Customer Reviews

Al Capone: A Biography (Greenwood Biographies)

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Scholar and expert on Italian American History and American crime, Luciano Iorizzo has provided for the reader a concise, accurate biography of the notorious Al Capone in the context of social, economic, and political developments of his time. The author delineates the factual history of an Italian American anti-hero (folk hero?). Born in Brooklyn in 1899 to Italian immigrant parents, Capone seized his opportunities in his rapid rise to power. Author Iorizzo weaves the life of Capone into an analysis of such terms as ethnicity, diversity, and organized crime, concepts that have captured the imagination of modern America. The real Capone is revealed as underdog, criminal, and family man who was generous as he was violent. If the reader wishes to become acqainted with the career of the real Capone, he/she should begin here. Outstanding features of the book that greatly enhance the volume's relevance are a timeline of Capone's life, a glossary of names and events, a bibliography, a list of motion picutres and videos, and websites that include a wealthy of information on Capone.

I wish I had read this before the first Capone book I bought. It makes his complicated career manageable and organized and really whets the appetite for the drill down details which you get in the super long tomes. The publisher states that its intended use is for a high school textbook on the subject ( I wish I had textbooks like this when I was in high school) and that makes it appealing and unusual. It is as objective a book you will find, covering the social elements of the time (and putting a lot of things in perspective, very helpful for a cynic like me) plus it is also a fun read. It is hard to find a fun read that does not have that "groupie"- breathless-sick admiration (which I am guilty of)tone often occurring in many mafia books. And this one does not. (I've read about 30 now). Will not disappoint. A great gift.

This book is written for high school students and works well enough in that department. Actually, it's pretty good and contains some fine sociological insights on early 20th Century urban life, Italian-American immigrants, and popular conceptions and misconceptions about the Mafia and organized crime, along with a fair, if common, selection of photos. Slim book, and nothing really new here. It's largely compiled from past Capone biographies. Includes some of the errors from Bergreen's work but doesn't hesitate to question him from time to time. It's still a nice introduction to Al for young aspiring gangsters.

I purchased this for my two boys who are entering 9th grade and were required to read a biography over the summer. They are not normally interested in biographies, so the fact that this biography was slightly more than 100 pages long was clearly a benefit. They enjoyed reading this book and have talked about that period of history since. The book is out of print so it was expensive, but worth it.