Title: Wiseguy: life in a Mafia family

Author: Nicholas Pileggi

Publication Details: New York: Simon and Schuster 1985.

ISBN: 9780671447342

Citation: Pileggi, N (1985). Wiseguy: life in a Mafia family. New York: Simon and Schuster.

If you liked Goodfellas then you have to read this book!

Pileggi, a crime reporter for New York writes this novel with the cooperation of gangster Henry Hill. He artfully tells the story the mobster who started out as an errand boy at the age of 12 on the tough streets of Brooklyn in the 50’s. "At the age of twelve my ambition was to become a gangster. To be a wiseguy. Being a wiseguy was better than being President of the United States. To be a wiseguy was to own the world." Henry Hill told Pileggi in 1985. 

For more than 25 years, Mr. Hill worked with mob bosses and took part in many criminal schemes including robbing $6 million in cash and jewels from a cargo facility at JFK airport. After an arrest and facing a lifetime in jail, Hill decided to cooperate with the authorities and talk. This resulted in him having a price on his head and needing to enter the witness protection program for his own safety. Wiseguy tells Hill’s story in a lot more detail and accuracy than the film Goodfellas and it is very hard not to find Hill endearing

View movie trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo5jJpHtI1Y