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Books Related to Five Families Raab Selwyn - ISBN: 1861059523
Well researched - Rated
With this book I was expecting the same with many other Cosa Nostra books, the 'rise and fall', however this was different. It was very detailed and included bits about the rise of cosa nostra that were new to me. There was other interesting parts also on Mafia figures like 'Chin' Gigante were information is not normally previously available. Overall well written and easy to read,even though its over 700 pages long
Enjoyable book - Rated
I really enjoyed this well-researched book. It is not sensationalist, but is easy to read. I would certainly recommend it to anyone interested in the subject matter.
Superb book - Rated
This is a comprehensive, articulate, and well-written book on the post-war Mafia. The author focuses on the rise and fall of the Five Families who came to dominate organised crime. The book is easy to read and Selwyn has clearly gone out of his way to research the matter. A must for any fan of this area.
Probably the best book i've ever read! - Rated
An extreemely interesting read about post second world war mafia. It is extreemely well written and will give you a very concise read about the higherlings of the five mafia families.
The books main point is the introduction of the Rackateering Influenced and Corrupt Orginations law (RICO) and its major implementations on recent crime figures such as gotti and massino.
However, if you are looking for a book detailing pre second world war mafia then this is not it. Luciano is briefly detailed, murder inc is included a bit but that is not what this book is about - and no, al capone is not in this book!!
If you want to know all sbout the ups and downs of more recent mafia activities then i would definately recoment you read this book!
The Mobs Decline Examined in Detail. - Rated
I could not quite justify the full five. I believe that full marks are for the exceptional works of genius that are seldom published. This is not quite upto that standard.
Despite this being an excellent account of the mafia's decline over the last 30 years, its chapters on the beginnings and haydays of the mob were sketchy and frequently incorrect. An example of this is Vincent Mangano being named as the first boss of the Gambino family from 1931-51. Anyone who has studied this group will know that their history goes back much further than 1931 and that Al Mineo and, for a short time, Frank Scalise both predated Mangano as family Boss.
The Mobs Golden years (40s and 50s) are also very low on detail. Joey Adonis is totally ignored.
But, and I think this was the authors point, the beginning and peak years of the Mob have been written of many times. By concentrating on the tragi-comic saga type decline of the Gambino's (Gotti), the Lucchese's (Amuso/Casso) and the Bonanno's (Massino) Raab as avoided re-writing the same stale old tales.
All the information in this book as already appeared in print but this is the first to catalogue concise versions of the stories and add analysis of what the events signify and what may come next.
Its an enjoyable read, never becoming dry and academic. A must have book for anyone with an interest in La Cosa Nostra over the last 40 years.
