LITERATURE
A BOOK FOR BOOKIES
GRAB SOME GABAGOOL AND CUDDLE UP WITH A MAFIA BOOK, BABBO GABE FERREIRA ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR
Illustration
O
KATY PARKER LITERATURE EDITOR
f all the books that I have read, none have kept my mind hooked as intensely as Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia. If you define History Channel’s “Gangland” as terrifying and think Martin Scorsese’s 1995 film Casino gives you a good idea of how powerful the mafia is, it’s time for you to start setting new standards. Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia gives readers a new, mind-blowing perspective on how deeply penetrated the mob really is in our society (or at least how it was when the story told in the book took place). The book tells the story of Joseph D. Pi-
UNION WEEKLY
14 MARCH 2011
stone, an FBI secret agent who took on the challenge of going undercover in the Italian mafia under the pseudonym Donnie Brasco. What started out as a small-scale mission turned into the largest undercover operation in the FBI’s history. In the six years that agent Pistone infiltrated this criminal network, he built a good relationship with several of the top members of the mafia. He robbed, killed and partied with the mobsters, all of which he describes in deep detail in the book. Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of Donnie Brasco’s trajectory is the way he climbed his way up the ranks of the mafia. His ingenuity is admirable, and if you’ve ever wondered how the
fuck you become a mafia chief, this book will give you the answer. Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia ends with a short chapter in which Joseph Pistone talks about how his mafia years have affected his and his family’s life. Pistone’s accomplishments were unbelievable: over 100 criminals were successfully arrested because of his actions alone, and his job was so well done that certain FBI and NYPD officers, unaware of Donnie’s real persona, opened federal cases against him. However, this last section of the book makes readers question whether his self-sacrifice was actually
worth it. Pistone was forced to have plastic surgery, change his name and move to a new state in addition to taking several safety measures every time he leaves the house, be it by himself or with his family. It is a true case of emotional suicide. What makes Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia special and unique is the truthfulness of the information presented to the reader. There is none of the typical Hollywood and television drama and exaggeration added to Donnie’s accounts. They are factual, exciting, and will open your mind to a new world you might have not known existed.