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Summary: Terrific insight into the Philly mob
Review: Anastasia has written a very good book about the Philadelphia Mafia, plain and simple. The book covers the time period from Angelo Bruno's murder on March 21, 1980 through the present, with some background on Bruno as well. The man most responsible for the downfall of Philadelphia mob bosses Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino, Ralph Natale and John Stanfa was Ron Previte, a gangster-turned-FBI informant who managed to capture all of the above on devastating FBI surveillance tapes by wearing a wire while putting his life at risk every day. The book centers mostly around Previte, and it's a good choice - he's interesting to read about and he certainly was/is a colorful character. Many probably believe that Previte is a "rat," or the ultimate turncoat on his Mafia "friends." Part of me agrees - he disobeyed a trust, even if it was based on criminal activities. That trust was also based on friendship, BUT the main point is that Previte was only loyal to himself, not those around him. After reading the book, it's also true that Previte did Philadelphia and society a favor by playing an integral role in putting 21 mobsters behind bars. As someone who has read a great deal about the five Mafia families in New York, I was mostly unfamiliar with the Philadelphia branch of La Cosa Nostra. Anastasia brings dead and alive Philly mobsters to life in a well-written, fast-reading book. The author clearly knows this subject well and it shows in his writing. This book is a must for people who enjoy Mafia tomes. I also highly recommend "Underboss," written by Peter Maas with Sammy Gravano.
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Summary: Another good read from Anastasia...
Review: I have read all of George Anastasia's books, and this one does not fail to impress. In this book, Anastasia tells the story of the most recent fall of the Philadelphia mafia. The book is a super-fast read and very informative, and one comes away with the feeling that the Philly mob was bound to self-destruct. These guys have a knack for ratting each other out and getting into trouble. We are lucky that an author as skilled as Anastasia is there to tell the story. Highly recommended!
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Summary: Anastasia succeeds with another volume on the Philly Mob
Review: I must admit I came to this book with a little bias. About four years ago I read the author's first book, "Blood and Honor", about the Nicky Scarfo mob and was blown away. That book followed Nick Caramandi's rise from petty scam man to Mafia power within the Scarfo crew and at the same time excellently documented the day to day life of murder and treachery within the organization. "Mobfather" and "Goodfella Tapes" were Anastasia's next books and they followed as Scarfo and his guys went to jail and their sons and friends tried to hold on to what remained of the organization.
"The Last Gangster" picks up where "Goodfella Tapes" left off. The boss who succeeded Scarfo is in jail and now Ralph Natale, an old hood who was in prison during the 15 years of turmoil, has emerged as the new boss. He was installed by Joey Merlino, the son of the underboss of Nicky Scarfo. The 35 year old Merlino was the victor of the mafia war over the remnants of the Scarfo empire documented in "The Goodfella Tapes".
The books central character is Ron Previte who survived working for the previous boss and has emerged as a big earner for Natale and Merlino. Previte is also an informant for the FBI. He records conversations with scores of mobsters with the hope of crippling the Philly Mob once and for all. Like his previous books "The Last Gangster" succeeds in illustrating life as a hustler and a crook. More than that though it is a book with shows just how successful the governments fight against organized crime has been. Most of the talented mobsters are in jail and a lot of the sons and brothers still on the street do not have have the sophistication or intelligence of their predecessors and have to resort to street level crime. A fascinating book by itself and even more so when combined with Anastasia's previous work "The Last Gangster", is a keeper in any library.
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Summary: A Great Book
Review: I think the writer of this book did an outstanding job in bringing together an outstanding book and those who rank it low have never read it to begin with it is worth the 5 star ranking
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Summary: How the Mighty Have Fallen
Review: Mr. Anastasia is one of the best true-crime writers there is; he's a superlative chronicler of underworld doings in the City of Brotherly Love. Obviously, this book is intended to demonstrate just how profoundly organized crime has degenerated and declined and it certainly succeeds in that goal. One would be hard pressed to come up with a more pitifully banal bunch of racketeers as Stanfa, Natale, Merlino and their co-horts. That's part of the problem with this book. These people just aren't very interesting to read about. The idea that mobsters were ever noble and honorable has been pretty well discredited by now, but the fact is that the crime kingpins of yesteryear did have a certain stature and flair. Men like Angelo Bruno and Carlo Gambino were Master Criminals who controlled businessmen, politicians, and law enforcement officials and oversaw rackets that netted them multi-millions. They were an inherent part of every urban economy and any honest history of a city like Chicago or New York will have to mention the names of Al Capone or Lucky Luciano. Even someone like Nicky Scarfo, whom Mr. Anastasia has also written about in the past and whose flagrantly murderous and deranged life story makes for fascinating reading, comes across as a much higher caliber of criminal than the petty, grasping thugs that populate this book. Mr. Anastasia is a consummate reporter and writer and he manages to make even this seedy little story as interesting as possible. My hope is that the next time he writes a book, he devotes it to a person or subject worthy of his considerable talents.
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