Rating: 
Summary: One of the most powerful books I came across
Review: The story of Donnie Brasco is dramatic, courageous and at some points emotional. No one has ever done what he was able to do. He stayed in the Mafioso underworld for longer than any of his fellow agents, or "feds."
You might think you know the story simply by following the news or watching the movie (which was skewed significantly to Hollywood's liking,) but not until you read the behind-the-scenes book will you truly fathom his courage and heroism. You will read the many times his life was on the line, so much for his family being on the line.
This is not a product of Hollywood imagination. This is the story of a real life con-man working on the good side yet posing as the bad guy. What a thriller. This book will also give you the inside, the structure and lifestyle of the mafia underworld. This is one of the most powerful books I came across. (A similar book that I would recommend is Serpico.)
Rating:
Summary: RIVETING
Review: the story of fbi agent joseph pistone sent undercover to infiltrate the mafia is one story you will not soon forget. he did his job so well, that there were fbi and police who thought he was mafia. he risked not only his life but partially detroyed his marrigae and relationshop with his kids die to his six year absence from their lives because he was involved in the biggest sting which eventually crippled the mob.
it is an in-depth insight to the life of the mobster, the inner workings of the family to family relationships within the mob and how the fbi conceived, attempted, and executed one big operation. i found the story complelling, intriguing and riveting. i could not put this book down.
Rating:
Summary: Donnie Brasco
Review: Donnie Brasco is a great book. It's subject touched on the romanticism of mafia life, and in my opinion did much to deteriorate it. It showed the mafia is not invincible, as was once believed, and showed it is not as exciting a life as the movies make it out to be. It also has many great stories of Pistone's work. I thought the parts where he had to think twice about certain things (whether to act as thief Donnie Brasco, or FBI agent Joe Pistone) were funny, albeit dangerous. I recommend this book to anyone interested in crime stories.
Rating: 
Summary: The Flip Side of "Goodfellas"
Review: Joe Pistone is a real American Hero. The former F.B.I agent spent six Years deep undercover as Donnie Brasco, a jewel thief, and infiltrated the Mafia, penetrating it's upper eschalon and bringing their power structure crashing down around their heads, resulting in over 100 convictions... Pistone, along with Richard Woodley, does a great job of bringing real-life Wiseguys like "Lefty Guns", "Sonny Black", and Tony Mirra to life on the printed page, and even though I know Pisone survived his ordeal (He obviously did- He wrote the book!), I was still constantly worried about him. Any fan of true-crime will love Donnie Brasco!
Rating:
Summary: From Family Man to Mafia Man
Review: I am not really a reader but Donnie Brasco is a book that really caught my eyes from the first page. I was stuck to it like glue. 3 hours had gone by and I did not notice it because it was so in interesting, but one fault that it has is that it takes too long to get to the point and to the action. Being that it is based on a true story in the 70's is has a realistic view. The most interesting part to me in the beginning was the way he had to change his life from a standard F.B.I agent to Mafia man. He has to find a new place to live and take time off from his family. Also the way he has to set his mood and become someone else. He is no longer Joe Pistone (F.B.I agent) he is now Donnie Brasco (jewel thief) and he has to live of, and become, a Mafia man.
Rating:
Summary: Dashed it off in 5 hours
Review: I read this in about a five hour straight period...interesting.It's a lot better than the movie..movie puts too much false or half true stuff in it and doesn't potray the characters in it accruately. He starts out by working his way into the Colombo crime family and from there meets Bonnanno soldier Tony Mirra who would introduce him to lefty from there the story takes off. Donnie first tries to help another agent get into the vending machine market in Milwaukee..which was controlled by mob boss Frank Ballisteri..the other agent comes close to getting his car blown up..they thought he was a g..which he was .. but then is introduced by the Bonnano's to Balisteri...Donnie also gets offered a bookmaking job for balitsteri..ends up turning down..then the vending machine thing goes down the tubes. Then Donnie gets the Bonnano's to hook up with another agent in the King's court deal which becomes a success..All the while Carmine Galante gets whacked the power structure changes..eventually Tony Mirra comes back to lay a clain on King's court..lefty fight's against this..this and certain things lead to the hits put on 3 Bonnano captain's. Donnie's allies are victorous..Sonny Black, Lefty, and even current boss Joe Massino. Donnie gets contract on Sonny the reds son..then the FBI decides to take down the Kings Court deal. In the end Sonny Black and Tony Mirra get whacked. Lefty ends up in prison for 10 years(he died in 95 by the way).
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: This is a great book that details Joseph Pistone's infiltration of the mob as Donnie Brasce. Also check out the movie with the same name. It will leave you on the edge of your seat.
Rating: 
Summary: I read this book when it came out many years ago
Review: and let me tell you: It was pretty damn scary. To think these people really live these lives and do these things! Ack! The movie was not that good. The only reason I gave it three stars was because it had a pretty long middle that got me flipping pages without reading it. He went into too much details on the daily lives of these thugs. Some detail I like, but this was too long for me!
Rating:
Summary: The Veritable Truth About The Mafia
Review: This is truly one of the most riveting books I have ever read. I have read "The Godfather" and "The Last Don" and found them to be excellent reading but they are strictly fiction and even make gangsters seem like legitimate businessmen. If you want the truth about the Mafia, read "Donnie Brasco." I am certain that Joe Pistone never came close to fathoming how far he would infiltrate the Mafia when he began his undercover operation. It was as if he set out to climb a mountain just to get to the first summit, then realized he could get to the next and the next and so on. Before he knew it, he had won the confidence of those who considered him to be their peer and ultimately put most of them in the slammer. Had he remained undercover for another year he would have been the first FBI Agent in history to become a "made" member of the Mafia. Imagine what a psychological blow that would have been to the mob! What Pistone does is give a more in-depth view of the mindset involved with the Mafia. He gives an eyewitness description that shows individual members of the Mafia in their most graphic human forms from the volatile Tony Mirra to the loudmouth Lefty. He even showed a side of Sonny Black that nobody would have otherwise seen. Although I have very little sympathy for Black for "getting whacked," Pistone did show that Black at least had a heart to contrast the notches on his gun. I also recommend that you not take the movie seriously. While the movie is interesting, I estimated it to be about 85 percent fiction. Pistone's description of his wife showed a very strong woman who would not have stayed with a man who hit her the way he was alleged to have done in the movie. Pistone was also never present when a hit went down, an associate named Nick did not get whacked, Santo Trafficante and Sonny Black were not present on the ABSCAM boat and there were numerous other liberties taken in the movie that left me very disappointed. It actually surprised me when a standard-length movie allegedly based on the book was made. "Donnie Brasco" was better suited to be a made-for-TV mini-series. The mini-series would have provided a better opportunity to reveal the truth. The movie version that we got instead must have left Pistone himself nauseated.
Rating:
Summary: Donnie Brasco
Review: When Mr.Joseph D. Pistone did a job he did it well.Going undercover in La Cosa Nostra.And getting the goods on them.He was a FBI agent and made a living for two years being a rat.I don't see how people can pretend to be friends with a person or group just to trun them in.
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