Five Families
The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires

You can't go wrong with reading this tome about the Mafia. The book was great for readibility and clear information focused within the individual Families but also big picture interactions and tie-in to the Mafia. Selwyn Raab presented the story of the mafia's creation and roots in Sicily, cultural n......more

A more accurate title would have been "New York: A History of Law Enforcement Tactics Used Against the Mafia in the 20th Century". There were too many important Mafia events that were glossed over or omitted for this to truly have been a book about the five families. The primary focus seemed to be o......more

Would have gave 20 stars if possible. What an amazing epic tale. I was so sad when I finished reading this book. I didn't want it to end. The most in-depth telling of the five families. I don't ever expect to find a more authoritative book about the American Mafia. I knew nothing of the more "recent......more

Selwyn Rab wrote both the right and wrong book on the American mafia. I've seen Selwyn many times in documentaries on the mob and as a raconteur of mafia stories of wise guys he has known over the years he is unsurpassed. The best portion of this massive book is devoted to biographies of the rise an......more

the mafia is just a multi level marketing scheme for men......more