Honor Thy Father

Rating:
Summary: nothing as it seems
Review: "Honor Thy Father" is a highly santized look at the Bonanno crime family, one of the infamous "Five Families" in the New York Mafia.The principal character is the son of the Family Boss. Because the author had the cooperation of the Bonannos in writing "HTF", a reader can scarcely expect any juicy "inside the mafia" expose. And, of course, that is exactly what the reader will NOT get. The story suffers further by its' studied, almost languid pace. Ultimately, "Honor Thy Father" is a tale leading nowhere and signifying nothing. The one and only saving grace is the historical background provided on the OTHER New York area families and the intrigues, betrayals, rubouts, deportations, etc that have provided so much entertainment. I remember the unsuccesful"hit" on Frank Costello and the succesful Park Sheraton Hotel hit on Albert Anastasia (in his barber chair at the Park Sheraton Hotel)because, at different times,I lived near the sites. On my way to school,I daily walked past Frank Costello's apartment building at 115 Central Park West. Other than this New York Mob trivia, "Honor Thy Father" has zero to offer. And nowhere between the pages is a single "honorable" act performed. Readers should look elsewhere for tales of honor or of the Mafia.

Rating:
Summary: Look elsewhere for anther "Godfather"
Review: I don't want to say that this is a boring Mafia book. But if you are looking for the action and drama in the "Godfather," then go read the "Godfather" or rent the movies. However, Gay Talese's reporting skills has never ceased to amaze me. "Honor Thy Father" is just another proof.

Rating:
Summary: great writer
Review: I don't want to say that this is a boring Mafia book. But if you are looking for the action and drama in the "Godfather," then go read the "Godfather" or rent the movies. However, Gay Talese's reporting skills has never ceased to amaze me. "Honor Thy Father" is just another proof.

Rating:
Summary: fascinating novelistic account of life inside the Mob
Review: QUESTION: What motivated you to let Gay Talese have your story?

Bill Bonanno: Gay Talese was a very insistent correspondent for The New York Times at the time. The New York Times, he told me, doesn't have reporters, they have correspondents. And he just didn't give up. He was very tenacious. He hounded me for about four or five months until I said OK, you can have the story, provided that we have an understanding: that you will get it a little bit at a time whenever I can. I couldn't very well tell him that at the time I was involved in a shooting war in New York.

One of the stupider criticisms, amidst many legitimate ones, of George W. Bush in this 2000 Presidential campaign is that he is merely following in his Dad's footsteps; as if this was unusual? John McCain went to the Naval Academy--his father and grandfather were admirals. Steve Forbes runs Forbes magazine--here's a shocker for you, he wasn't the founder. Al Gore was nicknamed Prince Albert because he was so patently aping his old man's career. (Bradley is the exception here, thanks to the freak gift of athletic ability). And, your intrepid correspondent, the fifth of six consecutive Orrin Judds, attended the alma mater of three of the four, went to law school like the third and, barring a strict prohibition from my wife, would even now be attending seminary like the first and fourth. This is what men do, we follow in our fathers footsteps. In Honor Thy Father, Gay Talese offers a fascinating real-life account of what happens when the family business turns out to be the Mafia.

Talese was still a beat writer for the New York Times in 1965 when he was sent to the federal courthouse in Manhattan to cover the arrest of Bill Bonanno, an intelligent, affable young mobster who had been wanted for questioning in the disappearance of his father, mob boss Joseph Bonanno. Talese, himself of Italian descent, had long wondered what life was like for real mafiosi. He approached Bill Bonanno, who was his own age and was college educated (though he never finished) and asked him if he would sit down for a series of interviews which would lead to a book on growing up the son of a Don. Over the next five years, while Bonanno dealt with the disappearance and reappearance of his father, fought his way through a mob war (the Banana War) and ended up going to prison for credit card fraud, Talese gained unprecedented access to Bonanno and family and friends. The result is this fascinating novelistic account of life inside the Mob, with a particular focus on how this bright, articulate, modern man was drawn into his father's brutal and backwards business.

It all makes for riveting reading.

GRADE: A

Rating:
Summary: great writer
Review: This author is an excellent writer. He informs, educates and enterains all at once. If you want cliches go some where else,
if you want a great book stay here.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating
Review: This has to be the most boring mafia book that I have ever read in my life. It seemed to drag on forever. The detail of some issues bored me and that's why it took me six months to read the book.

Rating:
Summary: nothing as it seems
Review: This is the kind of book you either love or hate. It doesn't have the same thrill and suspension such as "Wiseguy" and "Underboss", and it doesn't reveal anything new about the mafia. Certainly a disappointment. But if you read it as a piece of new journalism writing it won't let you down.