Customer Reviews

Goombata: The Improbable Rise and Fall of John Gotti and His Gang

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

 

 

not the best book i have read but not the worst.despite the book being flawed because it finishes before the final prossecution. it does offer a few good chapters and also throws down some opinions that s contradicted by other sources.like who did whack his body gaurd near the end of the book.some good photos but not exactly a work of art. if only he good have waited to find out what happened at the final prossecution then he could have definately called the rise and fall of john gottis crew .there are definatelly better mob books on the market but if you do want a different veiw then it may be worth checking out.

John Gotti( Dapper Don), I feel is the cause for the downfall of the Gambino crime family. In "Goombata", it shows how Gotti loved the attention from the Press and Media. He alone made the FBI and RICO chase after him. John Gotti wanted a flamboyant life-style, which is why he was number one target among organized crime leaders. John Gotti broke the number one rule in La Cosa Nostra, the secret life.
I like the tone the author set. Chapter after chapter I wanted to know what John Gotti was going to do to become a known man within the Gambino family. "Goombata" is a fast and terse biography. This novel would've been the perfect biography but the author, John Cummings, did'nt make the novel long enough. He could've coverd more about his coming up among the ranks years. Also, there was no clear resolution because when this book was published, John Gotti was on trial for racketereering charges that he later was found guilty for. Overall rating, three stars.

goombata is not a great mob book.it tends to explore too much of john gottis childhood.the book is about the rise and fall of gotti but it didnt really float my boat.it has a couple of good chapters but the rest are average.on one occasion it tells how gotti,i guess you can say killed the man who accidentally ran over his son.the man pleaded with gotti but john didnt have mercy for the man.he just dissapeared but we all know that gotti got him.

An extremely readable and interesting accoubnt of John Gotti's rise. Emphasis is placed on the enviroment and friends that helped propel John Gotti to the top. But inherent in that formula it becomes clear that there is little satisfaction in the game. Friends turn on friends and illustrates the losing proposition of pursuing a criminal career even if one is perfectly suited to the task.

This book was originally published in 1990, and therefore, as other reviewers have pointed out, the ending just drops off the edge of the cliff, leaving the "hero" in jail awaiting trial.

Messrs. Cummings and Volkman, the co-authors, are described as "prize-winning journalists."

The book rolls along pretty well, although in the paperback version the typeface is small and paragraphs are large, and there is very little conversation, except what the authors apparently pulled from court transcripts. These, in turn, were often pulled from "bugs" planted by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies inside the "social clubs" used by Gotti and his goombata (like the Spanish compadres or compas).

So, this book is not much like a novel at all. To its credit, it is still absorbing reading, if, that is, you are one of those Mafioso groupies, like me. My grandfather was of Italian descent, so in my fantasies I'm "Skinny Al" Pedrone, riding shotgun with these very folks, my heroes.

In reality, of course, I'm a frightened little "punk," the kind these folks would have for lunch (were I edible, which I doubt).

Another reviewer wrote that too much of the book was devoted to Gotti's childhood. I felt just the opposite: I would like to have learned more about his early life. For example, very little is said about how he met and courted his wife.

I know: This type of personal information is difficult to obtain, unless you are talking to the subject himself. That's why I had the impression that the co-authors more or less rushed this book into print, to capitalize on Gotti's notoriety in 1990. They did not actually want to wait and write a thorough biography, because the reading public might lose interest fifteen years later.

They were right.

Diximus.

This is awful stuff - it goes way too fast, and the amount of facts that are wrong is unbelievable from two so-called mob experts. Among the wrong facts - the circumstances surrounding the Frank Costello shooting, the McBratney murder, the Westies alliance, and much much more. For the real Gotti story, try Gotti: The rise and fall.

This is a readable story of John Gotti's rise in organized crime, ending shortly before the final prosecution that put the "teflon don" behind bars. While the author points out the pervasive criminal acts of organized crime, it's hard to escape the feeling that (as John Gotti), there are attractions to the "business" of organized crime.
The author quotes one person as saying, "As a wiseguy, you can lie, you can cheat, you can steal, you can kill people -- _legitimately_. You can do any ______ thing you want, and nobody can say anything about it. Who wouldn't want to be a wiseguy?"

This was the absolute worst mafia novel I have ever read. Initially when I purchased it, I figured it would be an inciteful and authentic read about John Gotti, instead Volkman's facts were completely wrong especially when he said that Gotti himself had killed Castellano. Horrible! Volkman just wanted to get a book published abruptly about Gotti and it shows in this horrible work.