The Godfather

The Godfather's command post is a fortress on Long Island, from which he presides over a vast underground empire that encompasses the rackets, gambling, bookmaking, and unions. Tyrant, blackmailer, racketeer, murderer-he gives his friendships freely (no man dares refuse it), rights wrongs (even murder is not too great a price for "justice"),. His influence runs through all levels of American society, from the cop on the beat to the nation's mighty. HC, 446 pages.