The Valachi Papers
by Peter Maas, Joe Valachi
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Description
The First Inside Account of the Mafia In the 1960s a disgruntled soldier in New York's Genovese Crime Family decided to spill his guts. His name was Joseph Valachi. Daring to break the Mob's code of silence for the first time, Valachi detailed the organization of organized crimefrom the capos, or bosses, of every Family, to the hit men who "clipped" rivals and turncoats. With a phenomenal memory for names, dates, addresses, phone numbers -- and where the bodies were buried -- Joe Valachi show more provided the chilling facts that led to the arrest and conviction of America's major crime figures. The rest is history. Never again would the Mob be protected by secrecy. For the Mafia, Valachi's name would become synonymous with betrayal. But his stunning exposÉ . broke the back of America's Cosa Nostra and stands I today as the classic about America's Mob, a fascinat ing tale of power and terror, big money, crime ... and murder. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
From its opening paragraph, where someone is beaten to a "bloody, dying pulp", this is Mafia entertainment at its finest. At least it seemed that way when a friend gave it to me in Junior High School! I'll have to revisit it someday.
Good if you like mafioso stuff. I did at the time.
a classic in mafia books. If you like to read mafia books,this is a must read.
Ratings
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- Recently Added By
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Best Sellers / Popular 1968
237 works; 5 members
Author Information
17+ Works 2,937 Members
Peter Maas was born in New York on June 27, 1929. He graduated from Duke University in 1949 and served in the U. S. Navy during the Korean War. After the war, he became a journalist and wrote for such magazines as Collier's, Look, Saturday Evening Post, and New York Magazine. His nonfiction works include Marie, Manhunt, and Underboss. The Valachi show more Papers and Serpico were adapted into films. He died on August 23, 2001 at the age of 72. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
1 Work 337 Members
Work Relationships
Has the adaptation
Has as a student's study guide
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Valachi Papers
- Original publication date
- 1968
- People/Characters
- Joseph Valachi; Vito Genovese; Joe Masseria; Salvatore Maranzano; Lucky Luciano; Anthony Strollo (show all 9); Frank Costello; Albert Anastasia; Carlo Gambino
- Important places
- New York, New York, USA
- Important events
- Castellammarese War (1929-1931)
- Related movies
- The Valachi Papers (1972 | IMDb)
- Dedication
- This is for John Michael
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, General Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir, History
- DDC/MDS
- 364.1060973 — Society, government, & culture Social problems and social services Crime Criminal offenses Organized Crime Standard subdivisions History, geographic treatment, biography
- LCC
- HV6789 .M29 — Social sciences Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology Crimes and criminal classes
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 335
- Popularity
- 94,633
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (3.61)
- Languages
- Czech, English, Portuguese, Spanish
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 7
- ASINs
- 20
