Customer Reviews

On the Run: A Mafia Childhood

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I loved the movie Goodfellas and so I was excited to read about the story from the viewpoint of Henry Hill's children. While I expected a typical tragic tale of a childhood destroyed, what I got was far more interesting: two very different viewpoints from Hill's children on their situation. Gregg, the older child, feels like he is the only one in the family who fully appreciates the danger they are in. Feeling like the only sane person in the family, he is enraged by the carelessness with which his father runs his life and how it impacts the rest of the family. Eventually this rage turns this straight-A student into somewhat of a psychotic kid who attacks his violent father with a homemade mace and contemplates murdering him on several occasions. Gregg is a truly terrifying person on several occasions -- and shows shades of his father's personality. Gina, on the other hand, spends most of her childhood idolizing her father and feeling that he is misunderstood. She is clearly the optimist in the family and characterizes their multiple moves in the witness protection program as an adventure, whereas Gregg views them as horrendous. Each chapter of the book contains alternating viewpoints on their situation from Gregg and Gina and they often comment on each other's perception of events. Gina's upbeat, cheery outlook is a dramatic juxtapose to Gregg's anger, hopelessness and negativity. It is interesting to see how two people in the same situation can have completely different reactions -- and coping mechanisms. Overall, it is an intriguing read.

Infamous schmuck/mafia sellout and raconteur Henry Hill had his say in Wiseguy, Goodfellas and numerous other books cashing in on his mob career, and in the end comes off as at least somewhat likeable and sympathetic, or at least not as bad as the stone killers he ran with. But his now grown children Gregg and Gina have their say in this book (just published in paperback) and it isn't pretty for Henry.

Besides being completely selfish and utterly disrupting his kids' lives with having to go into hiding as they are on the brink of adolescence...and then having to move twice more within three years due to almost being discovered, Hill never stopped the petty scamming, hard drinking and drug use that got him in trouble in the first place. The fallout for the family is painful and ugly, and Gregg in particular comes frighteningly close to becoming as violent as Henry himself ever was...but according to this book both son and daughter ultimately rose above their past to become law abiding citizens.

A useful perspective/corrective on the legend Hill has built for himself in the wake of his criminal career (which is in fact still ongoing-he's been arrested again in recent years on further drug charges).

It was hard to put this book down. Gina and Gregg take turns telling their side of the story. By the time they went into hiding, Gregg had already seen through their father and understood what was going on. He began angry and became ever more furious as Hill's schemes continue to disrupt their lives even after they are in hiding. Gina is a little more heartbreaking; she was daddy's little girl and holds onto her belief in his promises for several years, but eventually her eyes, too, are opened to the real Henry.

This may be one more attempt to cash in on the Hill story and the fascination with the Mafia in general, but for anyone enamored of the wiseguy life, this is an eyeopening look at the effects on innocent victims--the children of the mobsters. To some extent at least the wives can choose to be involved, but the children have no choice from the start. Although Gina and Gregg seem to have created good lives for themselves, the scars run deep.

If you absolutely loved Goodfellas or the book Wiseguy...you will not put this book down! I didn't - I read it straight through! It will make you see Henry Hill in a new light. How his son ever became a lawyer is beyond me?? These kids had one F'd up childhood and not before Henry went away - but after!! Henry has screws loose - seriously - or at least did in witness protection. This is a very sad account of the kids lives told by them themselves! I dont want to give everything away but there are some crazy stories in this book, such as crazy Henry giving trolley tours in an old beat up trolly in the ghetto in Cincinnati, Ohio, WHILE HE SHOULD BE HIDING OUT BEING GOOD IN WITNESS PROTECTION. Or the time he ran off with some hag and got married while he was married to his wife still, will make you fall out your chair laughing with the way his son tells it. Its not really funny but his son tells it funny.I wish this book were just written by him.....he is really comical but this book isn't but his son is amusining and he just has a way with telling a story. This book is a great addition to Wiseguy and Goodfellas. You will love it I assure you. There is a million stories that make you for sure know Henry Hill is a nutjob or at least was at that time in his life.

Amazing read! If you absolutely loved Goodfellas or the book Wiseguy...you will not put this book down! I didn't - I read it straight through! It will make you see Henry Hill in a new light. How his son ever became a lawyer is beyond me?? These kids had one F'd up childhood and not before Henry went away - but after!! Henry has screws loose - seriously - or at least did in witness protection. This is a very sad account of the kids lives told by them themselves! I dont want to give everything away but there are some crazy stories in this book, such as crazy Henry giving trolley tours in an old beat up trolly in the ghetto in Cincinnati, Ohio, WHILE HE SHOULD BE HIDING OUT BEING GOOD IN WITNESS PROTECTION. Or the time he ran off with some hag and got married while he was married to his wife still, will make you fall out your chair laughing with the way his son tells it. Its not really funny but his son tells it funny.I wish this book were just written by him.....he is really comical but this book isn't but his son is amusing and he just has a way with telling a story. This book is a great addition to Wiseguy and Goodfellas. You will love it I assure you. There is a million stories that make you for sure know Henry Hill is a nutjob or at least was at that time in his life.

