I read it over the Memorial Day weekend, but I was hoping someone else would post an opinion first. Well, I guess I'll start. I'll try not to give too much away, but if you're leery of spoilers you might want to stop reading this post right now.

The book was much better than either of Winegardner's. At least Falco has a grasp of Italian American New York. Winegardner is a blue eyed Ohioan, and that's how he chose to portray the protagonist in his books. Big mistake.

I enjoyed the storyline of the Irish and the Italians struggling for control of the West Side. I now believe it was indeed based on a Puzo script. I admit I had my doubts. That said, the book still wasn't up to par with anything Puzo ever wrote (and truth be told, I think Puzo was a great storyteller, but not a great writer). The dialogue was also kinda cheesy, but it could just be that a lot of the 1930s patois seems dated today. So what do I know?

I could have lived without knowing how Luca became so slow witted. I also didn't need to know that he didn't like to bathe.

But my biggest problem with the book was the portrayal of the Rosato brothers as contemporaries of Vito's. Now I could be wrong, but I always felt that the Rosatos were younger "upstarts," and definitely younger than Pentangeli. And if you know that they were based on the Gallo brothers, then you should know that the Gallos were little kids in 1933-1934.

I was sympathetic towards Cork and his sister. They both deserved a better fate. And I did enjoy the Bronx setting. So the Corleones lived on Hughes Avenue? We were almost neighbors! I grew up on 187th and Hoffman and still own a property there, so I admit this was a nice surprise .

Nice try, Ed. But in the words of Maxwell Smart, you missed it by that much.