Greatly appreciate this discussion and a well-researched mob book. Here's a new one for 2025: "Mafia Mistaken: Why Everything You Think You Know About Italian American Organized Crime is Wrong" by John de Luca. Gutsy claim in the title, right?

I think folks here will find it refreshing. It dispels a LOT of myths and also, most significantly, talks about the MODERN mafia. It doesn't just present some historical tales from the 1930s and 1970s or whatever.

The chapters are also designed to be cheeky, I think. They are:

“The Mafia Doesn’t Exist”
The Etymologies Are Bullshit
The FBI Uses the Wrong Name
Life Imitates Art – Too Much
Omertá Is a Myth
You Can’t Believe the Tell-Alls
The Mob Isn’t Really Nationwide Anymore
Some “Families” Were Glorified Crews
The “Commission” Is Largely Powerless
How Giuliani Became Mayor
Mobsters Are Like Strippers
You Should Not Join the Mob
But You Could Start Your Own Franchise
The Government Is the Mafia
The Mob Has No Purpose

I believe the ones that are most controversial, but which need to be said, are:

You can't believe the tell alls. So many ex mobsters and associates have YouTube channels. So much of it is nonsense.

The mob isn't nationwide anymore. It's really just a Philly and NY phenomenon. Even Chicago and New England are shells.

The chapter on why folks shouldn't join the mob is an explanation of its decline.

Hope folks enjoy it.