Customer Reviews

The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia, Second Edition

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Trying to establish a true history of the Mafia, one that is both explicit and accurate, is about as meaningful as a trying to put together a true history of the CIA or Kennedy Assassination. There are two kinds of writers of Mafia, those who overstate its power and influence and those who understate it. Capeci is among the latter, though it seems for no obvious reason other than opinion given the minimal use of sources and bibliographical materials he documents, hardly sufficient justification. I suspect the truth probably lies somewhere in between.

The strength of this book is the information it provides about recent Mafia history particularly of the 5 New York Families, largely derived from Capeci?s journalistic and law enforcement sources. Here he excels and seems to know his material quite well. It falls short, however, in being a comprehensive, or even good or entertaining account of that overall history. I would recommend Stephen Fox?s Blood and Power and Nash?s Encyclopedia of Organized Crime for that.

The non-NY families are given scant coverage in this book and some very important moments in LCN history, such as the 1930 Atlantic City Conference establishing the current ?System? as it is known today envisioned by Johnny Torio, are not even mentioned, while the importance of other?s such as Luciano?s role in the Castellemmarese wars, is understated.

Though it is true that they aren?t as powerful as they once were, Capeci?s assumption that the MOB is dead in many states and all but extinct in others seems a bit pre-mature at best and ignores the LCN?s resiliency and adjustment to new circumstance, both threats and opportunities, that it has shown in the past, as well as it?s ability to adapt defensively to changes in tactics of the legal system and law enforcement that has kept it around for so long.

Overall a good starter, with valuable info on recent events of the 5 NY families, but hardly thorough and very dry in delivery.

The Complete Idiot's (and Dummies) format is currently one of the biggest rages in publishing. After reading the idiot's guide to the mafia I can see why. A generous (but not truly exhaustive) amount of material is presented in an adult textbook format complete with chapter goals and what amounts to a "quiz" - though not in the form of questions at the end of each chapter. The format easily hides the book's major flaws. The worst flaw is that there is almost no reference whatever to the Sicilian mafia and no discussion of what influence or control it had or has over its American cousin. Yet, when Petrosino traveled to Sicily in 1909 he found assassins waiting. They seem to have kept in touch. Second, there is exactly one reference to the "Pizza Connection" probably because it would be impossible to discuss that landmark case without reference to the Sicilian Mafia and its power with and over Joe Bonanno and subsequent leaders of American Mob families.This is puzzling because Capeci goes to great lengths to show how much Bonanno was involved in drugs yet he ignores his 1957 trip to Sicily, his meeting with Luciano and major Sicilian mafia leaders that led to the birth of the "Pizza Connection." Capeci seems to have a subtle pro-FBI bias and "Pizza" showed the FBI missed the boat from 1957 to the mid-80's. Capeci stretches at a few points to find real-life examples for scenes in The Godfather films...he is flat wrong on one. Oh well, it is overall a good intro to the Syndicate chock full of boilerplate info. It does not quite live up to the publisher's billing, however. One of the best things is that he finds the mobsters to be the thuggish dishonorable monsters that they are. No romance here.

Highly recommended, typical Capeci; unbiased, clear, direct, detailed. If you want to know about more than just John Gotti, or Vincent Gigante, purchase this book and learn all about Cosa Nostra's villains.

Rusty

Being an avid reader of, "Mafia/Organized Crime", novels, I found this book to be one of the most informative and interesting
book of all. Just when you think you knew something, BAAM, this book hits you with some facts about some of your favorite mafiosi
, that you end up going back and rereading this new,unheard of, that is until now aspect of the particular person! This book is by far one of the most definitive and factual written about the
cloaked society! Jerry Capeci is down in the trenches! He goes to the mattresses with this book and deserves high praise for the way he smashes the myths with even more interesting and cunning facts. This should be titled "Mafia/Organized Crime 101"
and be the first book to be read by all crime buffs. Read it and I guarantee it will give you at least one new fact, which you
previously had believed to have happened in another way. One eye
opener the least, this book is the "MAFIA BIBLE",!!
ENJOY ALL "REAL" MAFIA/ORGANIZED CRIME BUFFS IT GETS NO BETTER THAN THIS LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!
THANKS AND ENJOY THE BOOK!!

Finally, a book that explains what the mafia is and how it operates without assuming you know the lingo and the main characters. The many examples from real events in organized crime bring the text to life and make it not only understandable but enjoyable to read as well. This is a book for those casually interested in the mafia and for the "expert" as well. Capeci not only walks the mafia novice through a mob induction and the rules that govern it's members but also reveals the real killers in a major mafia hit. For the price it's a "must" buy for all those interested in the mob.

I am constantly reading books and information on the Mafia i found this book to have alot of information about a very broad subject. The information was good but if your looking for a book to intrest you and keep you thinking i suggest Also reading MOB STAR: the story of John Gotti also by Jeri Capeci along with gene mustain. I found this book to be very interesting and accurate as to the life of John Gotti.

This book was well-researched, and certainly, it seemed like the author knew what he was talking about. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't, but how would I know? I'm new to the subject, after all, it IS the idiot's guide...

