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Book Review: Organized Crime on Page and Screen


Subtitled “Portrayals in Hit Novels, Films, and Television Shows,” this new book by David Geherin from McFarland publishers is very thorough and enlightening.

 

The book is divided in two parts – Crime Fiction and Movies and TV.  For Crime Fiction, there are three sub groups – Italian Mafias and Neopolitan Cinema, The American Mafia, and Mexican Drug Cartels.  Under each of those categories, the author assesses the work of notable writers, including Leonardo Sciascia, Roberto Saviano, Mario Puzo, Tod Goldberg, and Don Winslow among them.

 

For Movies and TV, the author goes back to the pre-code classics Public Enemy (1931), Little Caesar (1931), and Scarface (1932) before exploring the work of Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Matteo Garrone, even some material about comedies.  Television discusses The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, Boardwalk Empire, Peaky Blinders, and Gomorrah: The Series, bringing this study to the present time.

 

Despite covering a lot of ground, both historically and aesthetically, Geherin manages to be very detailed in each his essays, displaying a real knowledge of his subject matter.  The popularity of crime dramas is presented intelligently throughout this book, giving very complete assessments of such popular films and TV shows as The Godfather series, GoodFellas, Casino, and the HBO show that changed television, The Sopranos.  There is much to learn, even about subjects the reader knows well.

 

The only drawback is that it contains no graphics other than a nice color cover photo of Ray Liotta, Robert DeNiro, Paul Giamatti, and Joe Pesci from Scorsese’s film GoodFellas.  Fair use laws should  allow some illustrations in a book of criticism and commentary such as this.

 

But, that’s a trifling quibble.  Geherin’s book is filled with valuable information that contains a great deal of intelligent insight and good strong writing, that recommends this book for libraries, research centers, and fans of these books, films, and shows.

 

The book can be ordered at this link: CRIME

 

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James L. Neibaur
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