Tony Soprano's America: The Criminal Side Of The American Dream [Hardcover]

David R. Simon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 3, 2002

Hit Man. Family Man. Drug Dealer. Devoted Dad. Meet Tony Soprano - the chilling mob boss and central character of the popular HBO series The Sopranos. To millions of viewers, Tony is the “good guy,” the solid provider who nevertheless commits nearly every crime conceivable - all the while maintaining a loyal fan following. Tony has defined for us an entirely new, if skewed moral code.Tony Soprano’s America looks at the relationship between the American Dream and the manner in which we pursue it. Like Tony, can we do the effectively expedient thing without sacrificing honor? Must we be held accountable for our behavior? In this fascinating look at the social and family dynamics of Tony’s life and at the societal problems that surround it - crime, drugs, infidelity, gambling, corruption, and their wide-reaching effects - writer and criminologist David Simon takes the reader through all aspects of crime in America: from the streets to the boardroom, and from the local hood to far-reaching international syndicates. With penetrating insight, Simon challenges us to hold up a mirror to ourselves, to make better sense of our fascination and worship of those like Tony who not only use criminal acts to take shortcuts to the American Dream, but who also get away with it.THIS BOOK WAS NOT PREPARED, LICENSED, APPROVED, OR ENDORSED BY ANY ENTITY INVOLVED IN CREATING OR PRODUCING The Sopranos TELEVISION SERIES

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Tony Soprano lives the epitome of a double life: one minute he's grilling hamburgers with his family, the next he's holding a gun to somebody's head in a dark alley. Criminologist David Simon examines Tony's contradictory persona in Tony Soprano's America: The Criminal Side of the American Dream. According to Simon, The Sopranos taps into a core condition that many people deal with: can a respectable member of society also engage in criminal behavior? Can an upstanding citizen dishonor his or her parents? Simon poses probing questions, about the Sopranos and the real life version, that deal with morality, heroes, corruption, family life, violence and more.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"It tilts masterfully over into creative, strong words about anti-aging." -- St. Augustine Record

"This book should serve as a red flag to a prosperous country teetering on the edge of complete moral breakdown." -- Charleston Post & Courier

"This courageous and timely book is a must-read for anyone who truly cares about the future of America." -- Gus Russo, investigative journalist and author of The Outfit: The Role of Chicago's Underworld in the Shaping of Modern America --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; 1St Edition edition (September 3, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813340365
• ISBN-13: 978-0813340364
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 1.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,062,277 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Tony Soprano Would Take Action, April 22, 2005

By 

John P Bernat (Kingsport, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tony Soprano's America: The Criminal Side Of The American Dream (Hardcover)

This is an awful book. It purports to be some kind of sociological analysis of the cultural forces shaping the Sopranos.

It is, instead, a slanted political diatribe, essentially blaming all our ills on a loss of collective social sensibility and retreat from political liberalism.

That's rank B.S. I consider myself a liberal (believe it or not) but do not blame the forces of social disintegration solely on a recent shift in our political winds.

I don't know that I even agree with one of the author's key assumptions: that we care less about one another now. Some communities and neighborhoods are more tightly knit together than ever before. We move steadily toward a more orderly, efficient and respectful society, despite our mistaken retreat from social liberalism.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Where's Tony?, January 7, 2003

By 

Gary M. Greenbaum (Fairfax, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tony Soprano's America: The Criminal Side Of The American Dream (Hardcover)

While this book is heavily promoted as an analyis of contemporary America in light of the Sopranos, it is awfully light on the Sopranos side. Basically, a snippet of plot description from "The Sopranos" is used as a lead-in to each chapter, which then heads into dry sociological analysis.

Why is it I have the suspicion that this book originally lacked any mention of the Sopranos, but then received the snippets, the title, and the heavy promotion to get some portion of the Soprano fan market? I guess it worked, I bought it without taking too much of a look at it.

It isn't even very good sociology. It makes all sorts of claims and statements without citing statistics or having footnotes.

Not really worth it. Browse it in the bookstore and decide for yourself, but there really isn't much here.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Are David Simon's Personal Politics and Values Important to You?, March 21, 2006

By 

Stephen M. Kerwick (Wichita, KS United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tony Soprano's America: The Criminal Side Of The American Dream (Hardcover)

If David Simon's personal values and political orientation are crucial to your life, don't miss this book by any means. If you aren't aware of what his personal values and politics are, just watch the editorial columns of your local newspaper for 3 or 4 days, focusing on the writers of whom you've never heard or cared. If you don't want to spend even that much time, I'll mention that Simon appears fascinated by redistributionist cant and utopian (read as impractical and impossible) social democracy. He doesn't care much for any of the national administrations in recent years, including that of the Clintons and seems to wish we'd have something along the lines of a French or German polity of the last half dozen years. None of that is illegal, although I tend to think that the concepts are foolish and impractical. What did offend me (more than my lost $15 or 20 purchase price) was the shameless appropriation of David Chase's and James Gandolfini's work to sell social and political ideas that are barely relevant to it, if at all. If you don't know or care who David Simon is or what his personal critiques of America are (and he ain't Tocqueville by a long shot) save your money and effort and avoid this dime a dozen rant.