vaudevillian wrote: ↑Thu May 09, 2019 10:34 am
Snakes wrote: ↑Thu May 09, 2019 10:22 am
vaudevillian wrote: ↑Thu May 09, 2019 10:15 am
I'm interested/looking to read some books on the mob, I'm more interested in reading around the late 1980s to today instead of stuff more focused on the Golden Era. If anyone could point me to some good books, It'd be much appreciated
Five Familes by Selwyn Raab. It has a few mistakes here and there but it is probably the best overview of the 5 Families. While it is presented as an all-encompassing history of the mob in NYC, it's main focus is on your time period of interest.
Thanks for the quick response, I'll check this one out first since it's the book I've heard the most about in my particular time period of interest.
Some others that I'd recommend from the same time period:
5 Families
Gotti: Rise and Fall by Capeci and Mustain (Gambinos) (An oft-told story but if you're looking for a good overview of the family during the Gotti reign, check it out)
Chin: The Life and Crimes of Mafia Boss Vincent Gigante by Larry McShane (Genovese) (It has gotten mixed reviews here but it's worth a read)
Mob Boss: The Life of Little Al D’Arco, the Man Who Brought Down the Mafia by Jerry Capeci (Lucchese) (Although it focuses on one-time acting boss Al D'Arco, it goes into a lot of detail about the Amuso/Casso reign)
King of the Godfathers: Big Joey Massino and the Fall of the Bonanno Crime Family by Anthony DeStefano (Bonanno) (Great book)
Carmine the Snake: Carmine Persico and His Murderous Mafia Family by Frank Dimatteo (Colombo) (Haven't read it yet but wanted to give you a modern account of the Colombo Family; Amazon reviewers have given it decent reviews)
Other Families
Family Affair: Greed, Treachery, and Betrayal in the Chicago Mafia by Scott Burnstein (Chicago) (Not a bad read if you aren't already familiar with the subject matter. I prefer Coen's book on Family Secrets but you may want to start with this one)
Blood and Honor, The Goodfella Tapes, and the Last Gangster by George Anastasia (Philadelphia) (You can't go wrong with this trilogy; gives an excellent summation of the Philadelphia/Scarfo family's activities from the death of Bruno through the mid-nineties.)
Made Men by Greg Smith (DeCavalcante/NJ) (Haven't read this and have heard mixed reviews but it is basically the only thing out there on the modern DeCavalcante family.)
There isn't a whole lot out there on Boston but you can piece together a basic history by reading a few different books. Most of the literature from this area is on Whitey Bulger, naturally.