I could not put this one down. Mike Dash does an amazing job of bringing "The Clutch Hand" back to life. While we are familiar with Lucky Luciano, Al Capone, Dutch Schultz, we know little of Ciro Terranova, Lupo the Wolf, and other heavyweights of their generation - this book shines a bright light on these largely forgotten mobsters.

The book not only sheds light on it's principal subject, Giuseppe Morello, it also gives a thorough breakdown of the foundation of the "Mafia" and how and where it spread in America, mostly New York and New Orleans. Dash paints a vivid picture of turn of the century New York.

Anyone looking for a great read on organized crime, especially a topic that has not been over-covered check out "The First Family". ( )

Comparing books with https://www.goodreads.com/lindevdmartin I found this title on 2022 0526 th as one on the skipping list.

A fascinating book about the Mafia. Most books on organized crime either focus on the modern or semi-modern period, or on Prohibition and events related to that. This book is the first I've read that goes further back then that, all the way to the turn of the century. It's very well researched and well written, and does a good job of avoiding both mafia-worship and passionate hatred of the organization. ( )

A perfectly adequate book on the history of the mafia in America. A little graphic at times. Some boring parts. What I got the most of this book is how vulnerable immigrants are when first coming to America. ( )

The First Family: Terror, Extortion, Revenge, Murder, and the Birth of the American Mafia by Mike Dash is a very interesting and sometimes gruesome book but it is also packed full of history. This gives history of the Sicilian life and how and why they moved to America and who and how the American Mafia started here. It also gives great history of early American history of that time. Very, very interesting if you are a history buff like me. This gives great history on not only crime but life in general, poverty, secret service, and more. I really got a lot out of this detailed book. ( )