Thomas Dunne Book for St. Martin's Griffin Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires

The mafia bible, thick as two stacked bricks it’s a big read

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Per chi vuole comprendere il fenomeno mafioso al di fuori dei propri confini culturali e geografici. Un opera di giornalismo storico adatto anche a lettori poco esperti del settore

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As I was totally immersed watching episodes of “Inside the American Mafia” on Netflix, I realized that Selwyn Raab’s interesting and invaluable commentary was what made the series so great. His authoritative knowledge and storytelling ability compelled me to order his book, FIVE FAMILIES, as I was watching the series. If there is one source I would recommend about understanding the “nuts and bolts” of Mafia in America, it would certainly be FIVE FAMILIES.The basic premise of FIVE FAMILIES is to illustrate how the crux of the American Mafia evolves around the happenings of the five major crime families in New York City (Luchese, Gambino, Genovese, Colombo and Bonnano). Paralleling the families’ stories is the gradual acceptance of the US government to acknowledge the Mafia’s existence and eventually formulate a plan to combat it. Raab does a magnificent job in presenting the birth, rise, decline (and likely resurgence) of these families and does so in a manner that is both entertaining and absorbing. Even more impressive is that FIVE FAMILIES manages to simplify the massive, interweaving complexities associated with these organizations to a level that most readers will appreciate. This meaty volume of 700+ pages provides an abundance of detailed information, but Raab graciously divides the material into 60 digestible (10-12 page) chapters that keeps readers focused. Miraculously, the book never became a tedious grind; I find it rare to read books this size that don’t either bore me to tears or eventually challenge my will to finish.FIVE FAMILIES is pretty much a chronological affair through the 1960s, when the families began to exploit their power. The period from the 1970s to the early 2000s, Raab informally groups chapters by family to better illustrate their peaks and subsequent downfalls in a more concise manner. This 70s-00s era provides much more intricate and juicy storylines as the US government’s willingness to fight the mafia resulted in a number of Mafiosi willing to violate their codes of silence. Much of the book describes the nitty-gritty of the violence perpetuated by the families (both within and outside the families) and the shady rackets that pretty much explains why everything in New York City costs so much (even candy bars). The power and the reach exerted by these families is eerily shocking. Ironically, the pages of mindless bloodshed is accompanied by stories that are both humorous and quirky. The plethora of gangster nicknames peppering each page (and the rationale behind the names) is a gem in-and-of itself. It was easy to see the basis for almost every significant Hollywood presentation of the Mafia being outlined in the book … even the fictitious “Sopranos”.What I appreciated most about FIVE FAMILIES is that it easily presents itself as being an authority on anything-everything related to the American Mafia. No stone is left unturned in this book as every major gangster from Luciano to “the last Don” Joe Massino (and everyone in-between) is addressed. Additionally, every significant mafia-related event is covered in satisfactory detail. Whether it be the famous Apalachin bust in 1957, the Kennedy assassination(s), the brutality of “Gaspipe” Casso, “Chin” Gigante’s decades-long mental illness ruse or the Teflon-turned-Velcro John Gotti trials … FIVE FAMILIES covers it ALL. More interesting is how the federal government went from turning its back to the Mafia’s existence to aggressively tackling each one of the five families by using the most powerful and effective tool in its armory: RICO. Each subsequent chapter is as engrossing as the previous.For anyone interested in the American Mafia, I cannot think of a better primer than FIVE FAMILIES as it provides such a comprehensive understanding of the entire organization (as a whole and each individual family) … it’s a one-stop-shop type of resource that entertains from beginning to end. While I have read several books that focus on specific mafia stories or individuals (Roy DeMeo, Nicky Scarfo or Richard Kuklinski), I have yet to see a book that ties everything together as well as FIVE FAMILIES manages to do … Selwyn Raab bats this one out of the park.