So I have read Murder Machine, sins of my father, and am like 3/4 of the way through deal with the devil. I think im getting Enforcer or Casino.. Which is the better of those two? Or are they both must reads?

After that it's wide open.. I was considering Donnie Brasco, wiseguy, Five families or boss of bosses. I am mostly interesting the American mob. Anyone have any suggestions for a must read? And what is the better of the books I just mentioned. Thanks .

Casino is definitely better. Roemer just rambles a lot in Enforcer plus he makes up dialogue... never a good thing.

As for your other selections:

1. Wiseguy
2. Five Families
3. Donnie Brasco
4. Boss of Bosses

Just read "Five Families" first. It will give you the background you need before you delve into the more individual biographies.

Oh, for the record, the best individual mob bio I've ever read was "Little Man: Meyer Lansky and the Gangster Life," by Robert Lacey. Absolutely wonderful book .

Thanks fellas.. I appreciate the input.

The ones suggested are great reads. You may also enjoy "Mob Killer" by Anthony M DeStefano. It is about Gambino wiseguy Charlie Carniglia.

Also I found "The Gotti Tapes" to be an interesting read. It has the transcripts of fbi recordings on Gotti and his guys, also Gravano's court testimony.

I echo what PB said about the Lansky bio. Two other bios that are must-reads:

"Capone," by John Kobler.
"King of the Godfathers," by Anthony DiStefano.

I'm hanging out till big joey writes his own biography.
"The current problem with the BOP. When prison food leads you to flip"

Or 'underboss 2.0, the untold story of why your best mate f**king your sister is always bad for business.' By salvatore Vitale.

Even "Let me out now, I was only kidding. The never before told story of the best looking prisoner in Colorados supermax prison.'

It's a Bonnano trilogy. A discount if you pay cash.

A couple of the best books are Wiseguy and Donnie Brasco.

Also, I really liked Unlocked by Louis Ferrante - and it gives you a picture of a more modern mobster.

Yeah 5 families and The Outfit by Gus Russo will give you a wealth of information and a basis on what times, families, and individuals you may be interested in an want to learn more about.

The Casino book is really good - just read it about a month ago - but i have heard the The Black Book and the Mob gives much more info...I bought it but havent read it yet

hasn tbeen a good one in a while. the little al book was dull. it could have been better almost like he held back. what ever happened to jr gotti going for a book probably reson he got stabbed, shut him up. merlino said something about a book I thought and up here in boston I thought frank salemmi was gonna try to cash in on the whitey bulger gold rush but didn't. maybe the north end old timers nixed it. I liked crazy phills book but he waited 10yrs to late all his storys were told over and over. shit he would have got 1mill back in the 90tys.

best one in the last 10yrs I think was the last don or whatever it was called about joe massino. great read.

Mafia prince , the book about Phil leonetti is up there with the best I've read

+1 for Mafia Prince. Also, I really liked Nick Caramandi's book with George Anastasia. Also really liked Jimmy Breslin's book "The Good Rat" about Burt Kaplan, Gas, and Eppolito/ Caracappa.

Wow thanks everyone.. So many recommendations! I think ill start with Five Families and take it from there. Thanks again.

I say it depends, what is your favorite family to read about or which one would you like to get into? I have found that if I'm not interested in the family I wont get into the book like I should and if I like the family enough I can overlook a bad book.

I got to say. When Murder Machine was good it was really, really good but Capeci's Gotti book is probably more consistent all the way through - I'm over half way into it now.

+1 for the Good Rat by Jimmy Breslin (about the Mafia Cops). I love Breslin's writing style: tongue in cheek humor while discussing a murder.

In addition to 5 Families, some of my other favorites are:

Last Days of the Sicilians - the Pizza Connection case.

Mafia Inc - the Montreal / Rizzuto family.

The Outfit - Good history of Chicago

Of the ones you mentioned I thought Five Families was the best. Gives the history of each family and goes through to current times. Was one the of few books to have any info on recent Genovese happenings and some info about Gigante.

Wiseguy is good, so is Boss of Bosses. Read them both a long time ago. Can't remember many details.

Books I would recommend:

Family Secrets by Jeff Coen. Good book about the Chicago Outfit
Underboss. About Sammy Gravano and the Gambinos.

Breslin is a love him or hate him kind of guy. But whether you love him or hate him, he and Pete Hamill are the last of the hard-boiled NYC reporters.

Wait to my friends book comes out read that one if he ever finishes it. It should be a lot of fun.

How many pages in The Murder Machine I might decide to try and read that one day. Book put me to sleep is it also an audio book?

I'm currently reading 5 families and it's a really good read, I don't know if you're interested in Philly LCN but Nicky Crows book blood and honor by George Anastasia is a great read. Even Leonetti's book mafia Prince was a good read as well.

Are there any good books about Costello or Luciano you guys know of?

'When Corruption Was King' by Robert Cooley.

Gives first hand insight into what Bridgeport/Chinatown was like during the LaPietra Bros heyday, as well as insight into the D'Amico Crew during the 1980s. And of course the inner workings of Chicago's city hall when it was still Outfit-controlled.

@Huron.

Thanks. Always on the lookout for a good Chicago book.

Casino was good, as was the family secrets book. Roemers books seemed a little (wink) ONEsided but there was some good overall info.

So again, thx for the recommends.

Did anybody else really like "Unlocked" by Lou Ferrante? I never see it mentioned and I thought it was great. Lou is a surprisingly good writer and he's funny. He makes fun of himself and his crew throughout his book. Also, it was interesting to hear from a young guy talking about life in the mob in the early 1990s. He didn't become a rat and he served his time and changed his life. He wasn't made but he was still affiliated with powerful people like the Gottis.

Check out Ovid Demaris's "Captive City" for another good Chicago book. It was published in 1969 but it's a good companion piece for Roemer's book as it covers roughly the same time period.

Ya no problem. Mark Wahlberg purchased the rights to produce 'When Corruption Was King' but I haven't heard anything else regarding the project.