 First edition | |
| Author | Gay Talese |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | World Publishing Company, Cleveland |
Publication date | 1971 |
Honor Thy Father is a 1971 book by Gay Talese, about the travails of the Bonanno crime family in the 1960s, especially Salvatore Bonanno and his father Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno.
In 1965, Gay Talese left his job as a reporter at The New York Times to focus on magazine writing, such as 1966's "Frank Sinatra Has a Cold" and longer projects, like his 1969 book The Kingdom and the Power . During this period, however, Talese had begun to research a book about the Mafia.
The research for the book began when Talese introduced himself to mafioso Salvatore "Bill" Bonanno in a courthouse in 1965. That same year, Talese signed a $30,000 advance to write the book. [1] For nearly seven years, Talese interviewed Bonanno and other members of the Mafia extensively. Talese even traveled to Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, to research the ancestral origins of the subjects of his story. Talese feared, during the research, that the government would subpoena him to find out what he learned about the Mafia, though this never came to pass. He also fretted that he would be mistaken for one of Bonanno's associates by his enemies. [2]
The book begins when Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno is kidnapped from the streets of New York in 1964 and the Bonanno crime family is thrown into disarray for two years in a power struggle called the Banana War, culminating in an armed ambush in Brooklyn in which Joe's son Bill Bonanno is nearly killed. [2]
Though punctuated by life-threatening encounters, Talese also recounts how much of a mafioso's life is as tedious as any person's: days filled with television, overeating, time spent with family. Prominent mafiosi, like Vito Genovese, Lucky Luciano, Joseph Profaci, feature in Talese's account, but the story is focused on Bill Bonanno's thoughts about his life as a mafioso. Talese notes the similarities of Bill's life to many ordinary Americans — homogenized from his ancestors' culture, an alumnus of the University of Arizona where he belonged to ROTC. But as son of Joe Bonanno, he was an heir to his father's empire, which was a source of great stress for Bill. The book's title was suggested by Bill's wife Rosalie as acid commentary on the deleterious effect of Joe Bonanno on her husband's life. [3] The intensely introspective account that Talese extracted from Bill Bonanno prompted Time magazine to label him "the golden retriever of personalized journalism". [2] A review in The New York Times wrote that Talese "conveys the impression that being a mobster is much the same as being a sportsman, film star or any other kind of public 'personality.'" [4]
Talese concludes with the controversial thesis that the Italian Mafia was little different than gangs that came with previous waves of immigration, such as Irish gangs in the century before, or black and Latino gangs that Talese saw as following. Talese attributed the rise of the gangs as a consequence of a majority that oppresses a minority group. [4] [5]
Following the success of Talese's previous book The Kingdom and the Power, his book on the Mafia was primed for success, and quickly became a bestseller. Talese's use of literary techniques that were traditionally the domain of fiction, known as "new journalism", still was regarded with caution and many suspected the technique of fabrication; a charge that Talese has always strongly denied. A reviewer in The New York Times wrote that Talese's "fiction-imposed-on-fact has the unfortunate effect of making the whole story seem unreal". [5] Also writing in the Times, David Halberstam criticized previous reviewers for failing to recognize that Talese's story was more real and had been criticized for not conforming to other reviewers' preconceived ideas about what the Mafia should be like. [1] In general, however, the book was critically acclaimed. The Washington Post wrote:
After the principals are all gone, the book will remain, a family saga as important as any we've seen in this country. It is a book about fathers and sons, about trust and betrayal, about the old style and the new; it is, of course, a tragedy, because the genre of the family saga, real or imagined, always seems to turn out that way. But the book is also a stunning comment on America and the failure of its romantic promise. [6]
Joe Bonanno disliked the book and refused to speak to his son Bill after the book came out. Joe reportedly spoke to Talese after publication of the book and said "my son was too sincere with you." [3] Bill Bonanno was initially not happy with the book either, but after rereading the book he became more comfortable with it and asked Talese to inscribe copies for his children. [3]
By November 1971 the book had sold nearly 200,000 copies and a second printing of 160,000 copies was ordered. Paperback rights were purchased for $450,000 by Fawcett World Library, a greater sum than Fawcett had paid for paperback rights to Mario Puzo's The Godfather . [3]
Though Bill Bonanno was in prison when the book came out, he later cooperated in the production of a CBS miniseries, Honor Thy Father, based on his role in the book and a Showtime miniseries, Bonanno: A Godfather's Story about his life. Before his death in January 2008, Bonanno also appeared in numerous news programs and documentary looks at the Mafia. [7]
In 1973, a TV movie adaptation was made. It was directed by Paul Wendkos, and starred Joseph Bologna as Salvatore Bonanno, Brenda Vaccaro as Rosalie Bonanno, and Raf Vallone as Joseph Bonanno. [8]
Joseph Charles Bonanno, sometimes referred to as Joe Bananas, was an Italian-American crime boss of the Bonanno crime family, which he ran from 1931 to 1968.
