Michael Franzese

A very disappointing read.

The main problem of this book is that it's all just surface level. Most of the time you're just reading "politician A got X amount of money through this scheme", and it got very old halfway through the book. Unless you are oblivious to the shenanigans of the American government, this won't really be a grand revelation. In that way, it can be an eye-opener, but if you have reached puberty, you probably already know that something is rotten in government.

The parallels to the mafia and Machiavelli are very surface level. Outside a few quotes here and there combined with a political scheme, it does not really do a lot for me. I would've liked it to truly dive into those to subjects, laying out the inner workings of the mafia in meticulous detail to drive the point home. The psychology behind Machiavelli in comparison to today's politics would also have been very interesting instead of just using a quote here and there.

The solutions the book offer are very surface level, they are basically just assertions, there's no underlying plan to implement them, which make it hard to separate them from a mere blogpost on the internet. Anybody can write a post that says, we should fix some loophole that politicians use. We must put a limit to the number of terms they can serve. Okay. How exactly? By voting in this sports-influenced red vs. blue political system? By voting for politicians that are already, or will become, corrupt when they realize the amount of money they can make?
One of the suggestions for improvement literally is "The rest, I'm afraid, is up to us. We must demand better"... Again, how? By writing moody posts on the internet? Making YouTube videos? Some of the ideas the book puts forward are truly good, but they're just ideas. There's no plan of implementation connected to them. It's also good to see that both political parties are under fire and that the author is not picking sides with improves its authenticity.

For this to truly have been impactful, instead of just writing the foreword, I think Rudy Giuliani should have been a co-author. Someone with a lot of experience within the government system who could actually lay out a direct plan to implement some of the ideas in this book.
Sources are also handled a bit weird. Usually, there are annotations at the end of a claim, but not in this book. The sources are listed at the end of the book and divided into chapters, which I thought was odd. I don't doubt that Mr. Franzese did his research, but it might be off-putting to some.

I read this book from a standpoint that the American government is among the most corrupt in the West, which I think the book supports. However, it does not do a lot more than that.

There is a lot of potential in this book because Franzese is correct with his assessment that the US government is acting like the mafia in many ways. In the end, the book's length is its worst enemy, as it does not even reach 200 pages if you detract the foreword and resources list. It is very limited what you can achieve with that little with a huge subject like this. At the end of the day, it really falls short of having any real impact beyond just exposing some numbers and schemes that made someone's wallet fat. A damn shame.… (altro)

Mafia Democracy is a rapid and enlightening read. I'm not sure how much salt to take it with, but this analysis of how U.S. politics works, as viewed by a former Mafia capo of one of the five crime families in New York, is decidedly scorching in places. With few exceptions, politicians from the top down are seen as practicing Mafia principles and policies, all to their own personal gain and that of their close associates. The notable exception is rules of honor and secrecy, which make the Mob out to be a more principled bunch than the folks we've elected to positions of public responsibility.

A respectable list of resources follows the text. I skimmed it but did not check them out. As always, I look for an index, and this has none.

Whether or not I can take this as fair and objective reporting, which I think unlikely, its allegations are so bold that I think some of them must stand up. In any case, it does give cause to think differently about how our democracy functions, what we are saving when we talk about saving it, and why so very many politicians leave office with personal wealth far greater than what they had going in.… (altro)

Michael Francese wakes away from the Mafia and thrives today, a high-level Christian and public speaker. Here from the horse's head's mouth is the story of what life is like in la Cosa Nostra. Frances made it big in the mob, rocketing up the ranks when he discovered a gas tax scam that pumped millions into his hands. Fascinating insights into various individuals including the Goodfellas characters and the ways money was made. Great personal story, highly recommended if you have any curiosity about the mob.… (altro)