Customer Reviews

Goodfella Tapes (True Crime (Avon Books))

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was a good read because it shows the Philly family at a crossroads. It gives a good account on the bloody and brief reign of John Stanfa. He was about as able to lead a family as a baboon. It was amazing how the previous boss Nicky Scarfo held the family together while nearly losing his mind. Then to watch Stanfa attempt to re-organize it A good read.

The FBI tapes provided here in the book allow for a great insight into the Philadelphia Mafia at a time of great confusion, botched hits, and mutiny in the ranks.

It's an overall good, quick read but there's better out there if you're not looking specifically to find out about the Philly Mob. A good buy is MURDER MACHINE by Gene Mustain and Jerry Capeci.

It's good to see that the FBI recordings are left untampered with so the "evidence" allows you to draw you're own conclusions. Although this sometimes proves confusing with many unfinished sentances and people cutting in to another's sentance.

I do recommend this book as it does provide a quick and cheap read which is quite fascinating.

What an awsome book. It was almost as if you were there living it as you were reading it. I thought this book was very well written. I am into these types of books lately. I am getting ready to read Murder Machine now, I can't wait! I also have read Underboss.(great book too)

This book covers a bizarre, disjointed and bewildering period in Philadelphia mob history. The Philadelphia mob was, from the death of Angelo Bruno until the mid-to-late-'90s, one of the most violent outfits around, not to mention one of the most tumultuous in terms of power structure. During the period covered by this book, things got REALLY out of hand. If you love stories about crazy mobsters -- like the guy who lit his own hand on fire to give himself an alibi for a murder -- you'll love it. George Anastasia is one of the top-notch organized crime reporters.

This book goes a long way to explain just what happens when you get two factions of a cosa nostra family at war with each other. The author does very well to describe what the main characters in the book are like, in many ways the book is unique i have never read a book that is completely based around the transcripts from the FBI bugs skllfully placed by the feds. The book isnt that long which is why i gave it only 3 stars. The bugs pick some very interesting conversations between the Philedelphia boss John Stanfa and many of his crew, he talks about why he thinks that cosa nostra is having such a tough time in the U.S at present, saying that the younger inductees of the mob dont have the same values they have in sicily. Being a sicilian immigrant himself he built a wall of immigrants around him thinking that they would serve him better, how wrong he turned out to be. Although the author doesnt go into the inner workings of the philly mob it is definately worth buying, he bases the book around the characters and what they are. So if you want a book that doesnt take you long to read then buy this at all costs, and at this price it is a total bargain.

I totally agree with the comments of the previous reviewer in that this book is totally worthwhile if you enjoy mob books. While taped conversations did authenticate the book, I would say that was my only complaint, since they are very disjointed and hard to understand. Also they are translated from Sicilian so that adds more confusion. The text part of the book is highly interesting, and I guess I would have liked SOME tape transcripts, but not as much. I found myself hoping for blocks of pages with no tape conversations since they were so hard to follow.

Overall, though, this is a very good story that really shows, I feel, the decline of organized crime in general. Not only are these guys incompetent, they really seem disorganized and you never get the feel that they are a mafia family, just a bunch of hoodlums playing wiseguy games. The whole "old mafia/new mafia" conflict really comes to light and eventually is the downfall of the Philadelphia mob. I also agree that "Murder Machine" is probably the best mob book I have read.

The Goodfella Tapes takes a deep look inside of a powerful Cosa Nostra crime family. The material was well presented and very thorough. Insight on all of the major players and a good follow-up on those involved.

Great book well written can't put down great back grounds on the main's draws you in could not put it down you get a great point of view from all sides the family's the fbi the hitmen its one of the best books on the mafia I ever read and I read them all

I enjoyed this book. A lot of names, but there's a section in the back with all the major player and a brief history/reminder of who they are and why they are mentioned in the pages. The secret FBI recordings and their transcriptions are interesting.

John Stanfa is an out-of-touch Sicilian boss trying to run a young Philly mob. For some reason, I found this era of the Philly mob to be amateuristic. They just did not seem as strong or organized as Bruno and Scarfo's borgata. It wasn't the author's fault that the characters just don't measure up to the ones in the past.