Accardo: The Genuine Godfather

Rating:
Summary: An Amazing Story Of A Model Godfather.
Review: After reading roemers bio of "spilotro" i was a little dubious about roemers litera- cey skills.But after a few chapters i couldnt put it down.Roemers research is absolutely phenominal and how he captures the ambience of the old chicago town is quite wonderfull.This book covers nearly a century of chicago organized crime and all the major players from capone right up to the mid nineties are here.His description of Tony Accardo couldnt be more nailed on, and after reading about this unique godfather you realise just how useless some of the modern todays lcn bosses really are when this guy who died at the grand old age of 86 never spent one night in jail as more and more of his people were falling from grace all ove america he continued to stand tall and pul the strings.If you are getting tired of reading about the new york families then read this you will not be dissapointed.r

Rating:
Summary: The Information is There, I Guess . . .
Review: As a Chicagoland native and budding fan of "Outfit" stories, I was anxious to learn all I could about "Joe Batters". This book does deliver information I didn't already have, but don't let the page count fool you. Roemer pads this book with all kinds of extraneous stuff, and wanders in his narrative. He has no idea how to organize information, and this book seems to be no more than a rough draft. Roemer claims to be impartial, but opinion drips from every sentence. He can never let the evidence speak for itself. He always has to comment on it. If you're expecting nothing more than one man's war stories of his time in the FBI, then this book will not disappoint, but this is not the omnibus of Accardo information that I was hoping for.

Rating:
Summary: The Information is There, I Guess . . .
Review: As a Chicagoland native and budding fan of "Outfit" stories, I was anxious to learn all I could about "Joe Batters". This book does deliver information I didn't already have, but don't let the page count fool you. Roemer pads this book with all kinds of extraneous stuff, and wanders in his narrative. He has no idea how to organize information, and this book seems to be no more than a rough draft. Roemer claims to be impartial, but opinion drips from every sentence. He can never let the evidence speak for itself. He always has to comment on it. If you're expecting nothing more than one man's war stories of his time in the FBI, then this book will not disappoint, but this is not the omnibus of Accardo information that I was hoping for.

Rating:
Summary: Try a new angle Roemer!!!!
Review: How many more books is William Roemer going to pump out and claim each as the most dangerous mobster that he single-handedly battled. Amazing how much a person can fantasize about steak outs at hot-dog stands. Tired stories Roemer!!!

Rating:
Summary: stay away
Review: i am a fanatic about reading mafia books. this is clearly the worst and most boring book in the genre. stay away. read john davis' book if you want a good picture or sammy bulls. this is also very poorly written.

Rating:
Summary: Tony Accardo was the real "Godfather"
Review: I grew up in the Chicago area, and I would hear Tony Accardo's name in the news from time to time, so when I found this book I was interested in knowing about the man that I heard about. Roemer a former FBI agent in Chicago , dealt with Accardo and the whole Outfit in Chicago. Roemer has given us a novel that gives us some insight in the the life of Accardo from being a bodyguard for Al Capone to his rise of the boss of the Outfit. It is a good read, but Accardo was a mobster who never spent a night in jail, and avoided the limelight, so how much is really known about him? Accardo wasn't a fool that is why he stayed at the top for so long and watched the others who came after him such as Sam Giancanna, be more flamboyant and go down the tubes. The book shows him to be a fair person, but it also shows us how he could resort to violence and order killings when he thought they were necessary. I feel if you are a fan of organized crime books, this is a must for you to read, and it will be a welcome change of pace than reading another book about some New York family

Rating:
Summary: Good story of both Outfit and Chicago social history
Review: I have only read 200 pages of this book but I have found it to be an interesting read, not only of Tony Accardo and the Chicago Outfit but of Chicago social/political history, ripe with corruption and criminal intrigue, making the early Colosimo/Torrio/Capone crew possible, paving the way for Accardo. This book also pokes holes in the myth that New York is the most powerful mob stronghold in America. This book shows the Windy City to be a mob all in itself, with the combination of the Outfit and the public officials from cops to judges to elected politicians. A good read. I can only rate it 4 stars now because I've only read about half the book. I do recommend it for those interested in the alliance of organized crime and politics.

Rating:
Summary: A few errors
Review: I think the main problem I had with this book was the numerous factual errors in it. I could forgive his overstating Accardo's importance to Chicago organized crime (Its a well known fact among most real crime historians that Accardo spent most of his time as the Waiters front boss) because all biographers tend to do that. But when he states things like Joe Profaci and Joe Columbo being bosses on the commission and showing up at a 1961 wedding when Columbo was an eventual herir to Profaci's family can't be forgiven. Things like that make you wonder if the author knew anything at all.

Rating:
Summary: Lot's of information, but poorly written.
Review: If you're looking for a book about the Chicago La Cosa Nostra and want to read some interesting stories and history of the family then this is the book for you. However at times you might get very fustrated with the book. At times Roemer seems to get off track, ramble, on and write about things that are really not important to the topic of the book at all.

Rating:
Summary: amazing
Review: its an interesting book. i liked it so much that i read it four times and encouraged others to read it as well.