Synopses & Reviews
A classic masterwork newly updated
The electrifying true story of the rise and fall of New York's notorious Bonanno crime family
On New York's Park Avenue on a rainy Tuesday night in October 1964, the famous Mafia chieftain Joseph Bonanno was kidnapped by two mobsters and reported by the police as dead on the following morning. More than a year later, Bonanno mysteriously reappeared, setting off a bloody mob feud that came to be known as the “Banana War.”
In this monumental work—packed with intimate details and brilliant reporting—bestselling author Gay Talese first brought to the American consciousness a world and a life previously known to only a few. No other book has done more to acquaint readers with the secrets, structure, wars, power plays, family lives, and fascinating, frightening personalities of the Mafia.
Review
“Brilliant...Indispensable.” Los Angeles Times
Review
“Mr. Taleses insight will do more to help us understand the criminal than any amount of moral recrimination.” Times Literary Supplement (London)
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“An invaluable document.” New York Review of Books
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“A marvelous piece of work, showing how a good journalist can catch a man just as he is ready to reconsider his past and is anxious to find someone who will listen...A book about a vanishing way of life in America: the Mafia.” Newsweek
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“An incredible job of reporting.” Mario Puzo
Synopsis
The acclaimed author of Unto the Sons penetrates the silence and secrecy of the Mafia and offers an intimate look at a powerful--and vanishing--way of life. "An invaluable document".--The New York Times Book Review.
About the Author
A former reporter for the New York Times, Gay Talese is a bestselling author who has written eleven books. He lives in New York City.