Rating: 
Summary: thin and weak
Review: A quick look at this book and you can already tell what it is: another cash-in. This is a slim 224 pages, with a lot of 'chapters' that consist of a single page, for instance. The book is a quick overview on, yes, the 'way of the wiseguy', a kind of 'guide' to wiseguys from the guy who was 'Donnie Brasco' to the mob. So we get bits about how wiseguys dress, what they do on an average day, whacking people out, eating out, scamming, scheming, etc, etc. The problem is that much of it is familiar. Matter of fact, anyone who's read a few books about the mob, watched your Godfathers and Goodfellas and Casinos and Sopranos, or grew up in New York, will already know most of the material in this book. It's shameless, really. Okay, we had the book and film Donnie Brasco, both of which were fascinating. Next, the Brasco name was used to sell fictional mob stories. And now this. It's a funny thing, but while some mobsters become turncoats and sing songs for book deals, law enforcement officials are often more shameless as they roll out yet another Mafia book to a Sopranos-indoctrinated public. I'm reminded of another Mob figure named Henry Hill, who is now a regular feature at your local bookstore as well. Aside from Wiseguy (and the excellent film Goodfellas) we have the Henry Hill cookbook, and Henry's own guide to 'the Mob's New York'. And, of course, in June 2004 Mr. Hill is coming out with another book, this one detailing his years on the run, in and out of Witness Protection. Yes, the Mafia has provided us with yet another cottage publishing industry, and yes, there is an appetite out there for true crime. But this is definitely not one of the better offerings on the subject. And ask yourself why it's appearing now, almost 25 years after Mr. Pistone's assignment with LCN ended. Yeah, I smell a dollar, too.
Rating: 
Summary: Another side of shameless
Review: A quick look at this book and you can already tell what it is: another cash-in. This is a slim 224 pages, with a lot of 'chapters' that consist of a single page, for instance. The book is a quick overview on, yes, the 'way of the wiseguy', a kind of 'guide' to wiseguys from the guy who was 'Donnie Brasco' to the mob. So we get bits about how wiseguys dress, what they do on an average day, whacking people out, eating out, scamming, scheming, etc, etc. The problem is that much of it is familiar. Matter of fact, anyone who's read a few books about the mob, watched your Godfathers and Goodfellas and Casinos and Sopranos, or grew up in New York, will already know most of the material in this book. It's shameless, really. Okay, we had the book and film Donnie Brasco, both of which were fascinating. Next, the Brasco name was used to sell fictional mob stories. And now this. It's a funny thing, but while some mobsters become turncoats and sing songs for book deals, law enforcement officials are often more shameless as they roll out yet another Mafia book to a Sopranos-indoctrinated public. I'm reminded of another Mob figure named Henry Hill, who is now a regular feature at your local bookstore as well. Aside from Wiseguy (and the excellent film Goodfellas) we have the Henry Hill cookbook, and Henry's own guide to 'the Mob's New York'. And, of course, in June 2004 Mr. Hill is coming out with another book, this one detailing his years on the run, in and out of Witness Protection. Yes, the Mafia has provided us with yet another cottage publishing industry, and yes, there is an appetite out there for true crime. But this is definitely not one of the better offerings on the subject. And ask yourself why it's appearing now, almost 25 years after Mr. Pistone's assignment with LCN ended. Yeah, I smell a dollar, too.
Rating: 
Summary: Informative and Entertaining
Review: As Pistone goes through the way a wiseguy lives is it very inciteful on what really goes on in the mafia, not just what the media said about it. The CD that has the undercover surveilance tape is awesome!!!! Really gives accurate portration of the mafia life.
Rating:
Summary: BADA-BINGO!!
Review: Forget The Sopranos. Ignore Scorcese. Chuck your copy of The Godfather DVDs into the Hudson and let it sleep with the fishes. This is the real deal from a guy who was in tight -- close enough to smell what filthy rats mafia guys really are. It's about time somebody cut through all the Goodfellas/Code of Honor nonsense and showed these not-so-wiseguys for what they really are: ignorant brutes who'd put one in the back of their best friend's head for no reason at all. Thanks, Joe. You did a great service to society by putting dozens of these scumbags away. Now, you've set the record straight about what they're really all about in "The Way of the Wiseguy."
