Spoiler Warning

The movie starts with the Santadio war?! Doesn't that ruin it? When I read the book the anticipation just kept building as I heard small mentions of it. That was one of the great things about the book, I wasn't disappointed when I read about the war but it helped that it had become so important. How can the movie start off with that? That must mean they really changed the story or at least it's not as enjoyable.

Yes, I completely agree with you. The Santadio War doesn't belong in the beginning, but Hollywood writers probably thought that there should be some action in the beginning to capture viewers attention. The war was the highlight of the book; it was really the most complicated part. What I mean is that The Last Don is really a very simple novel when compared to Godfather, but that only makes it more powerful. Only Mario Puzo could create something like that. I remember when I read it; I wasn't bored for a single second. I even enjoyed the Hollywood episodes, which weren't really about the Mafia. But then again those studio executives are like Don's.

I recently finished reading The Family, and was pleasantly surprised. I have to say it was a bit slow in the beginning, but after that point it's really exciting. Various users commented on how Mario Puzo didn't go in to great details, but I believe that makes the book more interesting.