What does a Columbia University
professor of Russian literature have to do with Bobby
Blue Eyes and the other regulars of the Freemont Avenue Social
Club? FBI special agents Connor O'Brien and Laura Russo want
to know, too, joining the mob's search for the missing professor
after hearing his name mentioned during a wiretap of the crew's
hangout. The riddle is solved in The Good Guys,
told by Bill Bonanno, former head of a crime family and former
FBI agent Joe Pistone, AKA Donnie Brasco. Hijacked trucks,
sexy coeds, clandestine love nests, Italian rituals, violent
acts, and the Russian mafia all populate this insider's guide
to the mob, circa 1985.
While The Good Guys is a work of crime
fiction, Bill Bonanno and Joe Pistone interject factual
data and commentary as they narrate their tale of murder,
violence, love and justice. Bill Bonanno describes the traditions
of Italian family rituals as well as the protocol of Mafia
business relationships. Joe Pistone offers both the undercover
cop and FBI agent perspectives on the business of fighting
crime. A third author, David Fisher, gave life to the book
after introducing the idea of the collaboration to Bonanno
and Pistone. In narrating their own book, Bonnano and Pistone
enhance the feeling of authenticity, while depriving the listener
of the comfort of listening to a flawless reader.
The Good Guys might be considered a
road book, because the automobile plays such a big part
in both the cops' and the criminals' lives. I was especially
intrigued by one scene in the book, where "the boys"
take an unfortunate double crosser upstate to Swan Lake to
whack him. Bonnano describes the total blackness of the rural
night, and I knew exactly what he meant, having grown up a
few miles away from the White Lake made famous in the 1920's
by Murder Incorporated as a dumping place for bodies.
In telling what life is really like
as mob members and law enforcement agents, Bonnano and
Pistone take away the mystique of mob glamour and give listeners
something more accurate. Bonnano describes his daily activities
as a job requiring constant hustling and scheming, with no
regular hours and no benefit packages. Pistone describes his
job as tedious, monotonous, political, and laden with paperwork.
In a commentary at the end of the audio book, though, Bill
Bonnano says that the qualities that make a good FBI agent
are the same ones the mob looks for in a loyal member -- "dedication,
perseverance, and a will to do what's right, based on your
culture and your traditions." This 6-hour abridged audio
book is informative and entertaining. Will it be the last
we hear of Bobby Blue Eyes and the FBI? Forgetaboutit!
Ruth
Mormon
5/1/05
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