Genealogy Books - Mafia Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the Gambino Crime Family

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Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating:

Summary: Can't review just yet. Haven't read book
Comment: Have not read the book as yet. I am sure it will be very interesting. Australia is a long way and it
takes some time for parcles to arrive.

Customer Rating:

Summary: The Rise and Fall of A Sicilian Empire
Comment: The introduction to MAFIA DYNASTY is author John Davis' historical recounting of the roots of the
Sicilian Mafia and Neapolitan Camorra, and how these two groupings coalesced into the Five Families
of New York in the early days of the twentieth century. After that, MAFIA DYNASTY quickly loses the
reader's attention.

The Gambino Family has always been of particular interest to this
reviewer personally, having grown up in Massapequa, Long Island during the time of Don Carlo's
residence there, when the grass dared not grow crooked. In actuality, residents of the town heard
little of the Gambinos, though Massapequa suffered few such indignities as graffiti, petty thefts
and the like until the mid-1970s. To this day, the town is a fly in the amber, almost 1950ish in its
atmosphere.

Thus, MAFIA DYNASTY seemed to be a promising read. It is interesting---but
that is all. Essentially a rehashing of information readily available elsewhere, MAFIA DYNASTY
barely scratches the surface. It tells us nothing new about the Gambino Family or of its allies and
rivals. Its 500 pages look somewhat daunting for a Mass Market paperback but this book is nothing
more than a quick sprint past its subject, throwing in a few over-the-shoulder glances at the major
figures involved for good measure.

Rather than a primary focus on Don Carlo, the late
John Gotti would seem to be the centerpiece. Never the apotheosis of the Godfather, the "Dapper Don"
was really just an overpromoted soldier, cunning, egotistic, brutal and inflexible, who presided
over the collapse of an empire he did not help build and could not maintain in the face of outside
pressures.

Davis seems to have little interest in exploring the hows, whys and
wherefores of this admittedly amazing rise and fall, and leaves the reader feeling shortchanged.
This book could have been and should have been far better than it is, had the author felt like doing
a little more homework for extra credit. As it is, I'll give MAFIA DYNASTY a pass.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Entertaining and Informative
Comment: This book is very well written and detailed. It is about 500 pages covering mainly the Gambinos in
earlier parts, including Joseph and Thomas. There is some overlap with the other New York families.
As one proceeds through the book, attention shifts to Gotti and it becomes a story about him. It
covers his trials and the eventual exclusion of Bruce Cutler from his defence, and of course the
flip by the "bull" to work for the prosecution. Maloney and other prosecutors are included. All
quite interesting and well executed (if I can use that phrase in this book review).

I
read this book along with a few other selected books which seem to follow a downfall in the garbage
collection monopoly, and the decline on garment district trucking business, meat and fish markets
all about the same time in the late 1980's early 1990's when "the chin" Gigante was also sent to
jail and the Genovese family slipped. This book gives just a partial view and you need to read more
to get the complete picture of the evolution from the docks to control of trucking and
hijacking.

Good book on the subject, holds the reader, and suggest read related books
also.

Customer Rating:

Summary: good overall view la cosa nostra
Comment: this book goes into a fair amount of detail about the history and mechanics of lcn, their origins in
america, and the key people responsible for their rise to power. as far as the gambino family is
concerned. the author gave a lot of insight into the character and personalities of the bosses
(carlo gambino, paul castellano, & john gotti), and he painted a pretty good picture of their
business activities. if you're interested and curious about lcn history in america, then the book
is a good read. when he gets into john gotti & the 80's, it starts to fall off with a lot of
courtroom transcripts and less family business.
ultimately, this book looks at lcn & the
gambinos from a broader perspective. the intricacies and mysterties of the gambino family aren't
revealed in a lot of detail.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Mafia Details
Comment: The book Mafia Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the Gambino Crime Family by John H. Davis is a great
book for those who like to know the truth and detail behind any crime. The book takes you on an
adventure of knowing what the Mafia bosses were, and what they became. Many of the Bosses, such as
John Gotti, and Carlo Gambino have interesting stories of starting out with not that much to making
up to 10 million in a year (you got to remember this was in the 1950's-1980's. That's worth more
than what it is now). I found interesting that the Whole Mafia thing was taken out of proportion.
It actually started out as the Italians just trying to come up in the U.S, not just go around
killing people. Though I'm not Italian, and don't know the history and background of the Italians,
you feel a sense of truth ness of what John H. Davis is telling about these different La Costra
members.

In the book it talks about the hardships these soon to be millionaires had
went through, what they did because they were so dedicated to their families (La Costra members to a
certain family group to be part of). The author was really good at explaining a little biography of
the crime bosses, but would drift on to different things slowly and it makes the suspense go from
100 to nada, but overall the book is more exciting and suspenseful because it's as though your right
along with the Mafia, joining in what they're doing.

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