The Quiet Don
The Untold Story of Mafia Kingpin Russell Bufalino

Although I found the author's writing style and the book's format awkward and confusing at times, I was fascinated by the subject matter. As a relative newcomer to the Wyoming Valley I have been amazed at the pervasive nature that cronyism and nepotism still play in this region. The book provides a......more

For the first 150-190 pages, I was thoroughly engrossed. I was duly fascinated and shocked by what I read, often seeing names I recognized from my youth in northeastern Pennsylvania. But then, my interest faded. While I *did* manage to finish the book, it became a chore rather than an engaging read.......more

Matt Birkbeck tells the unvarnished story of a reclusive mob kingpin who wielded incredible power and controlled a vast network right from his humble home in small-town Northeast Pennsylvania in "The Quiet Don." This book chronicles the building of a criminal empire -- the consolidation of power and......more

Good book with so much information about Russell Bufalino and the many people who swirled in his orbit. You can tell that the author has a vested interest in Bufalino and the stew of corruption that was (is?) Pennsylvania politics & the underworld. He covers people & subjects that only a true inside......more

Great insight into one of the lesser known mobsters of that era. Definitely a companion piece to I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt. Read both consecutively if you've already watched or want to watch The Irishman......more