The Last Don

By: Mario Puzo

Narrated by: Joe Barrett

Length: 18 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's Summary

The last don is Domenico Clericuzio, a wise and ruthless man who is determined to see his heirs established in legitimate society but whose vision is threatened when secrets from the family's past spark a vicious war between two blood cousins.

This is a mesmerizing tale that takes us inside the equally corrupt worlds of the mob, the movie industry, and the casinos - where beautiful actresses and ruthless hit men are ruled by lust and violence, where sleazy producers and greedy studio heads are drunk with power, where crooked cops and desperate gamblers play dangerous games of betrayal, and where one man controls them all.

©1996 Mario Puzo (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"The most entertaining read since The Godfather." ( The New York Times Book Review)
"Skillfully crafted....it gives us Hollywood, Las Vegas, and the mob in one sweet dish." ( Los Angeles Times Book Review)

Interesting Insight

This book starts off without the typical mafia storyline, but eventually gets into it, and portrays the role of the mafia in the entertainment industry. Lots of killing and grisly descriptions, as one would expect from this sort of story, so if you are squeamish about such things, would recommend to pass on it. Otherwise interesting insight to what could be, (and probably is) another role that the mafia plays in our everyday world.

You compare it to The Godfather on every page.

Where does The Last Don rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I would say in the top 20-25%, with a lot of the credit for that going to Joe Barrett, whose performance makes the whole thing a definite WAL (worth a listen). As above, Mr. Puzo has set an extremely high barre (I believe that is the right spelling, although I might be wrong). This book's sib is one of the greatest masterpieces of our time, and the movie version of it is even better, if that is possible. So, the comparisons just cannot be avoided. So much of the material is the same: the people, the Sicilian culture, the America to which they emigrate and the horrible things that they do to it, and so forth.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Cross is the definite star of the show. I won't even make an attempt at his last name. The book is his story, and from that point of view it is extremely good. His character is rich in many ways, severely torn between the old and the new. You manage to continue seeing him as the Good Guy in spite of the abominable stuff he is forced to do. The fact that he falls in love with the ultimate female, Athena, makes it a deeply satisfying love story. And she is an incredibly rich character herself, not just a beautiful woman carrying the bags of her master.

Which character – as performed by Joe Barrett – was your favorite?

This is the same as the question above.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Not that much. You can feel both Mr. Puzo and Mr. Barrett pulling for that, but the effort to metamorphose these monsters into human beings that you actually care about: not so much. They are murderous to the bottoms of their souls. Hard to get in line with these people.

Any additional comments?

I have to admit that the book held my interest all the way through, even though the characters are not really human. This is quite a feat, and once again it is the talent of both men that pulls you in and holds you fast. Definitely WAL. Bravo.

Not The Godfather but Excellent Nonetheless

I read this book in 1996 at Disney World. It's better on audio. Puzo is one of my favorite authors

Unbelievable, Great.

how can a man, a human being write such a story... Puzo is the best of all time. narration is great. confusing at first, but go with it. in time you'll understand the family business.

Daunte has a Bloody Mouth

I enjoy Puzo's writing style and I love hearing about the Mafia. I really liked The Godfather and Six Graves To Munich. I got this hoping to get more on the Mafia. In the 19 hour book, I did get six good hours of Mafia. These parts were action packed, sometimes gory and always interesting. The ending to the book was especially good. I just wish there would have been more.

THERE CAN'T BE NO SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE MOVIE BUSINESS.

The book is divided into three parts for easy download. At the end of the first part I almost quit. The first half was mostly about the movie business and how they screw writers and everybody else. It sounds as if Puzo has a beef with the movie industry and maybe they screwed him out of a lot of money over The Godfather. Download Part one is a bit whinny.

BEWARE OF BEAUTY IN DISTRESS.

Each time I was about to quit, some Mafia business would happen and it was so interesting I wanted to stay with it. In part one Puzo gets you interested in a good story, but have you ever had one of those friends who can never tell a straight story? They start a story, but they stop to tell you all the circumstances that lead up to the story they are trying to tell you. They get so side tracked, that you wonder if they will ever tell the story. That is a good description of this book. In download one we start a story and then we get into a bunch of whose screwing who in Hollywood. All the women in Hollywood are whores according to Puzo. Toward the end of download two you get the finish to the story started eleven hours ago.

IF A CITY COULD BE AUTISTIC, IT WOULD BE PARIS.

Download part three goes on a different tare. In this part we are suppose to feel sorry for the prettiest woman in the world. It is tough being pretty. Yet, don't give up cause the final two hours are worth listening to the whole book.

If you like hearing about the Mafia and all the screwing that goes on in Hollywood, you will love this book. If you just want to hear about Hollywood, you will still enjoy it, but if you just want to hear about the Mafia, you will think it is way too long.

Excellent book!

This was a wonderful book, and Joe Barrett did a great job with the narration.

A little like the Godfather, except there were some plot twist.

I found it very interesting that Don had three sons and a daughter. Sound a little familiar? Overall there was a lot of insight into the Hollywood hierarchy. I’m thinking that Mario Puzo must have written from experience with the treatment of writers etc. The gentleman reading the book did a good job.....Except he did not know certain Italian pronunciations, that kind of drove me crazy.

Just OK

The characters and the story as well as the performance was just OK
While The Godfather was really a story about the family and Michael’s evolution This was just a story of a Mafia chieftain and his descendants. I just never got the feeling that Puzo cared for characters and so I didn’t either

great story - well told a great listen

a great story by Mario Puzzo well crafted - I would recommend to anyone that likes a good story and or mafia stories

Interesting but not the best

I have read this book decade ago and decided to listen again. It may be that my perception of the world has changed, but I did not enjoy it as much as I did when I read it for the first time... But nonetheless, it was not fun to relax listening something which does not need much brain work...