"On the Run" is the other side of the Henry Hill story and his family as narrated by his son and daughter. When I first saw the movie "Good Fellas", I thought Henry Hill was the "good guy" (relatively speaking) out of the gang of Lucchese crime thugs. However, after reading "On the Run", it is obvious that Henry Hill was a low-life criminal and drug addict who didn't care how much his family had to pay for his life of crime. This book also demonstrates that the witness protection program is a constant life on the run. Maybe Hill's family would've had an easier time had he not made it more difficult for the Feds to protect the family. But Henry Hill's ego, drug addiction and criminal mindset would not allow that. I feel sorry for his family and the scars that they have to live with still. All in all, "On the Run" is a riveting account of a family's struggle to survive the imminent dangers of a life tied to the mob. For sure, this is not the "Sopranos".

This book is a must read for any fan of the movie "Goodfellas." The story here basically begins right were the Scorsese masterpiece ends. Henry Hill and his family are in the process of having their previous lives ereased forever so that they can assume new identities in the witness protection program.

What follows is a gut wrenching account of the trials and tribulations that the Hill family faced while in the witness protection program told from Henry's two children Gina and Gregg.

THe book divides its chapters into mini-viniettes told individually by Gregg and Gina. The writting is very vivid and descriptive.

While a very interesting and entertaining read, the book left far too many questions unaswered. What is Henry Hill up to now besides making occasional appearences on Howard Stern? What did Gina and Gregg think of Ray Liotta's portrayl of their father in "Goodfellas." What ever happened to Maury?

Gregg & Gina Hill tell their side of life on the run with notorious mobster Henry Hill. I was surprised at how much actually collaborated with the movie "Goodfellas", but not surprised at how much was left out. Their stint in the Witness Protection Program brought them to way more places than I thought, and Henry seemed to blow it every single time because he just couldn't seem to give up the life. Despite a very dysfunctional upbringing, they seem to have grown up into respectable adults.

Henry was abusive to his family, both physically and mentally. The number of times he put them in grave danger is astounding. I highly recommend this book.

If you're interested in Henry Hill or are a fan of the movie 'Goodfellas,' then this is the book for you. There are books out there written by Henry himself but this is a much more honest, heartfelt account. His two kids (Greg & Gina) show a side of their father that you would have never gotten from his horrible books. Read this one, not his. It is truly from a much different perspective than anything else written on him.

Let's see, the young boy is preparing for his bar mitzvah, the young girl is buying her first bra. Daddy is spending his time talking to the FBI about his life in the mob. Mom is facilating the whole thing, perhaps pretending that everything would work out OK, cleaning up the messes.

This book is the first I've read about what life is like in the witness protection program from the standpoints of the two children. What do you tell your friends about your past in church, school or at the senior prom? How do you possibly break away for a normal life? Then when your father seems to have a descruction wish, dealing drugs, writing for the press, drinking, beating up the rest of the family, how do you continue the love you can't help but have for your parents?

Growing up is hard enough in a normal family. All you can do is wish these two kids the best.

The glamorous side of the mafia life is portrayed in movies life "Goodfellas". Yet little is said about the background characters that are affected by the mafia life. Henry Hill, the main character of the movie Goodfellas, had a wife and two children. This is the story of Gregg and Gina Hill, Henry Hill's two children. It is a disturbing look at the effects of mob life on a family.

This book begins where the movie "Goodfellas" left off. The Hills are forcibly relocated when a price is placed on Henry's head. Forced into the witness protection program to save his life, the family moves three different times. At each location, Henry compromises the family's security and safety by contacting his former associates. This also meant that the family had to grow new roots at each location, which is arduous for an awkward teenager.

Henry Hill never abandoned the mafia lifestyle. He continued to abuse drugs and alcohol throughout his life and was violent to his wife and children. Violence begets violence, so his children each returned the violence before they left home. Even Henry's wife tired of his antics and left him.

This is a staggering portrait of the after-effects of mafia life. It is written in a format that allows Gina and Gregg to take turns writing about their experiences in a given time frame. With the glamorous life of the mob that is often portrayed in the media, we forget about those that are left in the wake of the violence. It was a traumatic and turbulent childhood for Gina and Gregg Hill, yet they survived to tell their remarkable story. This is a credit to them.