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The First Family: Terror, Extortion, Revenge, Murder, and the Birth of the American Mafia
by
Mike Dash
Before the notorious Five Families who dominated U.S. organized crime for a bloody half century, there was the one-fingered criminal genius Giuseppe Morello–known as “The Clutch Hand”–and his lethal coterie of associates. In The First Family, historian, journalist, and New York Times bestselling author Mike Dash brings to life this little-known story, following the rise of...more
Hardcover, 416 pages
Published
August 4th 2009
by Random House
(first published 2009)
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There have been many stories written concerning "The Mafia". Most of these books pick up the story of the Mafia around the 1920's to the present day.
Mike Dash has put together the story of the Mafia from its very beginnings around 1890 thru 1920's. The story begins with the formation of lawless groups on the island of Sicily. These groups migrated to the United States for one of two reasons. The living conditions were so bad on Sicily that the United States looked like ...more
Mike Dash has put together the story of the Mafia from its very beginnings around 1890 thru 1920's. The story begins with the formation of lawless groups on the island of Sicily. These groups migrated to the United States for one of two reasons. The living conditions were so bad on Sicily that the United States looked like ...more
It's a shame they don't teach this book in school; more kids should know about Giuseppe "Clutch Hand" Morello and the notorious Barrel Murders. In this narrative rendition of well-researched facts Mike Dash how the difficult lives of Sicilian immigrants in New York were made worse by the same sorts of assholes that plagued them back in the old country.
Organized crime before prohibition, Al Capone, and Las Vegas, was a different sort of beast: counterfeiting (the original fo...more
Organized crime before prohibition, Al Capone, and Las Vegas, was a different sort of beast: counterfeiting (the original fo...more
The Mafia is one of those organizations that Hollywood and the media have turned into a household name. Its current public face is the fictional Tony Soprano. The closing years of the nineteenth century and the dawning of the twentieth were the halcyon days of Giuseppe Morello, who was known to cop and criminal alike as ‘the Clutch Hand’ because of a deformed arm. The nickname could just as well have derived from his talent for seizing any opportunity to make crime pay.
Mike Dash has...more
Mike Dash has...more
While writing The First Family it seems as if author Mike Dash didn’t include even the tiniest detail without sourcing and noting the inclusion. He takes the American mafia as far back as he can trace it, and then slowly through massive amounts of research from historical sources (police files, court records, genealogy trees, etc…) he gives us every piece of information surrounding the original gangsters. Most of his information is being presented for the first time, and with lots of viv...more
Jonathan
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Really enjoyed this book. I did not have much knowledge about the early days of the Mafia in America and much of what I know and have heard of the Mafia comes from fiction and Hollywood. However, this book discusses the very real saga of the Mafia in the early 20th century, and how the first real Mafia Boss make his impact in America. Guseippe Morello is not necessarily a household name now, but a century ago, he was as powerful a criminal as there was in the States. While he is not quite the re...more
While most Americans can name two or three famous Mafiosi, few have ever heard of Giuseppe Morella. Dash's vivid, fascinating account of his life and times may change that. Dash combed through century-old newspaper articles, police files, and court transcripts, and his extensive research shows on every page and sets the record straight on pre-Prohibition mob operations. The narrative brims with anecdotes and little-known facts, and Dash's animated, eloquent prose results in a convincing and powe...more
This book was really interesting and reads at some points like a novel, almost like Mario Puzo. You can see how fictional material like Puzo's derives from real life. I find it interesting how leaders are made in all walks of life, and with this book, you can see that certain qualities like determination and ruthlessness are needed for success.
Mike Dash writes to tell the story of the beginning of the mafia in America, an apparently under-researched, under-told part of the mafia story. He focuses on the historical facts he has been able to glean from original sources, arguing that too much of what is written about the mafia is based on unreliable accounts and rumor. For a book so scrupulously based on police records and press trimmings, The First Family manages to have a strong sense of story and character. When the author finally ...more
This is a very unusual history about the origins of Italian organized crime in the U.S., with the emphasis on New York City, the hub from which spokes reached out to the rest of the country. Relying heavily on sources no one had ever mined befeore, such as Secret Service memos, Dash traces very specifically the Sicilian towns from which the earliest organized crime figures came, their prior occupations and preoccupations, and how they slowly built a network in New York. What comes across as mu...more
This is a remarkable and highly readable history of the Mafia's arrival on these shores. Think 1900 and forget all the Five Families --that's much, much later. The author, who is a historian, did an incredible job of actually building a narrative. There was even a heroic detective who relentlessly tracked down the bad guys. Why don't we think of the Mafia starting this early? Because it only existed in the Little Italy's of cities and preyed on its own. The first don/godfather or whatever ...more
Did you know the first real Mafia "family" in the US was headed by men from Corleone, Sicily? Or that the head Mafioso had an ice-cold demeanor and a rough, whispery voice, both of which inspired terror in his underlings? I didn't! I thought these were purely inventions of Mario Puzo. Mike Dash brings these little facts, and others long ignored by American historians, to light in The First Family, the first book about the early origins of the Mafia in America. There are moments wh...more
described by the author as a narrative, this is a fascinating story of how the so-called mafia began here in america. poverty in sicily led to a lot of italian immigrants arriving and finding that things weren't much better here.
although there are a number of familiar names, there are also many more of whom i had never heard--such as Guiseppe (Clutch Hand) Morello, along with their nemesis, william flynn. the violence is not detailed to the extent that a person would feel squeamish...more
although there are a number of familiar names, there are also many more of whom i had never heard--such as Guiseppe (Clutch Hand) Morello, along with their nemesis, william flynn. the violence is not detailed to the extent that a person would feel squeamish...more
An interesting look at the beggining of the Mafia in the US. It definetly shows the Mafia aa beginning as preying on their fellow Italian, especially Sicilian, fellow immigrants. It had a lot of information that I didn't know, which always makes for enjoyable reading for me. Giussepe Morello was a very bad man, and Flynn sounds like a very interesting character. If you like real crime stories and are interesred in the Mafia, this is a very good source book.
