Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires

Sorry to disagree.....

It's pretty good, but the meat of the book could have taken up half the space. I get that Raab is enthused to write on such a perennially hot topic as the New York mob, BUT as a journalist he conjectures A LOT and his writing is pretty dry. Constantly estimating and tossing in stories (like the Kennedy assassination) that are dubious at best (seriously Ragano/Trafficante as a source?). And the verifiable stuff that most sources agree on suffers from his leaving things out that don't support his theses of New York's supremacy (he'll talk of Marcello and Traficante, who interacted with NYC mobsters, but Chicago has no importance past Capone, maybe it's because Chicago never answered to or felt compelled to ask New York's input). Seriously, Pistone, Capeci, Raab and others all write the same stuff. Gus Russo is guilty of being a little too friendly to his topic but at least its something new and presented a little differently. And even someone like Roemer who covered the Outfit and Bonanno knew on whom to lay his bets when push came to shove. New York could without a doubt support five families, but by no means did they run the country, nor were they the strongest. They may have disliked Capone, but later they emulated him (Bonanno, Gambino, Gotti) became too flashy and lookit them now. Colombo's all but gone, Luchese ain't too far behind, Bonanno is on its way out, Gambino got nailed again in 2005, and Genovese is the only fam chugging along. Resurgence should be dropped from the title. Likewise the fbi dropped Gambino and the Outfit from their website, only Genovese remains. Take it for what its worth, Raab is the only one who wrote a basic history of the five families to now in the same volume, for that he's commendable, but the same info can be got from rick porrello's mafia webpage. Save your money. Better yet read Russo's book on the Outfit or his coming book on Sidney Korshak, or his book on the Kennedy's, it's stuff that was new to me and I like the new light it showed on a lot of the same old stories. Who knows, give it a try.... Pileggi and Bill Roemer would probably agree.

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Good basis

This book is a great start for anyone wanting to read about organized crime in New York. It does not do enough justice to Accardo's Outift but will suffice if you dont care about the entire Mafia heirarchy.

pretty accurate

the players are familiar very hard to sought his research. well done

Very thorough!

I found the book to be very entertaining and informative. It links together events that I remember but hadn't paid much attention to over the years.

There are a fair amount of typos in the book, which is frustrating, but overall doesn't impact readability.

Five Families

It is amazing what these people were able to get way with under the nose of the police and the government. I was absolutely appalled and disgusted with the plundering that these families engaged in year after year, all at the expense of the country, and with no consciousness of guilt or remorse. These people should have been put under the jail for the despicable acts they seemed to have been permitted to engage in with no accountability or fear of incarceration. That being said, it was very interesting to get a more realistic view of what the mob was really like and how it affected this country's economy - then and now.

Very realistic

Great book! Very realistic and easy to read.

BEST BOOK I'VE EVER READ ABOUT THE MOB!!!

I'm a huge mafia history buff, so imagine my excitement when I managed to get my hands on an advance copy of 'Five Families.' All I can say is BUY THIS BOOK! It's absolutely the most comprehensive and most gripping account of the American mafia ever written. Selwyn Raab is a brilliant journalist and without a doubt, one of the foremost experts on this topic. This book will clearly go down in history as the definitive history of the Cosa Nostra.

the best mob book ever

if your going to read a book on the history of the mafia this book is the one to read from very first page to the last its impossible to put down .

The Godfather Comes to Life

Really, really enjoyed Five Families! Selwyn Raab knows his stuff and knows the Mob. I honestly couldn't put this book down.

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