I had some time in early January and picked up one of the new mafia books for the year, entitled Mafia Mistaken: Why Everything You Think You Know About Italian Organized Crime Is Wrong, by John De Luca. I'd previously read a book he had written about southern Italy entitled "Mezzogiorno Mistaken."
I noticed that "Mafia Mistaken" is dedicated to "GCB" which how much you wanna bet is Giuseppe Carlo Bonanno, aka Joe Bonnano, judging by how much he seems to favor him in the book.
Overall I give the book a 8 out of 10.
The knocks are that it is too short, and the production quality sucks. Hello publishing in 2025! Every book seems to suffer from the lack of professionals as publishers cut back in their layout and design staff.
I gave it an 8 though because it's humorous, and it breaks new ground, and because I think a lot of the guys here would appreciate it.
Of particular interest is how much pop culture seeped into the mob and affected even its own terminology.
The book also weighs in on the debate as to what families are truly active in 2024-2025. Hello Buffalo debaters LOL!
It has chapters on dispensing the mythology around "The Commission" and why mob money doesn't lead to generational wealth.
I liked reading about the many things the mob established in Americana (numbers/lottery, sports betting, etc.) that the government has simply taken over.
Most controversial will be the chapter about how the mob is so weak that anyone could start a family in any city now. I realize that's largely hypothetical, but I found it fascinating nevertheless.
Overall a good easy read and a good addition to the mafia book corpus.
New Mob Book Review: Mafia Mistaken by John De Luca
Moderator: Capos