i'm on a mafia kick! Someone tell me about some Mafia books!!!!! PLEASE!

Some of the books i've read regarding the Mafia's are. . .
The Vallachi Papers, Joseph Vallachi tells his story.
WiseGuy, where GoodFellas was based.
The Mafia Princess, the daughter of sam Giancana tells his story. he is the close friend of Frank Sinatra in the Mob and former driver-bodyguard of Al Capone.
The Unauthorized biography of Frank Sinatra, a lot of mafia's are mentioned in the book. including Willie Morettie, the New Jersey Mob Boss who helped Frank Sinatra released from his band to go Solo. . .

GoodFella

The books I own are and in the order i read them are:

Wise Guy: This is the book that was based on the film Goodfellas. It is by far more descriptive then the movie, but the plot of the book and the plot of the movie are very similar. Still all and all a great read.

The Godfather: This is my favorite book that I read so far in the Mafia Genre. I aboslutely loved the movie and reading the book helped answer a lot of questions, especially about the blurry parts of the film. One of my favorite things to do is watch the movie first and then read the book. It really helps me understand the novel and makes reading it a lot more enjoyable. It is in-depth and very descriptive in terms of describing the characters. Although it is a long book (443 paperback), you would be missing out on a great story if you didn't read it.

Devil in a Blue Dress: This was one of the two books that I was required to read for my Gangster Fiction Class. It is about a smalltime gangster who offers the main character Easy Rawlins some good money if he can locate a particular woman. It was a good book and the first by author Walter Mosley. It certainly isnt about the Mafia or Italian families, but was a very entertaining book. You may want to read some others that are more Mafia related if that is your interest.

Legs: This was the second book required for me to read in that class. It is essentially the biography of the gangster Jack "Legs" Diamond. It is however NOT released as a biography of any sort, but the story of his life. Legs was a very good book but was very confusing to read. This is because lots of mafia terminology is used and that may be difficult to understand. I would read it, but after i am more fimilar with the way the Mafia worked and how the "Mob Terms" are used.

Casino: This is my favortie movie and i had gone crazy trying to find a copy of this book. If you are fortunate enough to get a copy (check out e-bay, thats where I got mine) I would read it. The first few chapters take place before the movie starts, so it really helps understand the plot of the storyline. This is by the same author who wrote Wise Guy.

Underboss: I just finished this book not to long ago. It is about Sammy "The Bull" Gravano and his life in the Mafia. It is in most parts like a biography of Gravano but really helps understand some of the rituals that took place in Cosa Nostra. If you are interested in Mafia history, check out this book. You will like it.

The Mafia Encyclopedia: This is a 400 page encyclopedia of Mafia terms, memebers, events, and other tibits of information about Cosa Nostra. Like the above, if you are interested in history of the Mafia, you would really enjoy having this in your collection. Also check out "The Idiot's Guide to the Mafia" I dont own it yet, but i did glance at it, and it is good.

These are other books that i have but have not read yet:

Donnie Brasco: I am reading this book now and it is a really really interesting story about how an undercover agent for the FBI Joe Pistone "Donnie Brasco" helped convict real life Mafia Soldiers, Associates, Captins, and Bosses. This book led the way for the film with the same name. This was one of the first three books i bought and although I'm just starting to read it now, I still find it very interesting.

Fools Die: This is a book about gambling and Las Vegas that i just bought right after reading The Godfather last Summer. I bought it because of my interests in gambling and gaming and I am sure that this is another great Mario Puzo novel.

Some other good reads that i don't own yet but i plan to own in the near future:

The Sicilian Puzo
The Last Don Puzo
Gotti: Rise and Fall Capeci,Mustain
The Godfather Papers Puzo
Goombata Cummings, Volkman

There are others, but these are the ones that i suggest and that I want to read in the future. I hope this is a good start for you Donlauren and the many others that are out there in search for a great Mafia book.

