The Godfather

　　Book De*ion
　　Reissued to coincide with the September Random House release ofThe Last Don, here is the sweeping saga of a family and of itsleader, a friendly and reasonable man who just happens to be thedeadliest gang leader in the Cosa Nostra.
　　
　　Amazon.com
　　The story of Don Vito Corleone, the head of a New York Mafiafamily, inspired some of the most successful movies ever. It is inMario Puzo's The Godfather that Corleone first appears. AsCorleone's desperate struggle to control the Mafia underworldunfolds, so does the story of his family. The novel is full ofexquisitely detailed characters who, despite leading unconventionallifestyles within a notorious crime family, experience the triumphsand failures of the human condition. Filled with the requisitevalor, love, and rancor of a great epic, The Godfather is thedefinitive gangster novel.
　　
　　From Library Journal
　　Diehard Godfather fans play second banana to no other subculturein their obsession with the minutiae of Puzo's novel and Coppola'sfilms. These dedicated fans will be most disappointed by the newaudio version, although perhaps only an hour of material ismissing, but casual aficionados will barely notice the abridgment.Missing are the subplot involving Sonny's mistress, Lucy Mancini,and Dr. William Kennedy and the de*ions of the regional Mafiachieftains that precede the commission meeting at which DonCorleone flushes out Don Barzini as his number one rival. Actor JoeMantegna does a fine job throughout, largely resisting thetemptation to put on voices for too many of the characters.However, this cannot be said for his Don Corleone. Perhaps it isvengeance: after all, Andy Garcia, as the late Don's nephew,Vincent Mancini, put the hit on Mantegna's Joey Zasa in GodfatherIII, but whatever the reason, Mantegna gives Corleone a raspyfalsetto-imagine the Pillsbury Doughboy with a tracheotomy-thatranks as one of the worst Brando impressions ever. Also, Puzo'schilling ending in which Kay converts to Catholicism with the hopeof saving her husband's soul is inexplicably transformed into achamber-of-commerce-style bromide about the family's new life inNevada. Still, the popularity of Puzo's novel 27 years after itspublication makes this abridgment a must-have.