Genealogy Books - The Valachi Papers

Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating:

Summary: Organized Crime by a Harlem Hoodlum
Comment: Joe Valachi, aka "Joe Cago" was a racketeer from East Harlem where trouble would breed daily on the
streets of 1st Ave. For a New York guy, it was very interesting to read this book, and notice all
the similar streets in Harlem and in the Bronx as well. This book definitely takes you back to
another era (one that you will never see again). I found it interesting to read about how Valachi
got into trouble with someone, and then had to squash a beef, switch into another crew for fear of
retaliation, etc... It portrayed some different views that you just don't see in a lot of books.
*You realize that you're getting a 1st hand account of someone who was around organized crime
figures (and was in fact - one of those figures himself).

I like the fact that this
book displays how mob life is not all what you see in the movies: it's not people making all kinds
of money and living the high life. For others like Joe Valachi - there are tough times when you're
broke, in jail, or just not getting along with certain people (to the point where it may hurt your
street credit). Realize that when your status is scarred in this particular circle, you may wind up
dead...

There were some rare things mentioned in this book too - where Valachi stated
he never abused someone who owed him money. He was a loan shark that didn't believe in raising his
hand. He would rather solve the problem in a more business-like manner. There was mention of all
the stoolpigeons being held in Westchester County Jail. I didn't realize how many rats there were
at that time. It goes to show you that informants were always present, not just what you read in
the papers today.

This book was a nice easy read and I recommend it to anyone who is
interested in reading about a true story of someone growing up on the other side of the tracks where
the only education a kid can get is in the street!

Customer Rating:

Summary: Shopping experience report
Comment: Although I have not yet read the book I was completely satisfied with the Amazon experience with
respect to the purchase. I have made numerous purchases from Amazon over the years and have never
been disappointed.

Customer Rating:

Summary: A must for all organized crime readers
Comment: If you are at all interested in reading about the mafia this is certainly the place to begin.
Valachi was there from the beginning, he was in fact a made man in order to swell the ranks in
preparation for the war that essentially created the cosa nostra as we know it. Once in he adopted
the Cosa Nostra as his true family and lived the life of those violent brethren.

This
is in fact, essentially, a history and a biography all in one, so it is a bit hard to inject emotion
into it as the previous reader complained about. Read it as a history, not as a book of fiction,
and you will go into it with the right mindframe. That being said I thoroughly enjoyed reading this
as I didn't have much of a background knowledge of the mafia other than names. Without knowing it
much of what I knew from watching fictionalized movies all stemmed from this book and what was
revealed.

At times you wonder if Valachi was just some crazy man that made everything
up and was an avid reader of crimes (a la the Benet confessor, John Mark Karr), but the detail is
way too in depth. All one can do is believe it as true, which makes this book all the more
interesting. I would most definitely recommend this book to anyone curious about the Cosa Nostra as
this is certainly the place to begin.

5 stars.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Boring, unnecessary
Comment: This book may have broken ground when it was written in the mid-60's, but now it reads like a who's
who of the old mob. It's written as a chronology of events, not an interesting story. There's no
description and no emotion brought into the story, simply "this is what happened, this is what
happened next." Did not enjoy it.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Great Book!
Comment: This is a good book for anyone interested in the mob or mafia. It's not alot of flair and doesn't
feel trumpt up,it's just the story of one gangsters life.

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