Try "Gangland" (I forget the author). Excellent story of how Bruce Mouw and the FBI nailed Gotti. It also balances out some of the bravado that Sammy Gravanno doled out in "Underboss." For the Gotti defenders, which I am not, "Gangland" shows how ruthless Gotti was. I have heard arguments that Sammy the Bull was a rat and "sold out" Gotti. No doubt, Sammy is a cold-blooded killer and his actions are not worth defending. But Gotti was every bit, perhaps moreso, of a power-hungry, blood-thirsty thug as Gravanno.
There is also an excellent account of how Gotti was able to stay one step beyond the reach of the law for many years (don't want to spoil it here).

I just finished up the last don last night. That book was damn good.

Try these two excellent novels.

1. "Gangster" by Lorenzo Carcaterra (The story of Angelo Vestieri and his associate Pudge Nichols. The story of 80 years in the Mafia)

2. "Capo" by Peter Watson (It focuses on the arrival of the Mafia in America via New Orleans in the late 19th century)

Giorgio Luigi Gambino

I always recommend "Little Man - Meyer Lansky and the Gangster Life"; "The Black Book and the Mob" (outstanding about Nevada and the Mob); "Boss of Bosses" (Paul Castellano bio); "Capone" (bios by John Kobler and Laurence Bergreen - both same titles).

Senor Turnbull who are the authors of those books?

GoodFella

"Little Man" is by Robert Lacey. "Black Book" is by Robert Farrell and Carol Case. "Boss of Bosses" is by Joseph O'Brien. The two best biographies of Capone are by John Kobler and Laurence Bergreen. Hope that helps, GF!

Thanks Senor Turnbull!

GoodFella

"Little Man" is by Robert Lacey.[/QB][/QUOTE]

It must be well written, I've always liked his biographies.

"Little Man" is by Robert Lacey.[/QB][/quote]It must be well written, I've always liked his biographies.[/QB][/QUOTE]
It is, definitely, Liz. One of the problems with trying to do serious research on gangsters is that they aren't the kind of people who leave their collected papers to universities so that people like us here can go in and peruse them. A lot of them were illiterate, and most took the vow of omerta seriously enough not to put anything in print that would incriminate themselves or others. The few (like Joe Bonanno) who wrote autobiographies or cooperated with biographers had more than the usual reasons to sanitize their pasts--Bonanno's book is a good read, but the guy never admits to so much as jaywalking, much less murder and drugs.
Most gangster writers rely on contemporary newspaper accounts, which were notoriously inaccurate and sensationalized. Lacey did his homework, got plenty of people to talk, looked at county records, etc.
One amusing note, if you don't mind: In the Seventies, when Lansky was trying for Israeli citizenship, he cooperated with noted Israeli journalist Uri Dan in an "authorized" biography, no doubt so he could whitewash his past to improve his chances for citizenship (he lost anyway). Dan was captivated by Lansky, who couldn't resist putting him on. For example, Lansky told him that Abner (Longy) Zwillman, New Jersey's biggest gangster of the Prohibition era and beyond, was "a member of my gang when we were kids." That's preposterous: Zwillman was based in Newark, NJ and, before the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels and Washington Bridge were built, it would have taken him over two hours each way to commute from Newark to the Lower East Side of NYC to be in Lansky's gang. Lansky also told Dan that he and Bugsy Siegel were "great pals" of the young Al Capone; that Siegel "sheltered" Capone from a murder rap before Capone went to Chicago, and thereafter, Capone owed Lansky and Siegel, and cooperated with them. B.S.!!! Capone fled to Chicago in 1919--when Bennie Siegel was exactly 13 years old. The first time they met was at the famous gangster convention in Atlantic City in 1929. That meeting was called to warn Capone that violence in Chicago was threatening gangster activity all over the country. As a result, Capone arranged to be arrested on a gun charge in Philadelphia, resulting in a year's stretch in a PA jail so things could cool down.

thank you. i think i'll buy the last don with my paycheck, everyone says it's really good.