"The First Family" wasn't what I expected it to be, and that's a good thing. Rather than being yet another drop in an endless sea of books on the mob, Mike Dash's book manages to add some fresh elements to a hoary genre. Dash seeks follow Giuseppe Morello from Italy to America where he establishes his illegitimate businesses. Incorporating genealogical and historical research into the mix, Dash follows Morello and at the same time traces the origins and the rise of the Mafia in America. While most writers focus on the heyday of the Mafia in the 1920s and beyond, Dash seeks to hearken further back to tell the story in greater detail than others have attempted. Dash's combination of being a historian and a journalist makes him a formidable writer as he has not only the flair for writing, but never fails to document his sources. Best of all Dash strikes a balance between writing a book targeted for the mass market that still manages to satisfy the need for documentation.

Most people familiar with the mob have likely never heard or read of Morello as he predates the Five Families by a couple of decades. Dash recounts how Morello scratched and clawed his way to success in New York City through an array of illegitimate businesses by the time he was gunned down in 1930. By the time of his demise a number of families had come to replicate his method of operations not just in New York City, but throughout the nation and beyond, becoming the template for how to organize and operate effectively. More importantly Dash strips away the layers of rumor, hearsay, innuendo, and recycled errors that so many other writers take as gospel regarding the Mafia and seeks the straight up truth. Dash seeks the truth from the most reliable public records and then sets about building the story from there; the result is a captivating, direct, and honest story that is truly stranger than fiction. Set aside what you THINK you know about the Mafia and read this instead!

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