I read it as an audiobook while I was doing some work, so I did not take notes on it for possible review. So here are some quick impressions so I can remember that I read it.

We get a look at not only the Mafia's corruption, but the corruption throughout New York City as well. Gravano makes an effort throughout the book to emphasize how he strove to go by the rules of Cosa Nostra, rules that he saw the family under Gotti was not following. Basically, a lot of the effort in the book is to make Gravano come across as somewhat sympathetic. I will leave it to readers to judge.

On a side note, I read this as an audiobook. However, GR does not seem to have the exact edition, and I am not going to fuss about it, so here goes.

(full review on my blog later)



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This is a review of the abridged audio version, of 3 hrs in duration. Had it been presented as a work of fiction, I would have described it as sufficiently entertaining for commuting by car.
However, as a supposed memoir/ autobiography, it is not credible.

Sammy Gravano was a major Mafia figure of the Gambino crime family, who eventually worked his way up to become underboss to John Gotti. When Gotti was arrested, Gravano turned states evidence in order to gain a light sentence. Despite having confessed to 18-19 murders, he was given a five year sentence -- consisting of time served plus an additional year.

Sammy's account traces his childhood, his early involvement in crime, and his life as a member of the Cosa Nostra. He is quite frank about the numerous murders he committed, each of which he justifies as necessary for business, revenge, or to uphold Mafia codes. He justifies his turning of states' evidence as necessary, on the grounds that his co-defendant Gotti refused to let Gravano mount a defense, or even to meet with an attorney without Gotti being present.

How much of this account is true is anyone's guess. Overall, the account is self- serving, and less than reliable. For example, the tale ends with him living a clean and legal life in Arizona, having given up crime and unhealthy habits. (We're told in 1997, that at age 52, he exercises regularly, "has the body of a man 20 years younger", and incongruously that he's "given up cigarettes for cigars"). Whatever part of that might have once been true, he soon became heavily involved in drug trafficking, for which he, his wife, and his daughter were arrested and convicted. As of 2016, he was still in prison.

The narrator, Philip Bosco, is excellent, as he renders the first person account in a fine Italian accent that could (for all the reader knows) be just like Sammy's own voice.

Oddly, some of the negative reviews of this work at Amazon give it one star on the basis that Gravano is a "rat" -- that is, that he "squealed on" his boss and associates. Apparently, murdering 19 people is acceptable, but testifying in court against your associates is unforgivable. I wonder if such reviewers realize that they are espousing the Mafia code of conduct. ( )

Hated this book! Couldn't even finish it. Boring. ( )

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