Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia

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Summary: Joseph Pistone gives a realistic view of how the mob operate
Review: For the first time, this book describes how a person can get into the mob that was not born into it. It also shows how they really operate instead of this glorified view of the mob like in the Godfather. I would recommend this book to those who are intersted in the day to day operations of the mob soldiers and capos

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Summary: GREAT READ...... EVEN BETTER THAN THE MOVIE
Review: Yeah, I say that this book was better than the movie only because you learned a lot more details and Joseph D. Pistone tells the EXACT story. The movie starring Johnny Depp and Al Pacino was great but since reading the book you learned that it was twisted around a little. (Im not taking anything away from the movie because I loved it)

Joseph D. Pistone went undercover for 6 years in the Mafia, and penetrated deeper than anyone has ever gone as an FBI agent. He is one of the main reasons for the Mafia's decline in todays world and this book does an excellent job of telling about the things that he came across while undercover.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who watched the movie and enjoyed it, to anyone who is a Mafia fan, or to anyone who likes a good non-fiction book. Pick up this book, never a dull moment and filled with tons of interesting things.





Rating:
Summary: Good Non-fiction
Review: This was a great read. It gave me a good understanding of the mafia and how it works.I have seen the movie and after that I had to read the book. The pressures of an undercover agent really comes through. I must of read at least half way through before I noticed how much time had gone by.Donnie Brasco is a must read. Once you get started good luck trying to put this book down.

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Summary: Wonderful Look at a True American Hero
Review: This superb mob narrative is gripping, readable...and true. Narrator and former FBI Agent Joseph Pistone describes going undercover as jewel thief "Donnie Brasco" in 1976. "Brasco" soon infiltrated the syndicate, and ended up spending five years as a connected member of New York's Bonnano crime family. Brasco assisted in dozens of minor crimes (theft, handling stolen merchandise) to maintain his bad-guy credibility, all the while acting surreptitiously to prevent major crimes from occurring. Readers see how his mafia crew engaged in crimes ranging from theft and burglary, to truck hijackings, robbery, witness intimidation and murder. Brasco also details his emotions, which included fear, loneliness, even guilt over having to deceive mob partners like Lefty "Guns" Ruggerio and "Sonny Black" (who was later murdered). Imagine working undercover knowing that some crook you'd arrested years ago in another state might suddenly appear and recognize you - in which case your mafia "friends" will kill you within minutes. Imagine having to keep your wife and daughters in the dark about your work, knowing that you'll all need to be relocated with new identities once the operation ends.

"Operation Don Brasco," led to scores of arrests and convictions, not to mention a $500,000 contract being placed on Pistone's head. This is one of the best mob narratives available, one made into a pretty good (if somewhat fictionalized) movie starring Johnny Depp and Al Pacino.

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.