The family coming from Corleon...more
The family coming from Corleon...more
So, this is not a bedtime story (big surprise), but it is a very well written account of a time in US history where things were quite volatile. Being a girl, I really didn't think this type of reading was my cup of tea. But, I was surprised by how I was able to finish it without too much painful hesitance. However, with that said, this took me forever to read (a month) and was not always interesting.
The scope of writing took me from New York City down to Texas and over to Sicily, ...more
The scope of writing took me from New York City down to Texas and over to Sicily, ...more
Meticulously researched, Mike Dash's "The First Family" is a very comprehensive look at the roots of the Mafia in the US. Giuseppe "The Clutch Hand" Morello was a ruthless and merciless leader, with dealings in counterfeiting, extortion, and eventually Prohibition. I enjoyed the narrative style Dash used in telling the stories of Morello, his underlings, and their successors - it made the subjects and their actions very real for me and the timeline flow well. The family tree ...more
I have an avid interest in reading books about Mafia and organised crime, especially the historical ones. I must say that this book exposed me to an era of "Mafia in America" that I never thought existed.
Thoroughly entertaining book, which explains the origins of Italian-based originised crime in America before the must read-about 1920's.
Very little is written or made about Mafia in America before the 1920's, with the likes of Al Capone, Luciano, Meyer Lansky and Fran...more
Thoroughly entertaining book, which explains the origins of Italian-based originised crime in America before the must read-about 1920's.
Very little is written or made about Mafia in America before the 1920's, with the likes of Al Capone, Luciano, Meyer Lansky and Fran...more
I found this book to be extrodinarily revealing about the initial family of organized crime: The American Mafia. I certainly took this book seriously from the first few pages to the thrilling end. The books gruesome but in-your-face cover certainly grabs my attention automatically. This book is exciting but definately not for the faint hearted. Happy reading!
Really liked this one - very interesting recounting of the Mafia landing in the US and its roots in the country. Everyone dies in the end of course, but it was a wild ride to get there. It makes me want to go to the various Italian neighborhoods in New York and understand why the artichoke racket is such a big moneymaker even now.
Not sure I can explain (or justify) my fascination with the Mafia but this book is actually serious history. Gets past all the sensationalism and mythology about the Mob and tells the story of the original Mafia led by a truly evil man, Guiseppe Morello, and rooted in the Sicilian immigrant community of New York City in the first decade of the last century. These guys were real thugs and preyed on their own people.
A fascinating book about the Mafia. Most books on organized crime either focus on the modern or semi-modern period, or on Prohibition and events related to that. This book is the first I've read that goes further back then that, all the way to the turn of the century. It's very well researched and well written, and does a good job of avoiding both mafia-worship and passionate hatred of the organization.
Whoo. This one took a long time (for me) to read. I'll tell you, if you are looking for an easy peasy light & breezy summer book, this is not the one for you. However, if you like well-written "true crime" books, give this one a try. This is not my normal type of read, so I find it difficult to compare it to others of it's type. However, it is fairly well written & well researched.
As an aside, I must say, I think this story would make a most excellent movie.
As an aside, I must say, I think this story would make a most excellent movie.
I enjoyed this book. It was a bit dry in places but in general did a good job showing the growth of early mobs from ethinic enclaves to the large mobs of the 1920's. Enjoyed but not overwhelmed.
The start of the American Mafia had some strange beginnings--don't know what I originally thought. It was such an evolutionary process with humble origins. Prohibition didn't help.
This is a great read about the history of the Mafia, beginning with it's origins in Sicily. It documents the first crime families from the late 1800's to the history well know.
Good review of this in the Seattle Times today. I admit to a fascination with the Mafia (love The Sopranos) so I think this would interst me.
I just finished this heavy duty book...It is not an easy, fast read my any means.
I think what makes it a slow book to read, is the names/nicknames, keeping the "families" straight & there is just so much information.
It is very, very interesting. Of course, we have always heard of some names of the families, but this is in depth into everything.
The poor families came to America from Sicily & found out it wasn't much better here, so you do what you have to d...more
I think what makes it a slow book to read, is the names/nicknames, keeping the "families" straight & there is just so much information.
It is very, very interesting. Of course, we have always heard of some names of the families, but this is in depth into everything.
The poor families came to America from Sicily & found out it wasn't much better here, so you do what you have to d...more
Does it make me a bad person that I didn't finish this book? With only about 40 pages left, I picked up a new book and here's why...
I feeling is Mike Dash worked a bit too hard to get every "character" incorporated into the book. Forgive me, but keeping track of 50+ Italian mobster names was a bit much, which resulted in taking away from the content and writing.
What was fascinating was learning about their counterfeiting operations, the birth of the Secret Servi...more
I feeling is Mike Dash worked a bit too hard to get every "character" incorporated into the book. Forgive me, but keeping track of 50+ Italian mobster names was a bit much, which resulted in taking away from the content and writing.
What was fascinating was learning about their counterfeiting operations, the birth of the Secret Servi...more
Listened to most of it on the road trip. Not what I expected which is my first mistake. Expectations are a setup for disappointment. When will I learn?
Review coming in SF Chronicle, so I am not going to spoil it here.
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