Rating: 
Summary: A solid Mafia history
Review: I picked this book up on a whim. I had just read the Westies and I wanted to learn more about the Italian mafia. Well this book was probably the best I could have picked up for an overview and it led me to some other more cetralized books. I see a lot of reviewers have complained that it centers too much on Gotti and yes this is true. In fact the book mostly focuses on Gotti and Castellano. I feel this is because there isn't much to go on for the older bosses in the way of written history. Davis does a good job of piecing together bits to create a history of the Cosa Nostra from the turn of the century to Carlo Gambino. You can tell that information is pretty scarce because he moves quickly through the bosses and the histroy and you get to Castellano after like 200 pages. Most of Davis's information comes from Gotti's and Castellano's tapes. Therefore the remainder of the book gets very detail oriented and recounts much of the history at a pretty rapid pace. One thing I think Davis could have done better would have to not be so repetitive about quotes. He used many of Gotti's and Castellano's quotes from the tapes and testimony over and over. But if you are looking for a solid history and are new to this genre of reading then this is probably the best you can find. Then if you want more precise novels pick up; Boss of Bosses, Bound By Honor, The Westies, Wiseguy, Donnie Brasco, Underboss, etc...
Rating:
Summary: A solid Mafia history
Review: I picked this book up on a whim. I had just read the Westies and I wanted to learn more about the Italian mafia. Well this book was probably the best I could have picked up for an overview and it led me to some other more cetralized books. I see a lot of reviewers have complained that it centers too much on Gotti and yes this is true. In fact the book mostly focuses on Gotti and Castellano. I feel this is because there isn't much to go on for the older bosses in the way of written history. Davis does a good job of piecing together bits to create a history of the Cosa Nostra from the turn of the century to Carlo Gambino. You can tell that information is pretty scarce because he moves quickly through the bosses and the histroy and you get to Castellano after like 200 pages. Most of Davis's information comes from Gotti's and Castellano's tapes. Therefore the remainder of the book gets very detail oriented and recounts much of the history at a pretty rapid pace. One thing I think Davis could have done better would have to not be so repetitive about quotes. He used many of Gotti's and Castellano's quotes from the tapes and testimony over and over. But if you are looking for a solid history and are new to this genre of reading then this is probably the best you can find. Then if you want more precise novels pick up; Boss of Bosses, Bound By Honor, The Westies, Wiseguy, Donnie Brasco, Underboss, etc...
Rating: 
Summary: Captivating; Excellent; Too Much Gotti!
Review: I was quite captivated by Davis' story of the Gambino crime family. The book is an excellent read, highly captivating, and fascinating. If you have never read any books about the Mafia or John Gotti, then this is simply one good book to read. I have read several books about the Mafia, so there are a few things I would have preferred. I believe Davis glossed over, too quickly, the early rise of the Gambino crime family. I would have liked to have learned more about the early crime bosses and would have preferred more background about how they got to were they were.Only about 1/3 of the book covers the rise of the Gambino family and its godfathers. Therefore, I believe, Davis skimmed over much of the history to hurry and arrive at the Gotti dynasty. I believe, as other reviewers do, that there is too much history about Gotti; too much detail about his trials; and too much relying upon the infamous tapes. Nevertheless, the book is quite readable. Read it if you are a beginning Mafia reader.
