The Godfather (Further Reading)

Further Reading

• Camon, Alessandro, "The Godfather and the Mythology of the Mafia," in Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather Trilogy," edited by Nick Browne, Cambridge University Press, 2000.

  Although Camon is writing here about the films, the things he says about them apply equally to Puzo's novel, which has the same approach to its subject.

• Capeci, Jerry, The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia, Alpha Books, 2001.

  This book may have a frivolous title, but its author is an expert in the field of modern organized crime, having written a column on the subject for the New York Post for six years and producing one of the best compendia of crime information on the internet.

• Lebo, Harlan, The Godfather Legacy, Fireside Press, 1997.

  This book is basically about the three films that came from Puzo's novel, but there is much about the author's life as background to how the films came to be made and how he wrote the scripts.

• Puzo, Mario, "The Making of The Godfather," in The Godfather Papers and Other Confessions, G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1972. pp. 32-69.

  Puzo wrote this article so that he could quit answering interview questions about his experience in Hollywood. It is in-depth and full of background about his life and the writing of the novel.

• Sterling, Claire, Octopus: The Long Reach of the International Sicilian Mafia, Simon & Schuster Trade, 1991.

  This is a comprehensive history of the connection between American and Italian organized crime, reaching back into the nineteenth century.