Nicholas Pileggi – författare

Love, greed and betrayal in the Las Vegas mob.From Nicholas Pileggi, author of the bestselling Wiseguy -- the #1 bestseller that later became the hit movie Goodfellas -- comes this brilliantly told tale of love, marriage, adultery, murder and revenge Mafia-style, the true story of how the mob finally lost its stranglehold over the multi-billion-dollar casino gambling industry of Las Vegas.No one knew more about casinos than Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, the gambling mastermind who, with his best friend and partner Anthony Spilotro virtually ran Las Vegas for the mob. For years it was the perfect arrangement -- Lefty provided the smarts and obsessive attention to detail, while Tony made sure the bosses stayed happy with their weekly suitcases filled with millions of dollars in skimmed cash. It was so sweet it should have lasted forever, but Lefty''s obsession with running the town -- and Tony''s obsession with Lefty''s beautiful showgirl wife Geri -- eventually led to the betrayals and investigations that exploded into one of the greatest debacles in the mob''s history.A real-life story of love and betrayal set in America''s favorite playground, Casino is a Mafia tragedy of Shakespearean dimensions, as well as the inside account of just how the mob lost control of the neon money-making machine it created.

The enthralling story of Henry Hill's life as a gangster and notorious participation in the Witness Protection Programme, made into the hugely acclaimed Martin Scorsese film_________________________‘Absolutely engrossing' - New York Times‘The best book ever written on organised crime' - Cosmopolitan‘A riveting account of organised crime as a way of life ... extraordinary' - Publishers Weekly_________________________‘At the age of twelve my ambition was to be a gangster. To me being a wiseguy was better than being president of the United States. To be a wiseguy was to own the world.' GoodFellas is Henry Hill's own story, telling the fascinating and sometimes brutal details of the day-to-day life of a working New York mobster - the violence, wild spending sprees, his wife, his mistress, his code of honour.From the small-time scamming of his early years, his first arrest at the age of sixteen and initiation into the dealings of his wiseguy friends and bosses, Henry Hill tells of the good times, dodgy dealings, indulgences, and the insularity of the mob-controlled neighbourhoods. But things start to go too far. To save his own life, Hill turns into a Federal witness, and the mob is to this day still hunting him down for revealing their involvement in hundreds of crimes including arson, extortion, hijacking, the six-million dollar Lufthansa heist (the most successful cash robbery in US history), and murder.

The enthralling story of Henry Hill''s life as a gangster and notorious participation in the Witness Protection Programme, made into the hugely acclaimed Martin Scorsese film_________________________''Absolutely engrossing'' - New York Times''The best book ever written on organised crime'' - Cosmopolitan''A riveting account of organised crime as a way of life ... extraordinary'' - Publishers Weekly_________________________''At the age of twelve my ambition was to be a gangster. To me being a wiseguy was better than being president of the United States. To be a wiseguy was to own the world.''GoodFellas is Henry Hill''s own story, telling the fascinating and sometimes brutal details of the day-to-day life of a working New York mobster - the violence, wild spending sprees, his wife, his mistress, his code of honour.From the small-time scamming of his early years, his first arrest at the age of sixteen and initiation into the dealings of his wiseguy friends and bosses, Henry Hill tells of the good times, dodgy dealings, indulgences, and the insularity of the mob-controlled neighbourhoods.But things start to go too far. To save his own life, Hill turns into a Federal witness, and the mob is to this day still hunting him down for revealing their involvement in hundreds of crimes including arson, extortion, hijacking, the six-million dollar Lufthansa heist (the most successful cash robbery in US history), and murder.

Nicholas Pileggi’s vivid, unvarnished, journalistic chronicle of the life of Henry Hill—the working-class Brooklyn kid who knew from age twelve that “to be a wiseguy was to own the world,” who grew up to live the highs and lows of the mafia gangster’s life—has been hailed as “the best book ever written on organized crime” (Cosmopolitan).This is the true-crime bestseller that was the basis for Martin Scorsese’s film masterpiece GoodFellas, which brought to life the violence, the excess, the families, the wives and girlfriends, the drugs, the payoffs, the paybacks, the jail time, and the Feds…with Henry Hill’s crackling narration drawn straight out of Wiseguy and overseeing all the unforgettable action. “Nonstop...absolutely engrossing” (The New York Times Book Review). Read it and experience the secret life inside the mob—from one who’s lived it.

Nicholas Pileggi’s vivid, unvarnished, journalistic chronicle of the life of Henry Hill—the working-class Brooklyn kid who knew from age twelve that “to be a wiseguy was to own the world,” who grew up to live the highs and lows of the mafia gangster’s life—has been hailed as “the best book ever written on organized crime” (Cosmopolitan).This is the true-crime bestseller that was the basis for Martin Scorsese’s film masterpiece GoodFellas, which brought to life the violence, the excess, the families, the wives and girlfriends, the drugs, the payoffs, the paybacks, the jail time, and the Feds…with Henry Hill’s crackling narration drawn straight out of Wiseguy and overseeing all the unforgettable action. “Nonstop...absolutely engrossing” (The New York Times Book Review). Read it and experience the secret life inside the mob—from one who’s lived it.

