Donnie Brasco: Unfinished Business

Donnie Brasco #2

by Joseph D. Pistone, Charles Brandt

When FBI Special Agent Joe Pistone began what was supposed to be a six-month operation infiltrating New York’s Bonanno crime family in 1975, he had no idea what was about to happen. Posing as jewel thief “Donnie Brasco,” Pistone would spend the next six years undercover in the Family, witnessing-and sometimes participating in-the Mafia’s gruesome activities while gathering enough evidence to send over 200 gangsters to jail. Pistone told his story in the 1988 book Donnie Brasco-a New York Times bestseller and later a feature film starring Johnny Depp and Al Pacino. But because of pending trials at the time of publication, many details of the alleged crimes were omitted. Now, in Donnie Brasco: Unfinished Business, Pistone for the first time reveals with great detail the horrific deeds of wiseguys Tony Mirra, Lefty Ruggiero, Sonny Black, and the rest of the cold-blooded Bonanno crew. He puts the operation into historical perspective, detailing the timeline of Mafia trials from 1981 through 2005 that crippled the New York City crime family. He also recounts his experiences after the operation, his time on the Hollywood set with Pacino and Depp, and other undercover operations through present day. A tense, thrilling account of the greatest infiltration ever by a federal agent into the most brutal gang of killers in the world, Donnie Brasco: Unfinished Business is the final chapter in the story of a real American hero.

Genres: True Crime, Crime, Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, Autobiography, History

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 23, 2007

Reviews

[Alex79uk · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was a huge fan of Pistone's first book; Donnie Brasco. It covered his time spent deep undercover in the FBI taking down some of America's most notorious mafia. The book was exciting, well written and I couldn't put it down. I am also a fan of the movie adaption of that book starring Al Pacino and Johnny Depp, so it was with a good deal of interest I began this follow up to that book. However, it is not nearly as interesting as the first book and, in something of a rarity for me, I bailed on the book halfway through. 90% of what I'd read so far focused on the court proceedings when Pistone was giving evidence in all the Mafia trials, but it was at best uninteresting and at worst plain boring.

I decided to spend less time doing things I don't enjoy and just binned it off. I'd like to say I'll go back to it at some point but as I sit here with over 100 books I actually want to read that does seem highly unlikely - life is far too short. It's a shame, because Donnie Brasco is one of the best books, and certainly one of the best crime books I've ever read. I would recommend that to anyone with an interest, or to someone who enjoyed the film. It would be hard to recommend this to anyone but the most ardent Mafia enthusiast.

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing book in which you are constantly reminding yourself is true.

An FBI agent goes deep undercover in the mafia for 12 years putting together the evidence to try and bring the whole edifice down.

The book did get pretty complex towards the later quarter as more and more characters were introduced and more threads to the investigation were brought into play. At times I found it difficult to remember who were good guys and who were bad guys at the periphery.

A rare case in which watching the film helped rather than hindered the process of reading.

All in all a remarkable tale from a remarkable man.

[Clint Mccoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very very interesting book. I saw the movie (based on the first book) before I read this though so right away I could see how they differed...besides Pistone out and out saying how they did. In any case, Pistone really had his shit together, and based on the undercover stories I've read (in LCN and the like)... he seems to be the most hardcore of them all... nice work.

[Seth Voorhees · Rating 4 out of 5]

A history lover I enjoyed emensly.

[Belmanoir · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put this book down, and I am getting his other two books, the first Donnie Brasco and The Way of the Wiseguy, as soon as possible. It's about him going undercover in the mob for six years, and it contains the SHOCKING UNCLASSIFIED DETAILS of how he participated in hijackings and warehouse robberies and beat the crap out of people. Then it describes the trials of mafia guys that Pistone (Brasco's real name) testified at, talks about other undercover gigs he did, and describes how the mafia has kind of fallen apart in the last couple of decades. (The first chapter is also mostly about how awesome Johnny Depp is. Which, you know, I'm right there with you sir, but it was kind of funny.)

Pistone (or his ghost writer) is a really engaging and entertaining narrator despite the way he frequently uses the book to press his own politics or air old grievances. I'm not sure I can really emphasize enough how much I enjoyed this book.

(By the way, Beth, this book also cleared up for me who "the Chicken Man" is in that Springsteen song, "Atlantic City":

"The Commission put in a new boss, an old friend of the murdered Docile Don, Chicken Man Testa. Chicken Man had once owned a fresh chicken store where Italian housewives selected their live chicken for the evening's meal and had Chicken Man wring its neck and prepare it for pick-up later in the day. In 1981, a year after he became boss, two Philly men decided the 'big boys' on the 'Commission from New York' had made a mistake in selecting Chicken Man. So they blew Chicken Man up with a bomb planted under his front porch."

Also can I say that mobsters have very weird nicknames? A couple of my favorites: "Mr. Fish" and "Shellackhead."

[Steven Scaffardi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia is one of my favourite books. The bravery and courage of FBI Special Agent Joseph D. Pistone to remain undercover within New York’s Bonnano crime family for six years was nothing short of amazing, especially when I consider that I’d probably shit myself within about six minutes if I was in the same situation.

That’s the great advantage of books; you get to imagine yourself as that character, and as Donnie Brasco I got to whack wiseguys (that’s killing gangsters for those of you not in the know) and make my bones (badge of honour for killing, not a sexual reference). The one disadvantage of books is sometimes all your questions have not been answered and you want the story to continue.

