Under the Clock: The Inside Story of the Mafia's First Hundred Years

Rating:
Summary: It is an excellent book to read
Review: I enjoyed the book because it does not tell just about the Italian and Sicilian Mafia but also theIrish and Jewish Mafia. The book is very acurate in its facts. It is also keeps you interested if you are intrigued about how the mafia formed, what it was like in the early days, as well as how they operate. The book goes back to Don Giuseppe to Al Capone and Dutch Schultz to John Gotti.

Rating:
Summary: The choice book for learning about the Mafia
Review: Out of all of the resources I used for a 30 hour research project on the Mafia, Under the Clock stands alone. It is not only a good resource, but is one of the most informative and interesting books I've ever read as well. Besides telling about the Italian and Irish mobs, it also tells of the famous mobsters, their lives and day to day activites. From the origins of the Mafia in America to the recent past with John Gotti, every bit of this book is accurate and gripping. As for readability, this book is written in the style of The Hot Zone by Richard Preston: it is factual information, but reads like fiction because of the sensationalistic subject matter. For anyone interested in the Mafia or old Irish organized crime, this will be a fast read. You don't have to know anything about the mob, or any Italian; this book will grab your attention and hold it until the chilling conclusion. One final note: the language used by the mobsters is not of the most pleasant kind and is used in this book as a device to underscore the mentality and dealings of the Mafia. It is not overly gratuitous with its profanity, but it is not for the feint of heart either.