The Valachi Papers
See Larger Image
List Price: $13.95 $11.16 $ 2.79 ( 20% ) Harper Paperbacks Peter Maas
Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 364.1060973EAN: 9780060507428ISBN: 006050742XLabel: Harper PaperbacksManufacturer: Harper PaperbacksNumber Of Items: 1Number Of Pages: 304Publication Date: 2003-03-01Publisher: Harper PaperbacksRelease Date: 2003-03-18Studio: Harper Paperbacks
Related Items
Editorial Reviews: The First Inside Account of the Mafia In the 1960s a disgruntled soldier in New York's Genovese Crime Family decided to spill his guts. His name was Joseph Valachi. Daring to break the Mob's code of silence for the first time, Valachi detailed the organization of organized crimefrom the capos, or bosses, of every Family, to the hit men who "clipped" rivals and turncoats. With a phenomenal memory for names, dates, addresses, phone numbers -- and where the bodies were buried -- Joe Valachi provided the chilling facts that led to the arrest and conviction of America's major crime figures.
The rest is history.
Never again would the Mob be protected by secrecy. For the Mafia, Valachi's name would become synonymous with betrayal. But his stunning exposÉ. broke the back of America's Cosa Nostra and stands I today as the classic about America's Mob, a fascinat ing tale of power and terror, big money, crime ... and murder.
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Small time Joe tells a big time story.Comment: Valachi was a small time street mobster but his story was big. He opened everyones eyes to the family structure of the New York underworld. Not all of what he said was true or right but the overall story is a real eye opener. Peter Maas does an excellent job.Customer Rating: Summary: Great Reading, Mafia Buff!!Comment: This is the second time I read this title. And, like the first time, it was great! Valachi gives the Mafia buff a gem of an expose with this title's author, Peter Maas. No matter what the others say, this is the primer on the Mob. Pick this one up before you consider the others and you'll get something to compare the others with....Customer Rating: Summary: BADABING...BADABOOM...Comment: This book provides a wonderful birds-eye view into the early Cosa Nostra. Well- written and well-researched by the author, he skillfully organizes the thoughts of Joe Valachi, a racketeer and soldier in the Cosa Nostra from way back when. Valachi's reminiscences of the mob of the nineteen twenties through the nineteen sixties come alive for the reader in the expert hands of the author, an award winning investigative journalist. It is a cohesive, interesting, and painstakingly detailed account of life in the Cosa Nostra.
Customer Rating: Summary: History at its bestComment: The Valachi Papers is a masterfully, in-depth look at the more seedy side of American history. Whether we are willing to admit it or not, the Cosa Nostra was a powerful force in many of this country's most important eras. Lucky Luciano used his influence to protect the New York waterfront during WWII for example. What I love the best about this book in particular is that it is not a romanticized version of a life in the mob. Rather, Mass using Valachi's testimonies and writings, gives a chronology of brutality that spans over 30 years. Prior to engaging this book I had my notions about the mob despite what all of my previous research had indicated. Lets face it, movies like 'the Godfather' and 'Goodfellas' make being a mobster seem pretty appealing if not down right cool. What Maas' work does is dispel those fantasies by showing a man whose life in the mob was rife with turmoil, danger, murder, betrayal and hardship. He was no stranger to the inside of a prison cell. His mob connections, even as a 'made' man, could not shield him from economic hardships and, in many cases, were the source of his problems. Valachi was no more a rat for speaking out than his boss Vito Genovese was a rat for savagely murdering all opposition, real or imagined, in his greedy grasp for more and more power. Maas' work is a factual account that makes no claims. It is the portrait of a man whose life was the very thing that ultimately led to his downfall and the subsequent testimony that would follow. I found this book to be a must read for anyone who fancies themselves a 'student' of mafia history.Customer Rating: Summary: THE CURTAIN RISESComment: I could not stop reading this one!!! Joe Valachi was the first Gravano, in other words the first to flip and start talking. His account of how the present day mafia came to be is different from most other books out today. Here was a guy who witnessed it all from the start. The beef between Masseria and Maranzano, the beef between Maranzano and Luciano, and lastly the beef between Genovese and Costello and Anastasia. So much history and so many names you'll recognize in this book. Before Valachi came forward, no one outside of the mob knew the structure or full power of the organization. Without his account, I doubt the government would even have known what to do with info it was collecting. Believe me, this book is one of the best ever.