The Stardust… The Fremont… The Marina. They ran them all.And they lost.Big time.No one knew more about casinos than Frank 'Lefty' Rosenthal, the gambling mastermind who, along with his best friend and partner, Anthony 'the Ant' Spilotro, virtually ran Las Vegas for the mob. For years it was the perfect arrangement – Lefty provided the smarts, while Tony kept the bosses happy with weekly suitcases filled with millions in skimmed cash. It should have lasted forever but Lefty’s obsessions with running the town – and Tony’s obsession with Lefty’s beautiful showgirl wife, Geri – eventually led to betrayals and investigations that exploded into one of the greatest scandals in mob history.Casino is the shattering inside account of how the mob finally lost its stranglehold on Las Vegas, the neon money-making machine it had created.

The true story behind the Martin Scorsese film: A “riveting . . . account of how organized crime looted the casinos they controlled” (Kirkus Reviews). Focusing on Chicago bookie Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal and his partner, Anthony Spilotro, and drawing on extensive, in-depth interviews, the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of the Mafia classic Wiseguy—basis for the film Goodfellas—Nicholas Pileggi reveals how the pair worked together to oversee Las Vegas casino operations for the mob. He unearths how Teamster pension funds were used to take control of the Stardust and Tropicana and how Spilotro simultaneously ran a crew of jewel thieves nicknamed the “Hole in the Wall Gang.”   For years, these gangsters kept a stranglehold on Sin City’s brightly lit nightspots, skimming millions in cash for their bosses. But the elaborate scheme began to crumble when Rosenthal’s disproportionate ambitions drove him to make mistakes. Spilotro made an error of his own, falling for his partner’s wife, a troubled showgirl named Geri. It would all lead to betrayal, a wide-ranging FBI investigation, multiple convictions, and the end of the Mafia’s longstanding grip on the multibillion-dollar gaming oasis in the midst of the Nevada desert.  Casino is a journey into 1970s Las Vegas and a riveting nonfiction account of the world portrayed in the Martin Scorsese film of the same name, starring Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, and Sharon Stone. A story of adultery, murder, infighting, and revenge, this “fascinating true-crime Mob history” is a high-stakes page-turner (Booklist).  

INCLUDES AN INTRODUCTION WRITTEN AND READ BY MARTIN SCORSESE!Nicholas Pileggi’s vivid, unvarnished, journalistic chronicle of the life of Henry Hill—the working-class Brooklyn kid who knew from age twelve that “to be a wiseguy was to own the world,” who grew up to live the highs and lows of the mafia gangster’s life—has been hailed as “the best book ever written on organized crime” (Cosmopolitan).This is the true-crime bestseller that was the basis for Martin Scorsese’s film masterpiece GoodFellas, which brought to life the violence, the excess, the families, the wives and girlfriends, the drugs, the payoffs, the paybacks, the jail time, and the Feds…with Henry Hill’s crackling narration drawn straight out of Wiseguy and overseeing all the unforgettable action. “Nonstop...absolutely engrossing” (The New York Times Book Review). Read it and experience the secret life inside the mob—from one who’s lived it.

The Stardust… The Fremont… The Marina. They ran them all.And they lost.Big time.No one knew more about casinos than Frank 'Lefty' Rosenthal, the gambling mastermind who, along with his best friend and partner, Anthony 'the Ant' Spilotro, virtually ran Las Vegas for the mob. For years it was the perfect arrangement – Lefty provided the smarts, while Tony kept the bosses happy with weekly suitcases filled with millions in skimmed cash. It should have lasted forever but Lefty’s obsessions with running the town – and Tony’s obsession with Lefty’s beautiful showgirl wife, Geri – eventually led to betrayals and investigations that exploded into one of the greatest scandals in mob history.Casino is the shattering inside account of how the mob finally lost its stranglehold on Las Vegas, the neon money-making machine it had created.

»Den bästa bok som skrivits om organiserad brottslighet.« Cosmopolitan Redan som tolvåring vet Henry Hill hur man äger världen - genom att bli en person att räkna med inom maffian, en maffiabroder. När han vägrar samarbeta med polisen vinner han förtroende från två ledande figurer i New Jerseys undre värld. Paul Vario och Jimmy Burke arbetar för familjen Lucchese, en av de fem mäktiga familjer som utgör maffian i New York-området. Henry Hill knyts till verksamheten, som består av en rad kriminella aktiviteter: pengatvätt, droghandel, hasardspel, utpressning och mord. Maffiabröder är bästsäljaren som låg till grund för Martin Scorseses storfilm Goodfellas med Robert De Niro och Ray Liotta i huvudrollerna. Kriminalreportern Nicholas Pileggis sanna redogörelse för Henry Hills liv är klassisk och högklassig true crime som skildrar maffialivet från insidan. NICHOLAS PILEGGI [f.1933] är en amerikansk författare, producent och manusförfattare. Mest känd är han för boken Maffiabröder [Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family, 1986] som blev filmen Goodfellas. Filmmanuset gav Pileggi en Oscarsnominering.