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Donnie Brasco | 
 enlarge | Author: Joseph D. Pistone
Publisher: Signet
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $7.98 (100%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  63 reviews
Sales Rank: 13922
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 416
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 4.1 x 1.3
ISBN: 0451192575
Dewey Decimal Number: 364.1092
EAN: 9780451192578
ASIN: 0451192575
Publication Date: February 1, 1997
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Minor wear to cover. May contain some writing or highlighting.
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Amazon.com Review
In Donnie Brasco, FBI agent Joseph D. Pistone tells the story of working so deep undercover in the Mafia that the truth of his identity became blurry even for him. For six years, Pistone posed as jewel thief Donnie Brasco in order to pull off one of the most audacious sting operations ever. Because any small detail could blow his cover, Pistone adjusted his personality and habits to earn the trust of Mafia soldiers, connected guys, captains, and godfathers. He was so successful that many FBI surveillance teams assumed that he was yet another Mafia guy. This memoir paints a vivid portrait of the underworld of wise guys by revealing their code of honor, their treacherous dealings, their relationships with their wives and mistresses, and their lavish money habits. The suspense in Pistone's story builds as he unfurls his experience of life on the edge of good and evil and on the verge of death.
Product Description
Donnie Brasco is Pistone's unforgettable account of how be became part of the mysterious underworld that is the Mafia--the first and only account by a law enforcement agent--and it is amazing and intriguing as the flamboyant, deadly world it portrays. Includes an update in which Pistone comments on new development in the Mafia.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 58 more reviews...
 Portrait of a Real-Life Hero August 5, 2008
This is the kind of story many would consider incredible hadn't these events actually taken place. Years ago a short-lived television series (two seasons, to be exact) called "Tightrope" aired in which a young actor named Michael Connors portrayed an undercover police officer known only as "Nick" who, week after week, successfully infiltrated various underworld gangs and operations. It was a fictional TV show, nothing more, designed solely for the entertainment of the viewing audience. In 1976 Special Agent Joseph D. Pistone of the FBI made that role a reality. Under the guise of jewel thief "Donnie Brasco," Pistone entered the dangerous world of organized crime and eventually penetrated it at a level so deep that he was actually "proposed" for membership in La Cosa Nostra when the "books" were opened. Renting an apartment on Manhattan's upper East Side (a lot more affordable then), Pistone began to frequent a local restaurant where he got to know a few "connected" guys. This led to his broadening his circle of associates to include, first, a Colombo-affiliated crew in Brooklyn and, later, a Manhattan-based faction of the Bonanno family. The fact that he was accepted and gained the trust of these otherwise wary, street-smart "wiseguys" is a testament to how well Pistone played his role, knowing how far to push the envelope in tricky situations and when to step back. The operation, which lasted six years, came to an abrupt halt when Pistone was given a "contract" to "whack" a Bonanno rival. By that time, however, the Mob had been irreparably damaged. Within weeks of the startling revelation that "Brasco" was in fact an FBI agent, a $500,000 bounty was placed on his life and the Mob began to exact revenge on those who had originally "sponsored" him. One, Benjamin "Lefty Guns" Ruggiero, was picked up by FBI agents while on his way to almost certain doom after having been "sent for," or summoned, to a Little Italy bar by his former pals. Two others weren't so lucky. In August, 1981, the badly decomposed body of one Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano, a capo who maintained a special fondness for Pistone even after learning he was an agent, turned up in a Staten Island creek, minus both hands. Seven months later, in March, 1982, Anthony Mirra, a psychopath who had been the first to introduce Pistone to the Bonanno crew, was found shot to death behind the wheel of his car in a downtown Manhattan garage. Co-written by Mr. Pistone himself and Richard Woodley, "Donnie Brasco" reveals the gritty, day-to-day workings of the Cosa Nostra lifestyle as it actually exists (or should I say existed?) and not the honorable, glamorized version of Don Vito Corleone's world as depicted in "The Godfather."
 Very few Things Worse.... February 15, 2008
0 out of 6 found this review helpful
than the mob. Congratulations to anyone who does anything to reduce its influence and send its members to prison. Criminal trial attorney inner-city courts in a very large city, 30 years, state and fed prosecutor, and in my estimation this FBI agent is about as heroic as they come. Talk about role models. Forget about sports stars and pay attention to this former FBI agent and what he did for all of us.
graet book August 23, 2007
like it much better that movie- so much more insight- get it if you are interested in this topic!
Joe Pistone was one street-smart dude! August 21, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Gripping story of Joe Pistone posing undercover as Donnie Brasco for 6 years (!) to infiltrate the mob. As I read the story, I couldn't help but keep thinking how brave and street-smart this guy is. One slip and he's a dead man! Pistone thoroughly covered all his bases to maintain his fake identity. In the end, after the FBI agents announced to his mob ties that Donnie was actually an undercover agent all this time, they doubted it could be possible, and told the agents their was no way Donnnie was working undercover. That's how good this guy was!
great read January 7, 2007
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
I'd put money that you've already seen the movie. What you wanna know is if the book is any good/better/different, right? I'd say different. For example in the book "Donnie" is much older, perhaps over forty - his kids are in high school, whereas as I recall Jonny Depp's Donnie was late twenties/early thirties perhaps, with pre-school-ish kids....Maybe that's not a big deal. A bigger difference is much of the tension in the book comes from one of Donnie's early connections and sparring partners, Tony, who feuds with Lefty over "control" of Donnie - this is a very important strand in Donnie's rise in the Mafia, and as I recall wasn't in the movie at all. Bottom line is there is far more in the book than the bare bones story told in the film, and it's a well told tale. Forgettaboutit, just buy it....
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