Salvatore Maranzano, nicknamed Little Caesar, was an Italian-American mobster from the town of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, and an early Cosa Nostra boss who led what later would become the Bonanno crime family in New York City. He instigated the Castellammarese War in 1930 to seize control of the American Mafia, winning the war after the murder of rival faction head Joe Masseria in April 1931. He then briefly became the Mafia's capo di tutti capi and formed the Five Families in New York City, but was murdered on September 10, 1931, on the orders of Charles "Lucky" Luciano, who established The Commission, in which families shared power to prevent future turf wars.
Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria was an early Italian-American Mafia boss in New York City. He was boss of what is now called the Genovese crime family, one of the New York City Mafia's Five Families, from 1922 to 1931. In 1930, he battled in the Castellammarese War to take over the criminal activities in New York City. The war ended with his murder on April 15, 1931, in a hit ordered by his own lieutenant, Charles "Lucky" Luciano, in an agreement with rival faction head Salvatore Maranzano.
The Castellammarese War was a bloody power struggle for control of the American Mafia between partisans of Joe "The Boss" Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano that took place in New York City, New York, from February 26, 1930 until April 15, 1931. The war was named after the Sicilian town of Castellammare del Golfo, the birthplace of Maranzano.
Joseph Anthony Colombo Sr. was the boss of the Colombo crime family, one of the Five Families of the American Mafia in New York City.
Giuseppe "Joe" Profaci was an Italian-American Cosa Nostra boss who was the founder of what became the Colombo crime family of New York City. Established in 1928, this was the last of the Five Families to be organized. He was the family's boss for over three decades.
Gaetano "Gay" Talese is an American writer. As a journalist for The New York Times and Esquire magazine during the 1960s, Talese helped to define contemporary literary journalism and is considered, along with Tom Wolfe, Joan Didion, and Hunter S. Thompson, one of the pioneers of New Journalism. Talese's most famous articles are about Joe DiMaggio and Frank Sinatra.
The Five Families refer to five Italian American Mafia crime families that operate in New York City. In 1931, the five families were organized by Salvatore Maranzano following his victory in the Castellammarese War.
Salvatore Vincent "Bill" Bonanno was an American mobster who served as consigliere of the Bonanno crime family, and son of crime boss Joseph Bonanno. Later in life, he became a writer and produced films for television about his family.
Thomas Gagliano was an Italian-born American mobster and boss of what U.S. federal authorities would later designate as the Lucchese crime family, one of the "Five Families" of New York City. He was a low-profile boss for over two decades. His successor was his longtime loyalist and underboss, Tommy Lucchese.
Joseph Magliocco, also known as "Joe Malayak" and "Joe Evil Eye", was an Italian-born New York mobster and the boss of the Profaci crime family from 1962 to 1963. In 1963, Magliocco participated in an audacious attempt with Joseph Bonnano to kill other family bosses and take over the Mafia Commission. The attempt failed, and, while his life was spared, he was forced into retirement. Soon after, he died of a heart attack on December 28, 1963.
A series of meetings between Sicilian Mafia and American Mafia members were allegedly held at the Grand Hotel et des Palmes in Palermo, Sicily, between October 12–16, 1957. Also called the 1957 Palermo Mafia summit, the summit discussed the international illegal heroin trade in the French Connection. The FBI believed it was this meeting that established the Bonanno crime family in the heroin trade.
The Commission is the governing body of the American Mafia, formed in 1931 by Charles "Lucky" Luciano following the Castellammarese War. The Commission replaced the title of capo di tutti i capi, held by Salvatore Maranzano before his murder, with a ruling committee that consists of the bosses of the Five Families of New York City, as well as the bosses of the Chicago Outfit and, at various times, the leaders of smaller families, such as Buffalo, Philadelphia, Detroit, and others. The purpose of the Commission was to oversee all Mafia activities in the United States and serve to mediate conflicts among families.
Gaspar or Gaspare DiGregorio was a New York mobster and a high-ranking member of the Bonanno crime family who was a key figure in the "Banana War".
Paul Sciacca was a New York City mobster who succeeded Joseph Bonanno as boss of the Bonanno crime family in 1968. He was succeeded by Natale Evola in 1971.
The San Jose crime family, also known as the Cerrito crime family or San Jose Mafia, was one of the two families that controlled organized crime in San Jose, California, within the nationwide criminal organization known as the Mafia. The other family that ran organized crime in San Jose was the Bonanno crime family of New York.
The Bonanno crime family is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, and in the United States, as part of the criminal phenomenon known as the American Mafia.
Nicolo "Cola" Schiro was an early Sicilian-born New York City mobster who, in 1912, became the boss of what later become known as the Bonanno crime family.