12/15/2014
Few readers of true crime who are familiar with La Cosa Nostra will find anything particularly new in the latest from Anastasia (Blood and Honor: Inside the Scarfo Mob, the Mafia’s Most Violent Family). The book is a straightforward and unsurprising account of the Gambino crime family since the mid-1980s, from the perspective of killer-turned-FBI cooperator John Alite. Anastasia accepts Alite’s account at face value, resulting in a simplistic rehashing of events. Anastasia even admits he made no effort to talk to “anyone in the Gotti camp,” which he justifies by stating, implausibly, that doing so would only lead to a meaningless “he said, they said” narrative. This overreliance on Alite dictates the book’s focus on Junior Gotti, rather than his father John, the Teflon Don; this is a drawback, as the story of the younger mobster is significantly less interesting and Alite’s flat perspective hardly compensates. B&w photos. (Feb.)
Forget about pulp fiction, what Anastasia churns out is pulp-nonfiction. — Philadelphia Weekly
“A fast-paced and compelling story that reads like a crime thriller.” — Philadelphia Inquirer
“[A] compelling, occasionally frightening, often surprising journey into the world of organized crime . . . For anyone fascinated by organized crime, this is a must-read.” — Booklist
Praise for George Anastasia: One of the most respected crime reporters in the country. — 60 Minutes
George Anastasia [is] our most important chronicler of the decline and fall of Italian America’s dark glory, La Cosa Nostra. — Bill Tonelli, former editor, Esquire and Rolling Stone
Praise for Blood and Honor: Forget about it! This is the best gangster book ever written. — Jimmy Breslin
Praise for Mob Father: George Anastasia has crafted a gangland masterpiece. — Jerry Capeci, former columnist, New York Daily News
There have been a lot of books about the mob but never one like this. — William Knoedelseder, author of Stiffed: The True Story of MCA, the Music Business and the Mafia
Praise for George Anastasia: One of the most respected crime reporters in the country.
Praise for Mob Father: George Anastasia has crafted a gangland masterpiece.
Praise for Blood and Honor: Forget about it! This is the best gangster book ever written.
There have been a lot of books about the mob but never one like this.
[A] compelling, occasionally frightening, often surprising journey into the world of organized crime . . . For anyone fascinated by organized crime, this is a must-read.
George Anastasia [is] our most important chronicler of the decline and fall of Italian America’s dark glory, La Cosa Nostra.
A fast-paced and compelling story that reads like a crime thriller.
Forget about pulp fiction, what Anastasia churns out is pulp-nonfiction.
[A] compelling, occasionally frightening, often surprising journey into the world of organized crime . . . For anyone fascinated by organized crime, this is a must-read.
Praise for George Anastasia: One of the most respected crime reporters in the country.
03/01/2015
John Alite—admitted criminal, Mafioso, and friend-turned-enemy of John A. "Junior" Gotti—tells his side of Junior's story with the help of crime writer Anastasia (The Last Gangster). Junior, who took the helm of the Gambino crime family after his father (John Gotti, aka the Dapper Don, aka the Teflon Don) was convicted and sent to prison, was not a competent leader, according to Alite. Gotti has responded by writing and self-publishing his own book (Shadow of My Father) and releasing it just ahead of this title, with the he-said, he-said controversy currently playing out in New York newspaper headlines. This account tells how Alite first met Junior as a young man and quickly became enmeshed in criminal activities with him. It is framed by Gotti Senior's "rules," such as, "drug dealing is prohibited and punishable by death": Alite shares stories of the Gottis breaking every rule. He also describes Junior as being more into the celebrity and power that came with being a Mafioso than honoring and following the old-school traditions. This is the story of Alite—his crimes, flight from authorities, capture, prison experiences, extradition, and finally his testimony against Junior, whose trial ended with a hung jury. VERDICT Given the Gotti family's high profile and continued interest, this should appeal to true crime and mafia aficionados.—Karen Sandlin Silverman, Scarborough H.S. Lib., ME
