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8th out of 84 books
—
93 voters
Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires
by
Selwyn Raab
Genovese, Gambino, Bonnano, Colombo and Lucchese. For decades these Five Families ruled New York and built the American Mafia (or Cosa Nostra) into an underworld empire. Today, the Mafia is an endangered species, battered and beleaguered by aggressive investigators, incompetent leadership, betrayals and generational changes that produced violent and unreliable leaders and...more
Hardcover, 784 pages
Published
September 1st 2005
by Thomas Dunne Books
(first published August 25th 2005)
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An extensive and detailed history of la Cosa Nostra in America, with a multitude of guys named Anthony and not always easy to keep track of the many characters, even with the always included nicknames. The five major crime families are centered in New York but the account begins with the first known event, in New Orleans in the late 19th century when the "Black Hand"--Sicilian criminals who preyed on other immigrants--shot and killed police inspector David Hennessey. Outraged locals broke the a...more
A more accurate title would have been "New York: A History of Law Enforcement Tactics Used Against the Mafia in the 20th Century". There were too many important Mafia events that were glossed over or omitted for this to truly have been a book about the five families. The primary focus seemed to be on the response that state and federal governments had to the Mafia and the tactics that were used to combat them. It was an interesting read and certainly well researched, although the editor should b...more
If you want to know everything there is to know about the Mob/Mafia/Cosa Nostra, then read this book. It is extremely well-researched and leaves NOTHING out. When I finished this book, I knew everything--the history of Cosa Nostra in Italy, how it came to the United States, the separate families, the law enforcement officials who investigated them...EVERYTHING. It's fascinating and, until the author goes crazy with the details, a page-turner. I highly recommend it. It's very long long (708 pages...more
Jul 12, 2012
Tanya Faberson
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
analytical, district attorney types
Recommended to Tanya by:
no one
So I am FINALLY done with this book. It was very good, but at times I felt like I was slogging through it. Considering how much I generally enjoy slog-worthy books (the denser the better), I'm not sure what my issue is with this one. First of all, it was well-written and the information was really interesting. Secondly, I learned a lot of details on mob history I didn't know. But that's it. I didn't look forward to reading it. I certainly didn't choose to read it over knitting or doing something...more
Thorough history. A few things stood out: a) As a business enterprise, the familes operated on an economical scale apparently bigger than any US corporation, yet this was denied by the FBI, especially by J.Edgar Hoover, who revused to involve much FBI resources into investigating the NY Commission until Kennedy forced him to b) lower level people need to be effective criminal entrepeneurs, because they need to be kicking some money up the line. The historical/journalistic level of detail is inte...more
Aug 15, 2007
asteroidbuckle
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
People interested in the American Mafia
Shelves:
mafia
This is a GIANT book about the five major New York organized crime families from their history to the present.
It is a very well researched book and is extremely interesting. Most mafia books seem to focus on the Gambino crime family and more specifically on John Gotti since he is/was the most (in)famous crime boss since Al Capone.
However, this book focuses on each family - its origins, its hierarchy, the in-fighting, and its downfall. The only thing that I found a bit difficult was remembering w...more
It is a very well researched book and is extremely interesting. Most mafia books seem to focus on the Gambino crime family and more specifically on John Gotti since he is/was the most (in)famous crime boss since Al Capone.
However, this book focuses on each family - its origins, its hierarchy, the in-fighting, and its downfall. The only thing that I found a bit difficult was remembering w...more
Fantastic ground zero reading for anyone interested in the American Mafia. There are so many true-crimes books on the mob that it is difficult to even get started. Selwyn Raab is a former crime writer for the New York Times and this book goes through the entire history of the Mafia in New York and sorts the Godfather from the Goodfellas.
Riveting. I had to read this book for law class and I am so glad I picked it because it was amazing! I hope that there is a follow-up book. The first chapter is a little out of place but once the book starts with the roots of the Mafia in Sicily, it really starts to come together and the story flows really well after that point.
