Family Affair: Greed, Treachery, and Betrayal in the Chicago Mafia [Mass Market Paperback]

Sam Giancana (Author), Scott M. Burnstein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2, 2010

The true story of the vicious Chicago underworld from a New York Times bestselling author.

With a contract out on his life, Nicholas "Nicky Breeze" Calabrese turned government witness and revealed the truth about the murders of a notorious Mob enforcer and his brother-culminating in a criminal case that would challenge the Mob from the street to the highest seats of power.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Giancana and Burnstein lay out the history of Outfit (i.e., Chicago Mob) leadership while detailing how investigating the double murder that inspired the movie Casino led to the Family Secrets trial and the jailing of several crime bosses. The victims whose demise sparked the whole thing were Anthony and Michael Spilotro; Joe Pesci’s character in Casino was based on Anthony, and his brutal portrayal was apparently spot-on. The cops caught a break when the Spilotros’ grave was quickly found and evidence began to accrue. When Nick Calabrese and Frank Calabrese, Jr., agreed to testify against Capo Frank Calabrese, Sr., the die was cast. The incidental detail about Outfit upper management proves fascinating; noting how poorly high visibility served founder Al Capone, subsequent leaders Paul Ricca and Tony Accardo took pains to avoid it. Giancana, godson and namesake of another all-too-public face of the Outfit, is well-placed to tell this story, which, though poorly organized and in places poorly written, is must-have true-crime stuff, especially for mavens of organized crime in one of its legendary capitals. --Mike Tribby

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Berkley; Original edition (March 2, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425228312
• ISBN-13: 978-0425228319
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #308,187 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #28 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Specific Groups > Criminals

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Burnstein Hits Another Home Run, July 2, 2010

By 

Rick Warner (California, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Family Affair: Greed, Treachery, and Betrayal in the Chicago Mafia (Mass Market Paperback)

After the excellent job Scott Burnstein did with Motor City Mafia I knew this was going to be a winner. I was right! Scott did multiple interviews with agents to get the real deal on what was happening with the Family Secrets trial and other recent cases involving the Chicago Outfit. His narrative is a real easy read and he explained things well. As an attorney Scott covered all the bases with a fine tooth comb. For those who are interested, all the names and their stories are told here. "Joe Batters" Accardo, Joe Lombardo, Angelo LaPietra, Tony Spilotro, Nick and Frank Calabrese and more have their stories. But he doesn't just cover the bad guys, he also gives us a little info on the heroes, the FBI agents who develop cases so the criminals can be taken off the streets. So for those who are into what's been going on in the Outfit over the past 30 years, this book is for you.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Jerry Horsey, August 10, 2010

By 

What is Logic up to? - See all my reviews

This review is from: Family Affair: Greed, Treachery, and Betrayal in the Chicago Mafia (Mass Market Paperback)

How did a book like this get published? It seems to be nothing more than a few transcripts that are publicly available on the DOJ website,common knowledge, noncommittal analysis and sensationalized accounts of uninteresting events all woven together in an erratic narrative. There's no bibliography and no index. It leaves readers with the impression that the Outfit is still a force to be reckoned with, which it isn't.

In my humble opinion, Giancana has written one good book: Double Deal with M. Corbitt.

Double Cross was entertaining, though I personally regard it as pulp fiction. I suggest that Giancana should enlist the help of one Joseph Fosco who maintains a blog called American News Post. Mr. Fosco is the #1 source of Outfit info on the Internet today. (But be advised of the presence of a very prolific troll named Logic in the blog's threads.)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars nothing new, May 25, 2010

By 

Carr (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Family Affair: Greed, Treachery, and Betrayal in the Chicago Mafia (Mass Market Paperback)

The book has nothing new I haven't read in other books. I was hoping for stuff I haven't read about or heard about. It's not a bad book. Very disappointed!