Rating: 
Summary: A 4.5 star classic
Review: Noone hasn't heard of The Godfather. Almost everyone has seen it. The movies (I and II) have been acclaimed as some of the greatest films of all time. The Godfather in novel form more than lives up to the expectations that in most adaptations the book is better than the movie. The story follows the rise of Michael Corleone as the Don of his mafia family. Michael is an unlikely Don who starts off as a college-graduate and war-hero who is ashamed of his family's illegal ties. But then circumstances changed...The book has one better on what the movie has been accused of - gratuitous length. Godfather I and II are both very long and the attention to detail detracts from the attention spans of the more impatient viewers. But a novel is expected to be long and detailed - in fact it's not too long by literary standards. The book covers Godfather I and parts from II which talk about Vito Corleone's beginnings as an Italian immigrant. It also has many plotlines that aren't in the movies. The greatness of the book is that it creates a whole world of emotion - with the loyalty, betrayals and murders. The book ties in subtle parts of the plot together making you see things that watching the movie aren't at all obvious (like the intentions of certain characters and the motivations for their behaviour). If you liked the Godfather movies at all or are interested in the workings of an Italian crime family at it's grandest, this book is gold.
Rating: 
Summary: Wow!
Review: A plate of sh... I'll eat if someone ever comes up with a better fiction book than Mario Puzo's GODFATHER...I've read it tens of times and each time it gets better.
Rating:
Summary: Wow
Review: Quite Possibly The Greatest Book I Have Ever Read. The pinnacle of morality paradoxically combined with a stereotypical vice. Simply stated, this book is unbelievable. The movie does not even come close to depicting accurately the masterful work of Mario Puzo (and the movie is very very good). Read it. What more can I say?
Rating:
Summary: Most Novel look at the complex minds of gangsters
Review: This book essentially deals with the cosa notra and their many molls. The polished ways of the Italian immigrant who builds a family, and becomes its GODFATHER. The special style employed by Puzo, that is pacing the storyline back and forth, is also interesting. One Marvels at the mind of the Don and watches in acute horror as his son changes from a righteous soldier to a tough gangster who in turn becomes the next Godfather. The sub-plots and the sartorial comments on American Society make for a good read. All in all, a great book. A classic.
Rating:
Summary: The godfather
Review: The Godfather by Mario Puzo this book is fiction the theme is about the Mafia and how things work also rules about the different families, also how the different families get in to wars.
The Godfather is Mario Puzo's first book about Mafia life.
A brief summery about the Godfather the Corleones and their powerful legacy of tradition blood and honor means most to them. The Godfather is an interesting book to read. Once you pick it up you will not want to put it down. The Godfather is 443 pages of easy reading if you like the movie you will love. The book it is more descriptive and every time you read this book you will fined some thing knew that you did not pick up on before. The issues of the Godfather is mostly about honor loyalty to ones family in the Mafia rules to the other families when the loyalty is broken with a family a war brakes out with an other family.
This book affected me when I was done with the book I wanted to see the movie and pick up on all the thing that I did not see before the book deferent's from the movie by being more disruptive.
A.M.F
Rating:
Summary: One of the great novels of the Twentieth Century.
Review: The Godfather is one of the great novels of the twentieth century and constitutes the defining story of organized crime in America. Oh, other novels have and will be written on this subject, some of them very good indeed. But The Godfather stands alone, far above all others of the genre. This is a classic and great novel. Seven stars at least. This is the story of Don Vito Corleone, whose Sicilian father (family name of Andolini) is murdered by the local Mafia Don in Corleone, Sicily. Relatives spirit young Vito away to America, for otherwise he too will be murdered to prevent the otherwise certain day when he will come for revenge. Vito comes to America and builds an empire of organized crime. The triumph of this novel is that it explains the Mafia as the Mafia sees itself. As Vito's son Michael explains, Vito (known to friends and associates as The Godfather, a traditional term of respect) sees himself as the equal of presidents, senators, and governors of the states, and sees no reason to be "a fool" or to accept the rules of society that condemn others to (what he perceives as) lives of failure and subordination. Accordingly, Don Corleone rejects the rules of society, the fact that governments restrict the use of violence to themselves, and builds his own society--La Cosa Nostra ("our world"). Within the narrow limits of this world he is more powerful than the government. The book can be criticized for somewhat glorifying the underworld, but in reality by the time the reader completes the novel the corruption, violence, and destructiveness of organized crime are depressingly obvious. The other amazing thing about this novel is Puzo's ability to tell an extraordinarily complex story involving many characters in a coherent fashion that never loses the reader with too much detail. By the time I finished the novel I felt that I knew Tom Hagan, Michael and Sonny Corleone, the Don himself, Johnnie Fontane, and a whole host of other characters. Most novels founder in confusion when they try to present so many characters and so many interconnected sub-plots. Not here. Puzo tells his story with superb prose and flawless coherence. From a craftsmanship standpoint, this is precisely the type of novel that all novelists aspire to write. Few succeed. Puzo succeeds brilliantly. Before reading this novel I had never understood the role of the Mafia in American (or Sicilian!) society, and how complicity by the authorities is what really allow it to function. Puzo did understand these things, and the novel explains with insight and clarity. This novel stands head-and-shoulders above most other American novels of the Twentieth Century, and is the defining novel about organized crime in America.
