Boss of Bosses: A Journey into the Heart of the Sicilian Mafia

by Clare Longrigg

In the 1980s, the broad legal mandate of the RICO act succeeded in crushing much of the backbone of the traditional American Mafia. Across the ocean however, in the ancestral Sicilian homeland of La Cosa Nostra, the Mafia was anything but finished. Possessed of a power thought to rival that of the Italian state itself, for the past decades, the Sicilian Mafia has waged a war on the forces of law and order that has not only left thousands dead, but has created a ripple effect of crime and violence that can be felt on the streets of America’s cities today.
Taking us into the eye of this criminal storm, Boss of Bosses tells the story of Bernardo Provenzano, who rose from humble origins to become the head of the Sicilian Mafia, overseeing a deadly empire of corruption so large in scope, the full sweep of its dark reach has yet to be fully accounted. On the run for over 43 years before his arrest, Provenzano’s life is a testament to Mafia history, and typifies the code of the ultimate gangster.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, True Crime, Crime

320 pages, Hardcover

First published June 25, 2009

Reviews

[Aram]

This isn't a great read, but it's worth your while 'cause the facts are there and the insights on Provenzano's way of life while being hidden for the largest part of his life are quite astonishing.

The first chapters are a complete mess though; I'm not sure what happened there, but blurting out names, dates and "describing" (major) events in one sentence doesn't help one getting a good start reading this book. As if the writer choose to cut all the background-stories to a telegram message. It's awful.

But forget the beginning of the book and don't give up yet. It gets better after that, with a lot of accurate details on Provenzano's hiding spots, the remarkable ways of communicating with his men, and his private life "with" his family.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read albeit on a subject that I don't know much about. It was intriguing to get past the mob image of shoot shoot bang and more into the money aspect of it. I did like the author's style and will probably read her book about women and the mafia

[Bobby24 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read, well written and researched.

[David Cowen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good book that was an informative & interesting read. Needed a little something more to warrant a 5

[Lewis Dangerfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting book following the Boss of Bosess and the challenge of catching him.

Fascinating to hear how he saved and led an organisation whilst in hiding

[David Hernandez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Watch Sopranos instead. That is all.

[Glenn Liguori]

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