So you can imagine how keen I was to get hold of a copy of Pistone’s new memoirs which fill in a few of the gaps and the aftermath of that exciting – yet bloody dangerous – period in his life.

What happened to Donnie’s partner in crime Benjamin “Left Guns” Ruggerio? Did they ever find out who killed Sonny Black and stuffed him in a trunk of a car? What was it like for Pistone to face down the bad guys in court who he had spent the best part of half a decade living amongst? Did Pistone go on to infiltrate the cult who are brainwashing young impressionable minds to buy Justin Bieber records?

To read the rest of this review please check out my Books For Men book review:
http://stevenscaffardi.blogspot.co.uk...

[Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read the first book or seen the film based on it, but I'm loving this one so far. I'm sure I'll like the first one even more, because this one is mostly filling in the gaps in the story. We get to read about the legally questionable stuff Pistone had to do as Donnie Brasco, the crazy stuff the mobsters did during their trials, and Pistone's experiences rejoining the FBI after a petty, picayune boss drove him to quit. Some of the details are more factual than interesting, but overall you feel as though you're hearing from a real American hero. (You also hear a lot about people -- often other FBI agents and managers -- Pistone has intimidated over the years with the threat of violence, which gives you some sense of how he managed to pass for a Mafia associate.)

[Adam James · Rating 1 out of 5]

So right here in the first paragraph of their Preface, this book, along with the credibility of these two authors falters, falls on its face and comes to an end for me. Here's what they say. You decide.

"What we did back in the day . . . has led to the situation today, in which the Mafia is nothing more than a weakened, exposed shadow of its former self." -- Joe Pistone and Charles (Heard You Paint Houses) Brandt, 2007

Sorry, boys! You're absolutely wrong there. Twelve years after you wrote this the Mafia is bigger and more pervasive in the world of American and international business then they could have ever dreamed, back in the day. It's gone waaay beyond your Five Families worldview and that idiot prosecutor Rudy Kazooty's feeble claims of success.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as impressed with this title as I was with the first one. The play for this book was that it offered more insight into Joe Pistone's life as an inside man with information that he couldn't tell us before because of all of the court cases going on. Well, unfortunately it failed to deliver on this promise. More of a recount of Donnie's dealings with some chest pounding included, this book really wasn't what it claimed. Still an interesting read, it just doesn't finish the saga off as it could have.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first mafia book I've ever read and definitely not my last! The true-crime section in the book store is now my favorite. Joe Pistone wrote a great, detailed book on his undercover life as a member of the mafia (specifically the Bonnano crime family) and the years after he came out of deep cover. I feel like I now have a good, basic grasp on life in the mafia and on what it's like being an undercover agent. I was always very interested about the mafia and about crime in general and Unfinished Business just furthered that interest. I recommend this 100%!!

[Joe · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible. This guy is an arrogant, self righteous, narrow minded braggart. I ended up skimming over half of the book because it was so boring and repetitive. I normally do not let people like mr pistone upset me, but when the guy keeps saying over and over how tough and scary he is, and yet has lived IN HIDING for the past 30 years, it sure makes me want to call his bluff. But of course that is why he talks so tough, he knows that nobody can find him to call him on it LOL. Anyway if you must waste your time on this book, buy it used or rent it from your library. If they even have it.

[Jeff · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first Donnie Brasco book and had high hopes for this one. This book was very repetitive within itself, not just because of it's sequel nature which would be expected. I read about the same thing so many times that I had a hard time continuing with it. Furthermore, that repetitiveness was spread thruout the book. On the plus side, there was content to be gained by reading this.

Better editing might have made this into a much better book.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

great, cool, gripping read about life in the mob. The dirty secrets and showdowns; the mental fortitude and thoughts of a man amongst monsters. cool followup story to the brilliant tale of Donnie Brasco, first cop to infiltrate the NYC mafia. Violent without being atrocious, and law-minded without being wordy, its a cool book.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book far more than I thought I would. Brasco is an authoritative source on mob events and structure. He also comes across as a very likeable guy. This book ties up the loose ends left by the first Brasco volume.

[Bill Mazzola · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fun stuff about the fallout that started with the Donnie Brasco stuff, and very educational but not nearly as interesting as the initial book. This one was more about the current state of affairs than about Donnie Brasco.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second book by Joe Pistone tells some unfinished stories from his time undercover as Donnie Brasco. Tells of the evolution of mob after his historic time undercover and how the mob and law enforcement have adapted. OK but not nearly as good as the first book.

[Steven jb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joe Pistone's incredible story continues; his bravery and perseverance are something to be admired. Thanks to his efforts the world is improved. I highly recommend.

[Mike Worth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was a little repetitive - but having read Ice Man then this - it was interesting to read both sides of some of the hits. Was a good read though.

[Dante · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looking forward to see what happened.

[Peter Shovlin]

Found this very compelling -I had no idea how much impact the Brasco operation had on the mafia as we knew it. Recommended

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay - first few chapters pretty slow - gets better after chapter 11. Check it out at the library or borrow from a friend.

[Hugo · Rating 4 out of 5]

follow up book to the original, now with more details and an update of what happened to the 5 ny crime families in the years after Pistone's mission, a good read.

[william graveley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

This Book told it as it was. Good read but could have gone into more detail about the person's mentioned.

[Drew · Rating 5 out of 5]

True insight into mafia culture.

[Philip Labossiere · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

[Monty · Rating 1 out of 5]

sucks. shitty cash in.