A poorly edited headache of a book with little to offer on top of its primary sources in the LCN non-fiction canon as to be a near-total waste of time. Somehow includes less material on the pre-Apalachin period than your average Wikipedia article, but packs in more sensational junk about John Gotti than the New York Post and all the books written by his family combined. Departures from its chronological organization are frequent, making an already long and complex history even harder to follow t...more
The most definitive, comprehensive and historically accurate work about the Mob in NYC. The quintessential "annotated" Godfather. I highly recommend this book as a basic source which informs about each of the NY families. Many books and author's have delved into the specifically different and nefarious exploits of the "Mob", Five Families is a compilation of those histories; from the early origins of the Mafia families "Golden Era", through their eminent decline....and now with focus on homelan...more
This is an excellent book about the five most powerful Mafia families. I loved it, but one does get drained by the accounts of violence throughout. There is a lot of great history, but it is so interwoven into the grizzly details that are inescapable. Also mingled in are some of the more humorous stories about the nonviolent pursuits and capers of the top men, made men, and lesser thugs working for crime families. I liked that it gave an overview of each family's roots, its leaders, the successi...more
This is a splendid, well paced, easily read history of the American Mafia. Criticized for short, choppy chapters, this book is rather short vignettes arranged in chronological order from the Mafia's American beginnings to the present day.
Great, comprehensive history of the Italian mafia in the United States. At 750 pages, I was afraid it would read too much like a text, but the author writes in an engaging manner while covering a lot of material.
Written by a NYTimes reporter, this book is full of information. Good read if this sort of thing interests you, even in the least. Good prep for the New York State Citizenship Exam.
You can literally make a family tree of all five families as you read this book. Well researched. There is so much information, must read again.
If you happen to be curious about the Mafia, this is a winner. Very informative. Well written and organized.
Hands down best history book of the five major New York mafia families.must read for any real life mafia fan
AMAZING. The bottom line on the scourge that is/was La Cosa Nostra. 'Nuff said.
This is a very extensive look at some of the most notorious mafia crime figures.
A powerful historical review of the five largest crime families! A great read!
This is really one of the best Non-fiction books I've read in quite some time.
A serviceable history of the Mafia.
It's comprehensive, but it glosses over the first fifty years or so. The book gets much stronger in its second half, which focuses on the past twenty years. Here, Raab takes on each of the five families in turn, and the figures finally come alive--from the flamboyant (John Gotti) to the sadistic (Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso).
Overall, though, the writing never rises above workmanlike, and the book really could have used one more thorough edit, both to cut its length...more
It's comprehensive, but it glosses over the first fifty years or so. The book gets much stronger in its second half, which focuses on the past twenty years. Here, Raab takes on each of the five families in turn, and the figures finally come alive--from the flamboyant (John Gotti) to the sadistic (Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso).
Overall, though, the writing never rises above workmanlike, and the book really could have used one more thorough edit, both to cut its length...more
This book is, in my understanding, the paramount history of the New York five families. I read it because I became really interested in the workings of the mafia while working for the U.S. Attorney's Office this summer and watching the trial of Vinny "Gorgeous" Basciano. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the mafia, including as a sort of reference book. Though it held my attention almost to the end and for such a history was tremendously well written, my one complaint is that at about...more
Informative and interesting. My interest in organized crime knows no bounds.
Can't imagine a better book on any other subject.
Jul 28, 2010
Amberlynne
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
history,
true-crime
I can't believe I finally read the whole thing! I am glad I made it through, though. Just about everything you ever wanted to know about the history of the Mafia in NY is crammed into this one book. It jumps around a bit but Raab always seems to be able to bring the loose strings back together again in later chapters. Really fascinating read!
huge history off all the families.
Jul 18, 2007
Jeremiah
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone interested in the history of organized crime in America.
So far, this is has been a very good read and one of the best books I've read on the American mafia and it's beginnings, history and current role in America. Fan of The Soprano's, Goodfellas, The Godfather movies, Bugsy, etc.? Then this is the book for you.
There are a lot of characters and names, so it can get confusing at times. But, this book does paint a vivid picture of the inner-workings of the mafia (the things they do that you don't hear about.)
Overall, extremely fascinating and educati...more
There are a lot of characters and names, so it can get confusing at times. But, this book does paint a vivid picture of the inner-workings of the mafia (the things they do that you don't hear about.)
Overall, extremely fascinating and educati...more
Many, many, many details.
recced by Amberlynne
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Feb 16, 2012 09:42am