Rating: 
Summary: a fun read for the mob fascinated
Review: I am quite interested in the world of organized crime (we must all have a bizare interest...) and found this book both informative and fun. I am not sure how up-to-date this information may be, so I wouldn't recommend taking it as a bible if you mean to join the Mafia, but it is fun as a reference book. Since the work is broken up into short, nonconsecutive chapters, it is little like Pistone's first novel, "Donnie Brasco" of which I am a fan. For a worth while and blunt- and I mean BLUNT (there is a great deal of swearing and coarse language)- account of wiseguy life, this is the best book I have found.
Rating:
Summary: Tired material, dubious delivery
Review: If you read Donnie Brasco - or know even a little bit about the prototypical wiseguy - you do not need to read this book. It essentially details the way mobsters live their daily lives, what's important to them (money), why they kill people (also money), etc. If you have a brain in your skull you could have gleaned that from Pistone's first book, or the film Donnie Brasco, or any of the Godfather movies. What's worse, the book is littered with profanity, something that was missing (or at least not gratuitous) from the Donnie Brasco book. And it also surprised me because when you see Pistone interviewed, he seems like a class act. The profanity seems highly contrived as to make you think Pistone has more credibility if he talks like a scumbag.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing. Warmed-over rehash of better titles.
Review: Joseph Pistone takes a page out of the handbook of those he put away and shakes down mafia aficionados for a quick buck. There is nothing in this writing that hasn't been documented before by other authors better and in more detail. What we hope is a true insider's view of the day-to-day machinations of the mob turns out to be a book of thirty one- to two-page essays on various facets of a Mafioso's daily life. We hope to get a look at mob life not apparent to those of us on the outside, to get a true feel for the Way of the Wiseguy. What we get instead is a Cliff's notes outline of The Godfather. Way of the Wiseguy offers up such gems as : --some Wiseguys are degenerate gamblers
--Wiseguys do not have the same value system as everyday people
--Wiseguys send a message by whacking people
--Wiseguys are greedy
--Wiseguys take goomahs
--Wiseguys are all about the money Do you want more details or information than the above list? Don't expect to find it in Way of the Wiseguy. Pistone really phones it in on this one: pulling a robbery on the book buying public that should be the inspiration for chapter one in his next writing: Fake Wiseguys know how to sucker the public too.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing. Warmed-over rehash of better titles.
Review: Joseph Pistone takes a page out of the handbook of those he put away and shakes down mafia aficionados for a quick buck. There is nothing in this writing that hasn?t been documented before by other authors better and in more detail. What we hope is a true insider?s view of the day-to-day machinations of the mob turns out to be a book of thirty one- to two-page essays on various facets of a Mafioso?s daily life. We hope to get a look at mob life not apparent to those of us on the outside, to get a true feel for the Way of the Wiseguy. What we get instead is a Cliff?s notes outline of The Godfather. Way of the Wiseguy offers up such gems as : --some Wiseguys are degenerate gamblers
--Wiseguys do not have the same value system as everyday people
--Wiseguys send a message by whacking people
--Wiseguys are greedy
--Wiseguys take goomahs
--Wiseguys are all about the money Do you want more details or information than the above list? Don?t expect to find it in Way of the Wiseguy. Pistone really phones it in on this one: pulling a robbery on the book buying public that should be the inspiration for chapter one in his next writing: Fake Wiseguys know how to sucker the public too.
Rating:
Summary: Great writer
Review: No one can write about the "Wiseguys" like Joe Pistone. We love his books.
Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time.
Review: The book has like 30 chapters whcih might make you think there is a lot of material. Not so. Many "Chapters" are 1 or less pages long. The whole book is basically anecdotal tales of Pistone's time in the Mafia. While it may be correct, it's very superficial. One or two stories per topic. The last reveiwer was right. Lot's of profanity. It's almost as if he's trying to talk to people who are thinking of joining the Mafia just to let them know how it is. Not a lot of big words if you get my idea. Also, for a < 200 page book, there is a lot of repetition. Each chapter could exist on it's own, so you end up reading about Joe/Donnie's sit-down more than once. If you have seen any mob movies and the Sopranos, you know everything this books tells you. Even worse, is that he mentions Godfather and Goodfellows several times and mentions the Sopranos only once. Not that I really care, just that it's current and obvious that he is just cashing in on Soprano's current popularity.
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