow up research from the author. A must have book for anyone interested in Cosa Nostra.
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Good book, but be warned
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Firstly let me say, at the time of reading i really enjoyed this book. I thought i was reading an acurate insight into the underworld through the eyes of a man who experienced the highs and lows of life in the Mafia.
However, i read this a few months ago and i recently realised that this book must be taken with a pinch of salt. That doesnt mean it is not a usefull read, because even a biased peice of work is still usefull aslong as you can appreciate the context in which the book is written. It does dig into the workigns of the mafia, but only from an underlings point of view, his knowledge of the workings of the upper circle are limited. If you want to read about the true workings of the Commision etc, i recomend A Man of Honour by Joe Bonanno. The best strategy would be to read the both and compare and contrast to draw your own all round conclusion.
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Mafia/Politics
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I'm a great fan of the Sopranos and when I saw this book featured in the show I decided to buy it. You can see where plotlines for the series came from!
The Mafia is a great metaphor for, as the Black Eyed Peas put it, 'how evil works and operates'. This maybe about the Mob in the US, but you get the same dynamics in corporations, government and Rotary Clubs. Whenever human beings come together in organisations, rather than working together effectively, they often prefer to struggle for power and abuse each other.
Valachi is an interesting case. A villain who wants to believe in an organisation, but who is cheated by it. As he says at the end of the book, "I hope the American people will benefit by knowing what the mob is like. If I was killed in Atlanta, I would have died branded as a rat anyway without doing anything wrong. So what did I lose?"
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very enjoyable
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im a big fan of mob movies/books, and i noticed this book in series 5 of The Sopranos, which made me buy it. although it is a very slow start, due to the fact the author (Pete Mass) is explaining the process of getting such a high profile book like this on the shelves. once it starts though, BANG, your in, and there is no way you are putting this book down. a thoroughly enjoyable and believable book, and i say believable because there are some books/authors/co-authors who "big themselves up". Valachi tells how it was, and doesnt sell himself as a top figure if you like a good read, then look no further
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