Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires

Selwyn Raab

St. Martin's Press, Apr 1, 2007 - True Crime - 784 pages

Genovese, Gambino, Bonnano, Colombo and Lucchese. For decades these Five Families ruled New York and built the American Mafia (or Cosa Nostra) into an underworld empire. Today, the Mafia is an endangered species, battered and beleaguered by aggressive investigators, incompetent leadership, betrayals and generational changes that produced violent and unreliable leaders and recruits. A twenty year assault against the five families in particular blossomed into the most successful law enforcement campaign of the last century.
Five Families is the vivid story of the rise and fall of New York's premier dons from Lucky Luciano to Paul Castellano to John Gotti and more. The book also brings the reader right up to the possible resurgence of the Mafia as the FBI and local law enforcement agencies turn their attention to homeland security and away from organized crime.

What people are saying

Review: Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires

User Review  - Stacey - Goodreads

While this book is intersting, the tiny print and over 700 pages of ever Mafia scuffle gets old and hard to read. I got through 250 pages in 4 weeks.

Review: Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires

User Review  - Lincoln - Goodreads

Can't imagine a better book on any other subject.

About the author

SELWYN RAAB has been a reporter for the Metro Section of the New York Times since 1974. He is also the author of Justice in the Back Room and Mob Lawyer. He lives in New York.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires
• Author: Selwyn Raab
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 2007
• ISBN: 1429907983, 9781429907989
• Length: 784 pages
• Subjects: True Crime / Organized Crime