Underboss

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating!
Review: I really enjoyed the behind the scenes look into one of the largest New York crime families that this book gave! The most difficult part about the book is trying to distinguish between fact and Sammy Gravan's version of things. He is thought of as a heartless thug. In the book he seems to be a fairly likable guy who took advantage of the glamourous life of a mobster.

I understand he is now out of the witness-protection program. Don't know how he is still around.

Rating:
Summary: Good book - nice read
Review: A book I wanted to read for sometime. I can understand his up bringing and how he got into the life as they call it but I cannot feel sorry for him, he made his life. Who ever said there was honor among thieves. Would he have ever written a book if he had not been caught, I don't think so. Even though it is a good read and can give the reader terrific insight into the mafia and how they cheat and kill themselves.

Rating:
Summary: Stick with Wiseguys or Donnie Brasco
Review: I think that this book is a bit labored with details that really don't add to the rise and fall of Sammy. However, one detail that would certainly help is establishing when alot of Sammy's things are going on. It seems like for the most part, Peter Mass tells you when Sammy was born and then for the most part you're left to figure out on your own when everything else is happening. Other than that, there's really not a lot of surprises. You're halfway through the book before you really get to the nitty gritty of Sammy being the Underboss of the Gambino family. I thought Wiseguys and Donnie Brasco were significantly better for a peek into the world of organized crime.

Rating:
Summary: a man to be admired
Review: he tells it like it is how things are and how they should be,,,when paul castellano gives up a capo and lets another family kill he sammy says thats our captain how can he do that,,,he aknowleged that what he did was wrong but when you read through the book you will realize that john gotti is not the victim sammy the bull is,,,if it were not for john gotti the la cosa nostra will still be a formidable force instead of the japanese and hatian gangs taking over,,,I also like that sammy gives a deatil into how being made or initiated into a family works....i am a businsessman myself ( completly legit) and i reccomend this book to anyone that ever wants to get ahead and learn how weird fate can be,,,sammy tried to go legit once and if it were not for a weird twist of fate he probably would have.

Rating:
Summary: And the lying catches up...
Review: Though this is a good little read, and interesting about the Mafia under John Gotti, take this book with a huge grain of salt. Mr. Gravano is currently sitting in an Arizona jail, awaiting charges of organizing an Ecstasy drug distribution ring. For a man who claims to have reformed in this book, it just goes to show you cannot take the mob out of the man.

Rating:
Summary: Honest, brutally so, mostly unbiased
Review: Rat....maybe......
Sammy the bull reveals his life as a mobster, entertaininly and honestly. He also shows that Gotti brought about his own downfalll.

Rating:
Summary: Underboss
Review: I really got interesded in this book and then it ended i think it is very good. In fact i wrote John Gotti after i read it and he wrote back. It is awesome and i was just looking for another book to takes its place.

Rating:
Summary: a page-turner ... but how much of it is true?
Review: Soon after reading this book, which says in the epilogue that Sammy and his wife Debra divorced and that she took the kids and stayed in New York while he moved to Arizona to start a new life as an upstanding citizen, I read that Sammy, Debra and their children (several years later) were all accused of operating an Ecstacy drug ring in Arizona. It's possible that the book was telling the truth and that Sammy and his wife remarried and she later joined him in Arizona. It's also possible that they were never divorced, and that this was a lie put in the book to protect Debra and the kids. My point in mentioning this is that, although the book makes for compelling reading, it's good to remember that the primary source of the information is a multiple murderer, a crook and a stool-pigeon. I wonder how much of it is true and how much Sammy made up to make himself look noble or to protect his friends. If my suspicions are correct, I don't have a very high opinion of Peter Maas as a journalist. My advice is to take this book with a very big grain of salt. On another note, I'm glad I bought this book used. Although Sammy doesn't appear to be getting royalties (at least not above the table!), I wouldn't want to put my money in this man's pocket, or encourage other people of his character to make money in this way.

Rating:
Summary: I read it in one sitting.
Review: I was looking through my local library's book sale when I found a copy of this book. I read a few pages, but decided not to buy the book because it was damaged. I checked a copy out instead. I finished it later that evening. I don't usually enjoy a book enough to read it in one sitting, but this book kept my attention throughout. I can't say it was the best book I've ever read, but I definitely enjoyed it. Its portrayal of Sammy "The Bull" Gravano was a little too positive for my taste, and too little time was spent explaining the rise of John Gotti to power. Regardless, this book is worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Goon
Review: A person with an ego like this has to be in the mob or politics. Sammy chose the mob. Peter Mass does his usual solid effort here back on the turf that made his name, the Mafia. The author performs the obligatory life history of Sammy starting with his (you guessed it) tough child hood. You get the impression this is the first in the main excuses Sammy tries to place in the book to some how justify his murderous ways. We get a review of his time as the major player in the family he was involved in with a run down of some of his more interesting crimes.

Then we are finished off with some kind of tough guy "I'm not a rat" excuse as to why he decided to work for the FBI in the Gotti prosecution. One almost got he impression that he was trying to limit the number of hit men out on the trail for him.
All in all, this book is what you would expect, an interesting and grim look at someone on the fringe of society. It is a good book, but probably not destine to be on any top ten lists. If you are interested in the Mob or Sammy then this is well worth your time.