The Last Godfathers

The spectacular rise and the fall of the Sicilian mafia’s Corleonese clan, one of history’s richest and most powerful crime families—and the inspiration for The Godfather.

“A scintillating mixture of history, true crime, and whodunnit, told both with restrained moral anger and the fascinating insights of the leading expert in his field. This well-researched, hard—hitting book is a fitting epitaph for the courageous Judge Falcone. . . . Compulsively readable.” —Andrew Roberts

From its humble origins in the town of Corleone, they manipulated the Cosa Nostra’s code of honor—deceiving and bludgeoning its way to the summit of the secret brotherhood, purging its rivals and launching terrorist campaigns that decimated anti-mafia judges, police, and politicians.

Journalist John Follian focuses on the three godfathers who headed the clan from the 1950s onwards. Luciano “The Professor” Leggio, Salvator “The Beast” Riina, and Bernardo “The Tractor” Provenzano—who forged a vicious gang bent on the subversion of democracy.Cutting through the romantic aura of Hollywood films, The Last Godfathers portrays the true face of the crime family that inspired Mario Puzo to write The Godfather. Based on thousands of pages of judicial documents, wiretap transcripts, the testimony of mafiosi defectors, and interviews with investigators, this is the last word on the world’s most famous criminal organization.

“A terrific read . . . John Follain portrays the escalating savagery of Cosa Nostra’s most notorious bosses with compelling rigor and verve.” —John Dickie, author of Cosa Nostra

“The gang that could shoot straight—and bomb, maim, steal, cheat, bribe and otherwise wreak havoc—documented by a capable chronicler of organized crime in Italy. . . . An important contribution to the documentation of how low the lowlife can get.” —Kirkus Reviews