Rating:
Summary: Review by Shane Kennedy - Author of Highbinders
Review: Mario Puzo turned the crime gene on its head by relaying the story from the prospective of the criminal instead of the crime-fighter. While he explores many themes within the novel, the one that most vividly captures the reader's imagination is his use of cultural experience to explain behavior. While Puzo was often criticized for stereotyping Italian-Americans (and to a lesser degree Irish-Americans), a proper read of the story explains that the author believed that culture designs an individual's mindset. In the case of the Godfather, the main characters have been marginalized by the larger American experience. It is not a justification of immoral behavior but an explaination as to why some individuals react in a particular fashion to a given set of circumstances. The writting is heavy - but Puzo himself said that he was more of a storyteller then a writer. Worth the price of the book and the time it takes to read.
Rating:
Summary: A classic
Review: Obviously, it doesn't take much to find out that Puzo's The Godfather is a good book. It is one of the most famous books ever written, and the classic organized crime book. Yet, the beauty of the whole story, really lies in it's simplicity. I'll start off with a small plot summary. Don't worry about spoiling anything; this is simply a sampler. The story is basically the life of Don Corleone, an aging don at the center of New York's most powerful crime family. The story chronicles his life as an established Don, and also goes through the lives of his children. It's broken up into five books (all within the same cover) which are really like large chapters. Puzo's writing is unique in the sense that it keeps you marvelled without the use of really advanced vocabulary or long, winding sentences. His most powerful lines are usually only a few words long, and he replies on the plot and the story, rather than the way the story is told. This is good for a number of reasons, the two main ones being that it makes for a 'lighter read' and the other being it takes a less intelligent person to read it. (No offense to anyone on the last line!) He delivers from back to front a variety of examples of mob business, and introduces a host of interesting and realistic characters. When someone says the characters "jump off the page" this is exactly the kind of book they're talking about. I'm going to finish with a character listing, as I'm trying to give you a feel for the book without spoiling anything. There are some incredible twists in the story, which means just another reason you would want to read the Godfather. Don Corleone: Extremely clever, built the entire Corleone empire, and is now aging quickly into semi-retirement Sonny Corleone: The Don's son, he is aggressive and dominant, most think he will someday run the Corleone family. Fredo Corleone: The Don's middle son, he is somewhat of a comic relief, and doesn't really fit into the family's usual 'business'. Micheal Corleone: Joined the war against his father's will, although rebellious, he is also smart and courageous, possessing some of the traits of his father. Tom Hagan: Adopted son of Don Corleone. He is not Sicillian, but serves as a lawyer to the family. Luca Brasi: (Not a major character, but a personal favorite) The family hammer, Brasi has 'made his bones' long ago and is the family's number one hitman. This is a small selection of a large cast of characters. I'm not going to list other characters, as I'm unsure of exactly how the story begins and what order it flows in, so I don't want to give away anything that would ruin the book. I have also read several other Puzo novels, and although some are better than others, I have found only one I prefer better than the Godfather. That is "Fools Die" which is a similiar story with much less romance and more of the mob deals we all love to read about.
Rating:
Summary: Great book, a true classic
Review: I can understand how this book has been haled by millions as a wonderful book. I enjoyed reading this book very much. The devolpment of characters in this book is fantastic and has great insite into the human physce. The book goes into great detail about the poilitics. You find yourself reading into great depth about how the mob works, and it amlost becomes boring, but then Bam someone dies, of a big event happens and changes the course of the novel. Wonderful book and I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a great mob book. I have never seen the moives, so I can not relate them.
Rating:
Summary: The Mafia piece
Review: Until the death of Santino, the story was a perfect piece. Mario Puzo was a master thriller. he recalls my memories of the critically aclaimed James Hadley Chase of blessed memory. an auther with the art of suspension in literary fiction. the godfather showcases the fight for power between sicily rival groups based in the states. the struggle for power is the only means of survival of the fittest in puzo's fictious work. santino was assassinated by the rival due to annoyance and mike was to take the throne of don. The Don became seriously ill after the death of santino who was supposed to take over from him. his reappearances was for a change. the book was perfectly written, it thrills the reader making him want to read the book over again a million times. its a book not worthy to be compared as far as crime is concerned. it masterminds the sicilian landmark, and how the italians invaded the casinos and gambling businesses in las vegas, chicago, texas, before moving into the shores of new york. here only the strongest survives, and you keep by the rules of the game. the rules are never broken, they are only bend a little if need be. there is no other was out, the only available option for a failed job is death, no mercies. the don set a procedures for all the sicilian who came to america for drug deals and money business. but it was a strickly two family in the battle field. the don knows everything in the deal and he dont make mistakes, he lives by the rules. but when santino died and mike came home, the don saw the need to bring mike closer to take up the throne because the latter was wise and soft and the former was hot and stronger, but he broved that wisdom is a better strenght. Mario Puzo was damn too good to put up such a thriller piece. it reminds me of "This way for a shroud" pls. go check that out, its a chase piece and his only book that saw the culprit going free. i am enthusiastically grateful belonging to the readers of such a marvelous work of art, though its a fiction, but the suspense can keep you all the way through. and pls. becareful or else you will get knockoff while on it. its a must read for crime lovers. its an action parked thriller. i never could have put it down even once, i didnt even remeber closing any of its pages, its just as marvelous as the movie "face-off" with extreme actions even as a book. i can vote it to replace mom's delicious meal for me, but its more than a lunch. go get a copy or you are missing one of the greatest fiction on this planet. remember i told you what mom never did!
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