The book was dry. Not a whole lot of stories that had much detail. I would've appreciated more detail on the various incidents, rather than 1000 blurbs all saying "so and so whacked such and such".

But a good starter to the subject.

I bought this book for my wife who has become a belated Sopranos fan, and has now watched everything from The Godfather to Donnie Brasco. The CIG to the Mafia is a fantastic resource for looking up unframilier words and terms such as RICO, and learning the difference between Associates and Made Men. Written in plain and easy to use language the book is very straightforward and easy to locate specific things you want to look up. if you want a simple crash course in the American Mafia then I highly reccomend this read.

This is probably one of the worst books on the Mafia I've ever come accross. Tons of information are thrown together without any kind of order, either conceptual or historical. The writer jumps from one topic to the other, failing to provide even a modestly organized picture of the phenomenon he's trying to explain. Deeply disappointing and a waste of time (and money).

So far, none of the "Complete Idiot's Guides" have disappointed. As is true of all others that I have read in this series so far, the reader will surely get his money's worth here. This book is virtual "overkill." It is so thorough that it is almost intimidating. It is nothing less than a textbook on organized crime as exemplified through the Mafia: its history, its methodologies, its scams, its philosophies, its politics, its structure and the organization of its players, and the chief dons and prime movers from its beginning in Sicily until the the book went to print; and last but not least, the reasons why in recent years it is finally beginning to fracture and disintegrate.

Although I do not agree with the authors that the mafia is more myth than reality -- a position that our cross-dressing homosexual ex-head of the FBI J. Edgar Hoover also once found convenient to hold -- this does nothing to detract from the wealth of materials gathered here. On this issue the reader surely can make up his own mind. Thus, in short, for true Mafia fanatics, this is a feast that will keep them satisfied for months to come.

More than the individual topics themselves, of which the editorial staff it seems has perfected the technique of parsing out just enough substance to not overwhelm the reader while at the same time keeping him continuously engaged, it has also given us an introduction that is so well-crafted that it allows the reader to answer on his own the important question of why, for more than a century now, the Mafia has been so successful in colonizing the American public mind? As these authors so carefully point out, what makes the drama of the Mafia so seductive to the American mind, is also apparently what compels young men to join its ranks.

Mafia-ism and Americanism

Undeniably there is something within the American cultural DNA that equates "outlaw-ism" with a kind of dark romantic glamour; with the American phenomenon of vigilantism; with adventure coupled with danger and ultimately with a perverse kind of "rugged individualism:" that ability to survive only on ones wits and with ones own self-made rules -- on ones own terms without help from anyone (especially the government) that is so cherish in American culture. It is this cultural subtext of inchoate male anger and desire to succeed at all cost, and against all challenges that the Mafia as a concept "taps into."

Arguably, Mafia-like criminal gangs, like "Bonnie and Clyde," Machine Gun Kelly, Willie Sutton, Pretty boy Floyd, etc, define America's own version of machismo, a kind of exclusive "out-of-control white male feeling that harks back to frontier days. It symbolizes and underscores our national penchant for identifying with the loner underdog, the daring of the criminal element, and with criminal gangs and secret societies such as the Ku Klux Klan, the "skinheads," and the home-grown militias, more generally.

But as the authors suggest, there is a deeper even darker element being "tapped into" here. It is the element of danger implicit in the mythical romance of unlimited power constantly being used and played out daily as life-or-death Machiavellian dramas of survival in the political arena. This is unchecked amoral power that is unrestrained and allowed to roam about freely skirting normal laws as it stalks and targets normal innocent society. When this concoction of power, guile and the willingness to fight to the death to achieve (almost always criminal) goals, the "means ends calculus" has come full circle. When this "means ends" calculus is tied together into an all male ethnically pure secret society, all the fraternal arrangements for macho chest beating adventures in survival have been properly aligned.

When one joins the Mafia, he has become part of an erstwhile "family" that is not only secret and self-contained, but also one whose very secrecy is rooted in a kind of outlaw Darwinian code of honor (of the survival of the strongest and most ruthless). The family lives and dies by this self-made Darwinian code of honor; makes and enforces its own rules, and at the same time targets the rules of its primary opponent, normal innocent society. As a result of being skillful at the game of "survival at all cost." Mafiosi are the very embodiment of the committed defenders of the even higher code of "ethnic survival by any means necessary," and thus are the very definition of, American rebels with a cause.

But perhaps more important than all of this, is the aspect implicit in the Godfather trilogy that is taken as a "given:" that through guile and ruthlessness, the Mafia has earned a seat at the table of legitimate state power. And as a result, has succeeded in insinuating itself into the hierarchy of legitimate state power as part of the "powers that be." It is this success that "ropes in" under its sway, morally weak politicians, police forces and other legitimate authorities: in effect making normal society bend to its criminal will. It is the "organized aspect" of "organized crime" that is its ultimate triumph and that gives it a sustainable power that makes it a continuing menace to society.

At least one academic scholar has seen fit to expand the context of American politics so that it includes all of the hidden dimensions of state power, such as the Mafia and the intelligence organizations. See for instance Peter Dale Scott's "Deep Structure Politics." Four Stars