Customer Reviews

Unlocked: A Journey from Prison to Proust

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This book is the no-holds barred true story of Louis "Lou" Ferrante's life, which started out as a seventeen-year-old hijacker of trucks in New York. It traces his rise (or dissent, depending on your point of view.) from a teenage criminal who slowly built his own "crew", pulling enough successful jobs and creating enough mayhem to come to the attention of famed Gambino mob leader John Gotti. His connection with Gotti then helped elevate his scores from trucks full of bra's, electronics and garments, to million-dollar armored truck heists. Numerous state and federal convictions including credit card fraud and armed robbery were aided by the lowest form of a criminal organism, the totally despised "RAT"! The words penned in this book are straight from Lou's gut and soul, with no "ivy-league" filtering to "pretty up" the words. I was born in New York and fifteen minutes into this book it was as if I was back on the streets "talkin" with the people I grew up with.

After one of Lou's first big hijackings which was a truckload of tools and toolboxes worth over a $100,000.00 he summed up his view on life at the time: "I was seventeen-years-old, I liked girls. I liked fist fighting; I liked to drive fast cars. I liked hamburgers and French fries. I liked playing stickball in the school yard. And I'd just realized that I liked to hijack trucks." The author describes everyday mob life down to the smallest detail and shares insights with the reader such as ways of "respect" that don't include a gun: "Jimmy the Jeweler" ran alone, didn't need a Mob to make him tough. He took no orders, gave none, and reported to no one. In a world in which fear and muscle rule, Jimmy never even threatened anyone. He was respected because of his word. And everyone liked him." As Lou pulled bigger and better jobs, "Mafia Rats" a heretofore unheard of trend due to the code of "OMERTA" was starting to become a growing phenomenon. At this point in time Lou was so "wrapped up in his "bullsh*t life that he didn't realize that he was rising in the Mafia at the same time the Mafia was in decline."

The "life" that Lou was in, included as many "sit-downs" to settle disputes between different families and "made men" and associates, as it did actual crime. One particularly poetic dispute over a difference of opinion regarding a brother of one of Lou's friends beating up a mob associate, as a retaliation for his having been beaten up by that same mob associate. (understand?) Then the associate ratted to the police. So a meeting between Lou and a representative for the rat went like this: Lou asked: "You sticking up for a rat?" "He ain't no rat!" "He called the cops on my friend." "Yea but he dropped the charges." "So he ain't a rat no more? Is that like I'm only gay on weekends? He dropped im cause I threatened his life, he's still a rat." "It only matters that he dropped im." "Really? Why not take this upstairs." I was referring to John Gotti. "See what he thinks about defendin' a cop-caller, besides somebody going against his own for an outsider." "Listen, between you an' me, your guy hit im wit' a tire iron, that ain't right" "WHATTA WE, IN THE FLOWER BUSINESS? HE'S LUCKY HE DIDN'T SHOOT IM DEAD."

Lou winds up spending almost a decade in prison on multiple charges. Midway through his sentences after simply existing in the daily depravity of a living hell, he is accused of an offense and gets put in solitary confinement for two months. He has an epiphany that gives him the impetus to save and change his life. "When you're released from a concrete box after so long, you feel free, even though you're still in prison. You've been changed forever. In solitary, you talk to yourself. I always had all the answers. For the first time, I had a million questions, and no answers." Lou decides to self-educate himself. After reading everything from Shakespeare to books on Winston Churchill he then read the Gospels, the Koran, the Bhagavad Gita, and studied Buddhism. But the Old Testament (the Torah) was the book for him. "He decided to take a close look at the Jewish people, the Torah's trustees. They were the first to receive the Bible. After all, could G-d have picked the wrong horse?" "He read the history of the Jews, their philosophers, and the Torah over and over; each time it spoke to him anew." Lou converted to Judaism and became an Orthodox Jew. It is not possible to recommend this book any higher than I do! It has it all! And it is truly invigorating after the wild criminal ride that the author takes the reader on, to be able to finish with an emotional aura filled with the beautiful feel of hope and redemption.

I picked this up on Friday and was done by dinner time on Saturday. Incredibly written, will no doubt be a major motion picture soon. A great story of redemption from an author who uses his time in prison to better himself to the Nth degree. Make this the next book you purchase. You can't go wrong.

