Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have read quite a few interviews with Gianni Russo over the years and after reading this book I went back and reread quite a few to verify that I wasn't crazy. Mr. Russo is a great story teller. Over the years his assertions and accounts of his life have varied greatly and seemed to grow in scope and importance. The book appears to be a rehashing of his accomplished life with excessive embellishments. He now claims as part of his exploits to have been a courier for the Godfather of Godfathers, an intermediary for the mob who convinced Joey Gallo to allow the filming of the Godfather to take place; a conduit for a mob/Vatican money laundering scheme; a contact point (via his doctor's wife) for the Shah of Iran to get his money out of the country mere hours before his regime fell...Said money being once again laundered by his contacts in the Vatican Bank...a murderer not once but twice....(one killing is public record); and even been tortured by the one and only Pablo Escobar for the killing of one of his soldiers. This was all accomplished while bedding Marilyn Monroe, Liza Minelli and a bevy of other starlets. Gianni soft shoes topics of paternity and lawsuits. The book is a quick read and worthy of a cross country flight or perhaps a day on the beach. It suffers from poor editing and a confusing timeline or perhaps just a confused author as it jumps around with disparate events from various decades seemingly taking place at once. If his "history" is accurate...it is a pity that the editors couldn't organize the book in chronological order, provide a modicum of proof or backup to Gianni's claims. If he did half of what he claims it would make a great movie. I enjoyed it but found many similarities between his story and various plots or subplots of the mob movies that have been hits over the years. Wait for paperback or buy it used.