Rating: 
Summary: Forgivably incomplete - good book
Review: If you're interested in a slightly imbalanced account of the most powerful mob figures in history - told authoritatively and well, this is a good book. I say imbalanced only because, as some other reviewers have mentioned, Davis focuses most intensely on John Gotti - who, in fact only led the Gambino crew through part of the '80's and 90's. That's not to say that Davis doesn't give a full account of the genesis of LCN and of the Gambino's - he does. But it would be nice to see those early years fleshed out a bit more. As an author, Davis is knowledgable and imaginative, though he tends to repeat himself a bit - the effect is almost condescending, though I don't think it's meant to be. A snappy reader will find little academic reward in this book, but if you want some real gritty dumb-tough-guy history, this is fun stuff. It's no lightweight - 500 pages, but it's also got a great index so you can refer back to the names and places you might have forgotten as you go along. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Erroneous in many places, but solid
Review: John H. Davis obviously wanted this book to be his crown jewel among his other works, and it doesn't fall too short of a good effort in the end. For one, the writing in the book is readable and well formatted -- more so than other authors like Pileggi and Roemer -- and he has also attempted to give the birthdate of nearly all the characters in the book. Unfortunately, his attempts go very awry and he makes an error on nearly everyone's birthdate/age in the story. The picture section is nice, but nearly all the dates are wrong, and the character's ages at different periods are very muddled, such as Sal Maranzano being born in 1868 (according to Davis), but being in his "mid forties" in 1931. There are many other such discrepancies but they are somewhat unimportant, the largest error being his reliance on other people's books for his storytelling. The book on Paul Castellano by the two special agents (which I have read three times) is not all that reliable, and several upper-echelon FBI employees have contradicted their bugging and surveillance techniques, instead saying that their story is bolony. Perhaps the biggest mistake was focusing on the media's darling, John Gotti, ... But, succumbing to popular demand, Davis focuses half if not most of the story on Gotti and his violent antics rather than telling the full story on the legendary Carlo Gambino or the aloof but erudite Paul Castellano. As a result, we get a rehash of aforamentioned events told from books such as Goombata (Volkman, 1990) and Gangbusters: How The FBI Broke The Mob.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the book is the brief deviation from the Gambino story, where Davis meets Mr. Lucky Luciano, the original boss of bosses, in Naples, and has a kurt but direct exchange with him about the roots of organized crime in America. This is telling of Davis' skill has a intervewer, and it shows that he has seen the landscapes of Italy he so vividly described in the introduction. Still, after reading the 500-page tome, one has the feeling of having read an extremely long news article, rather than a fulfilling biography. 6.5/10
Rating: 
Summary: What?
Review: Least factually accurate mafia book I've ever read.
Rating:
Summary: At once, sobering and comical
Review: Read this book for a corrective to the seductive powers of Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather trilogy and HBO's The Sopranos, which promote the "The Family" in more or less sympathetic tones. Davis' narrative combines historical research (locating the roots of Cosa Nostra in 19th century feudal Italy), psychological profiling (well-drawn portraits of the genius Carlo Gambino, luxury-loving but ultimately out-of-touch Paul Castellano, and blowhard John Gotti), and legal journalism (blow-by-blow accounts of the three Gotti trials of the 1980s and 1990s). There are comical moments, most notably Castellano's tawdry affair with his maid (caught on FBI tapes) and Gotti's obscenity-laden self-incriminating boasting that he always knows what is on (while being taped), and mob lawyer Bruce Cutler's courtroom tirades. But most of all, there is throughout the undeniable rot of organized crime, where murder is treated not as a sin, but as a business expense. Despite some grammatical errors and occasionally too much information (the book could have been better edited in my view), this book will balance out American culture's strange ambivalence regrading organized crime.
Rating:
Summary: Captivating; Excellent; Too Much Gotti!
Review: This book is very well written and detailed. It is about 500 pages covering mainly the Gambinos in earlier parts, including Joseph and Thomas. There is some overlap with the other New York families. As one proceeds through the book, attention shifts to Gotti and it becomes a story about him. It covers his trials and the eventual exclusion of Bruce Cutler from his defence, and of course the flip by the "bull" to work for the prosecution. Maloney and other prosecutors are included. All quite interesting and well executed (if I can use that phrase in this book review). I read this book along with a few other selected books which seem to follow a downfall in the garbage collection monopoly, and the decline on garment district trucking business, meat and fish markets all about the same time in the late 1980's early 1990's when "the chin" Gigante was also sent to jail and the Genovese family slipped. This book gives just a partial view and you need to read more to get the complete picture of the evolution from the docks to control of trucking and hijacking. Good book on the subject, holds the reader, and suggest read related books also. At least three or four stars. Jack in Toronto
Rating:
Summary: Good book..center s too much on Gotti
Review: This is good mafia book. It does go into Gambino crime family past..which could of been more presented here. People like Phil Mangano, albert antastastia, and gambino people who really built it up in the first place..not like like Gotti who done a prety good job of destroying it, but it does go into the history a little. He even had a couple of conversations with Luiciano while he was serving in the navy in Italy. A little more history..oh, say like murder, inc. and the first boss and Gambino would of been really good. Perhaps not enough is known.
Rating:
Summary: men of respect
Review: This is one of the best mafia books that I have read the only problem with this book that I see is that it does not talk much about Don Carlo and to much about the low points and decline of the Mob.Jonh Gotti was made of the old line of men of honor but he forgot the rules of the mob 1\ stay low key stay and out of the public eye.Just look at what happened to men like Al copone,bugsy,and my favorite Don charlie lucky men who did not fellow that rule was no more.This book does gives an inside look in the lives of key members in the mob.So thats why I recommend this book to any one who wants a better understanding of what went wrong with the most powerful crime family in the The United States of America.
|
