Way of the Wiseguy: The FBI's Most Famous Undercover Agent Cracks the Mob Mind

brilliant

good

Birthday present for my father and went down well

The book is really a short piece of anecdotes about the La Cosa Nostra. And JDP also really expresses his true nature as to be verbalizing about his true opinions with use of frequent profanity! He explains about the behavior and mind sets of these vicious, sadistic and barbaric heartless crooks. And the contrast of their behavior in their work compared to family life. He talks about how they live, daily routines, inner workings of crime and mentality. He really made this book short whereas he could have elaborated on the relationships of individuals like Sonny Black and Mirra. There is no talk about the legal court proceedings here as with the second book which made it much longer. If he could reedit the first book to include this work and some of the relevant from 'unfinished business `might be more of a comprehensive read'. But its good.

I liked this book even though I thought it would present a more accurate description of the American Mafia overall. On the other hand I liked the idea of including a CD containing some discussions between Joe Pistone and the wiseguys.

Nothing much that i didnt already know. A lot of wasted pages that feels like it could of been bulked up a lot.

I bought this as I loved the Donnie Brasco film/book, it was SO disappointing, states the obvious from what you already can workout yourself if you're an avid wise guy film watcher! Reads like the author just wanted an audience to brag about how great he is, they're pretty big pages with few words, not much content, can't believe they got away with charging £16.99 for a new copy!! I'm glad I only paid 1p and whatever for packaging but even that isn't worth it, rubbish!!

Its like reading the movie with more details. Very interesting.

Without a doubt, the best way to learn about what the government refers to as organized crime (next to being a member yourself) is to read about it by someone who was there and did that. FBI agent Joe Pistone's credentials are impeccible. Having lived and worked with wiseguys for six years, he's the only FBI agent in history ever to penetrate this organization to the extent he did. Incredibly,he was only a few months away from becoming a full-fledged member of the mob - a made guy. If you are a soccer mom offended at realistic language and the ways of the street, forget about it: go watch your soap operas while wolfing down a tub of candy-coated popcorn. On the other hand, if you want to know what makes wise guys tick; what, why and how they think, this book is a must. This book is highly informative, entertaining and hard to put down.

I can’t imagine anyone having the raw physical courage that Pistone has, but it’s all been chronicled and this book of additional anecdotes is fascinating, terrifying and impossible to put down.Hollywood did the American public a disservice with the filming of The Godfather and the romanticization of these monsters —- who still live among us and whose scams add to our cost of living.

Great book. Introduction to this hidden world by an expert was thrilling.

This is one of my favorite books, but not because I am a "fan" of the mafia. I've seen maybe two or three of the famous films, and maybe 2 whole episodes of the Sopranos.No, I like this book because its resemblance to a work of anthropology. Though Pistone is clear that he doesn't condone the mafia's activities (he infiltrated the culture to try to bring it down), he also gives an excellent, objective account of the American Mafia AS A CULTURE. He writes in the Introduction "Wiseguys exist in a bizarre parallel universe, a world where avarice and violence and corruption are the norm....Wiseguys resemble us in many ways, but make no mistake: they might as well be from another planet, so alien and abnormal are their thoughts and habits."