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Bound by Honor: A Mafioso's Story

Bound by Honor: A Mafioso's Story

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A Very Interesting Book
Review: "Bound By Honor" was a great read. Bonanno is a master story teller. The book contains some very accurate history and some stories that are doubtful or hard to verify. I also found more than one hundred spelling and grammar errors in the book. ST. Martin's Press should check their books for spelling and grammar before publishing.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: excellent!! riveting!! real!!!
Review: as a sicilana daughter of a first generation san francisco father... I found comfort reading of our customs and respect that formed the warmth that is not often portrayed in the "Movies" idea of what the Mafia was or is.....

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Hard to believe
Review: As laypersons, we all would like to believe that an "expert" such as Mr. Bonanno is telling us the truth about such a fascinating subject--after all, most of us have no personal knowledge of the matters he writes about. His story is so well written that he almost succeeds in making me believe it, except for a couple of major flaws. First, it is highly unlikely that one person would know the answers to so many prominent conspiracies of our day: the JFK and RFK assassinations, the Hoffa disappearance, even J. Edgar Hoover's bisexuality. But he really blunders when he writes about the JFK assassination, which is perhaps one of the most heavily researched and written about subjects in our history. Those of us who have read alot about the JFK assassination know that although there are many crazy theories out there, there is a set of immutable facts about the assassination that even Warren Commission supporters such as Posner have trouble dealing with. Unfortunately, Bonanno's "revelation" about the JFK assassination flatly contradicts those known facts. Either Mr. Bonanno is fabricating his alleged conversation with Mr. Roselli, or he was an unwitting pawn in some sort of disinformation scheme (which cannot be dismissed as a possibility--according to investigations and research done by both the the Church Committee and House Assassination Committee in the 70's, Roselli, although he apparently also had mob ties, was an intelligence operative, heavily involved in the Miami JM/WAVE counterintelligence operation). Either way, Bonanno's credibility is called into question, casting doubt on his numerous other "revelations". But the sensational "revelations" no doubt help sell the book, which may be the only reality about them! Perhaps if Mr. Bonanno had been able to learn another income-producing trade after his "retirement" he would have written a more believable story.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Engrossing - I couldn't put it down!
Review: Being fascinated by true crime literature, I have read many books about "the Mafia." Bill Bonanno's articulate narrative doesn't pull any punches and solves some mysteries long unanswered. While I always suspected a "conspiracy" behind JFK's assassination, Bonanno divulges the details as told to him by one of the main players in that drama. The truth behind RFK's murder is exposed as well. The revelations about the power plays of various political figures in the U.S. and abroad were eye-opening. I reached the end with regret and would have welcomed several hundred more pages, especially about the relationship between him and his father. Any chance of another book in the works, Bill??

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: More Boring Than You'd Think
Review: Bill Bonanno is the son of Joseph Bonanno, head of one of the five New York Mafia families. According to this book Joe was the model that Mario Puzo based his Godfather on and Bill was the model for Micheal Corleone. This may be true but who can tell?

The book promises a lot, but doesn't deliver. You'd think a book written by a Mafia insider would be chock full of interesting stories, underworld hits, secrets, but it's really not. Mr. Bonanno seems to spend more time telling us how his family was persecuted by the FBI and the dubious justification they use for breaking every law you can think of.

He also casually mentions that he knows who really killed JFK, and it wasn't Lee Harvey Oswald. He names names but there is no cooberation. I'd have to believe that if this was really true the authorities would have reopened the investigation into the assassination.

I didn't find the book very engrossing because Mr. Bonanno distanced himself too much from the narrative. There could have been some exciting stories here, but they're told in such a distant manner that it is as if he's relating things that happened to someone else in the distant past.

I was very disappointed in the book. Read it at your own risk.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Self serving, inflated self image waste of time.
Review: Bill Bonanno thinks he is JFK - need I say more. The book is a meandering, teasing story line that keeps returning to the misguided thought that Bill and JFK are somehow living a similar life and fate . To bad they were not - then this book would of ended in 1963. Nothing new or interesting. Save your money.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: 99% Accurate
Review: Bill Bonanno's account of life within 'The Family' is about as accurate as it could be. He details his early life as a 'made' guy and candidly recounts appalling activities such as extortion, gambling, running numbers, blackmail of politicians, hanging around with life insurance salesmen, attending amateur poetry readings and actually enjoying them. In Chapter 4, Bonanno explains the infamous 'code of impressions', and expounds the fundamental 'ethic of appearance'. On page 68 he says, "Grooming was everything. You didn't never leave the house without your gun, your comb and a small vanity mirror. Let's face it; who's gonna take a standover guy serious if his suit ain't shined or his teeth ain't orthodontically correct?" There's only one small inaccuracy in Bonanno's story. On page 144, he states that at the 1992 Palermo Film Festival, `Terminator 2' was unanimously voted `Best Conflict Resolution Video' by the members of SNACK (Sensitive New Age Contract Killers). The vote wasn't unanimous. Carmine `The Lens' Gambino abstained because he shot not only the film but also every critic who panned it.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Mafia Nitwits
Review: BONANNO family?Isn't that the same family that got slapped by "Donnie Brasco"?They might have been feared to some average street gang but the other mafia family`s certainly didn't.They were thrown out of the commision by the Gambino's and are responsible for the mafia being infiltrated by the F.B.I.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Billy the boy
Review: Dear Billy. Your theory about the JFK assasination is a disgrace to all Italians.You should be ashamed to tell such lies.The only reason is to sell more books.Your father and you pass yourselfs off as men of honor.You are not men,you are parasites. Sincerly Peter Corrado

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Clearly not THAT bound by honor
Review: Despite Bound by Honor's title, it should serve as exhibit A that there is no honor among thieves. Frankly, this thief is really pathetic, too: from writing a tell-all about a group that considers it a matter of honor and pride that they don't tell all, to claiming the Mafia killed Kennedy, and worst of all because of the pride with which he relates how horribly he treated his wife and ignored his children. Don't waste your time on this one: at least in the Mob accounts labeled as "fictional," the main characters aren't insecure and pathetic.


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