This book is a must read. You'll be captivated by the first page and won't put it down until the last. Not your typical Mafia story. Interesting and compelling, it is well written with honesty and amazing life experiences. Although brutal at times, it is funny and heartfelt. A true triumph for the author. I highly recommend it!

After reading this book I realize without a doubt, what a harsh punishment prison is. We have a tendency to think people who have committed vile crimes and are sent to prison are getting off "easy." After reading Louis' book, I see just what a misconception this is. He wrote with a raw, brutal honesty that held my interest from start to finish. He is to be commended for turning his life around and honoring his dear mother's memory.

I picked this book up while in the mood for some true crime, and got the greatest surprise of my life. This book has it all, from start to finish. An amazing journey, I couldn't put it down, couldn't even fall asleep until I was done. Awesome Read!

I met Louis Ferrante when he came to speak to the Youth Group I work for. After he left, I decided I would read the book Unlocked. I haven't been able to put it down. As a girl from Queens, I imagine the places he is talking about. I remember going to the same diners, pizza places and fast food joints he discusses in the book. I think to myself, was I there when he was? Did we cross paths back in the day? Did he steal from anyone I know?

His story helps me believe that people can change. You can make your own future. I can't wait to finish this book. When I do, I will pass it along to everyone I know. Louis is an amazing person. We can all learn a lot from this book and his story.

I don't usually read books about prison or crime. I bought this book because the sub-title said "from prison to Proust". I happened to be reading some Proust at the time and became intrigued at the thought of a convict reading the same. So, after reading the book description, I decided to take a chance on it.

Worth every cent. If the "f" word terrorizes you, you'll be a basket case by story's end. Yet this isn't gratuitous cursing like in the movies. It's part and parcel of Ferrante's world, which would sound completely ridiculous if you tried substituting "freakin" like they do when certain movies make it to the television wasteland.

I won't go through the events Ferrante records. This is a very honest book told in a straightforward manner. It is NOT politically correct in any sense of the word, and I found that alone quite refreshing. All the blemishes of Ferrante's pre,ongoing and post-prison life are presented without any cosmetics, racial slurs and all. If you're one of those types who takes obligatory offense at everything not sanitized for your perusal, spare your phony sensibilities the counterfeit shock and stick to books already pre-chewed for your intellectual malnutrition.

When this book arrived in the mail I didn't intend to read it right off because I had two other books I needed to finish. But when I started skimming the book I read the first chapter. After that I was hooked and put my other reading aside. Just finished it today. Ferrante tells his story very well, makes no excuses and embellishes nothing. Much of it is sad to contemplate. But his own tenacious overcoming of a bad life strictly by awakened sincerity of desire through the vehicle of literature in the most hostile of environments is storytelling in the grand tradition.

I've read a lot of books and not all of them made me feel like I got a good return on my money or time. When I closed the book I felt like I'd been touched in the place where a good book is supposed to touch you. It made me think and feel differently from when I did before I read it. And, in my view, that's what a good book is supposed to do.

A thought provoking look into the underworld, and one man's journey to better himself in a harsh reality that followed. Louis Ferrante walks you throught pages of his life in the mob, solitary, and finding faith and strength in religion to carry on.

Truly an inspiring story of a kid who fought first outwardly and then inwardly to become the man he is today. The night I picked up this book to read it, I realized I could not put it down as the clock turned 2am. It was not just another horror story of a boy gone wrong. It was about a boy who searched his soul for the deeper meaning of life and found the man who would tell his truth and ultimately reach the masses with his heart. A must read and well worth your time and money.

Amidst the plethora of turncoat/insider/expose mafia novels, 'Unlocked' is a valued addition to those with an interest in the subject. The first section recounting Ferrante's mafia expolits with interesting accounts of his illegal exploits with the reader gaining an intertesting understanding of the psycology and the social chasm between his society and that of the law. The second part details his incarceration, disenchantment with 'the life' and reawakening through education. A unique account as Ferrante walks away from the mob in unusual circumstances, not as a rat nor informer but almost with its blessing. All in all a worthwhile purchase.