Regular price: $25.88

Membership details Membership details
  • A 30-day trial plus your first audiobook, free.
  • 1 credit/month after trial – good for any book, any price.
  • Easy exchanges – swap any book you don’t love.
  • Keep your audiobooks, even if you cancel.
  • After your trial, Audible is just $14.95/month.
OR
In Cart

People who bought this also bought...

I Heard You Paint Houses audiobook cover art

  • I Heard You Paint Houses

  • Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran and Closing the Case on Jimmy Hoffa
  • By: Charles Brandt
  • Narrated by: Scott Brick
  • Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
  • Unabridged
  • Overall
    4.5 out of 5 stars 1,076
  • Performance
    4.5 out of 5 stars 901
  • Story
    4.5 out of 5 stars 904

"I heard you paint houses" are the first words Jimmy Hoffa ever spoke to Frank "the Irishman" Sheeran. To paint a house is to kill a man. The paint is the blood that splatters on the walls and floors. In the course of nearly five years of recorded interviews Frank Sheeran confessed to Charles Brandt that he handled more than 25 hits for the mob, and for his friend Hoffa.

  • 5 out of 5 stars

  • Don't give up!

  • By Grace Azul on 05-30-10
The Rise and Fall of a "Casino" Mobster audiobook cover art

  • The Rise and Fall of a "Casino" Mobster

  • The Tony Spilotro Story Through A Hitman's Eyes
  • By: Frank Cullotta, Dennis N. Griffin
  • Narrated by: Clay Lomakayu
  • Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins
  • Unabridged
  • Overall
    4.5 out of 5 stars 146
  • Performance
    4.5 out of 5 stars 135
  • Story
    4.5 out of 5 stars 134

Tony Spilotro was the Mob's man in Las Vegas. A feared enforcer, the bosses knew Tony would do whatever it took to protect their interests. The "Little Guy" built a criminal empire that was the envy of mobsters across the country, and his childhood pal, Frank Cullotta, helped him do it. But Tony's quest for power and lack of self-control with women cost the Mob its control of Vegas; and Tony paid for it with his life.

  • 5 out of 5 stars

  • A terrific listen. Author and narrator were Great

  • By rob on 07-19-17
Top Hoodlum audiobook cover art

  • Top Hoodlum

  • Frank Costello, Prime Minister of the Mafia
  • By: Anthony M. DeStefano
  • Narrated by: L.J. Ganser
  • Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
  • Unabridged
  • Overall
    4.5 out of 5 stars 17
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars 14
  • Story
    4.5 out of 5 stars 15

Using newly released FBI files, eyewitness accounts, and family mementos, Top Hoodlum takes you inside the Mafia that Frank Costello helped build from the ground up, from small-time bootlegging and gambling to a nationwide racketeering empire. Sometimes shocking, sometimes amusing, and always riveting, these are the stories that have inspired American crime classics like The Godfather, Casino, Goodfellas, and The Sopranos. This is the man who made the Mafia such a powerful force in our nation's history. This is Top Hoodlum. 

  • 5 out of 5 stars

  • Excellent look at Frank Costello

  • By Jeffery D. Giuliani on 08-14-18
Family Secrets audiobook cover art

  • Family Secrets

  • The Case That Crippled the Chicago Mob
  • By: Jeff Coen
  • Narrated by: Matthew Boston
  • Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins
  • Unabridged
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars 36
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars 31
  • Story
    4.5 out of 5 stars 31

Even in Chicago, a city steeped in mob history and legend, the Family Secrets case was a true spectacle when it made it to court in 2007. A top mob boss, a reputed consigliere, and other high-profile members of the Chicago Outfit were accused in a total of 18 gangland killings, revealing organized crime's ruthless grip on the city throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Painting a vivid picture of murder, courtroom drama, family loyalties and disloyalties, journalist Jeff Coen accurately portrays the Chicago Outfit's cold-blooded killers.

  • 1 out of 5 stars

  • What a bore!

  • By Michael Riismandel on 09-21-18
Chin audiobook cover art

  • Chin

  • The Life and Crimes of Mafia Boss Vincent Gigante
  • By: Larry McShane
  • Narrated by: Paul Costanzo
  • Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
  • Unabridged
  • Overall
    4.5 out of 5 stars 69
  • Performance
    4.5 out of 5 stars 59
  • Story
    4.5 out of 5 stars 59

Vincent "Chin" Gigante. He started out as a professional boxer - until he found his true calling as a ruthless contract killer. His doting mother's pet name for the boy evolved into his famous alias, "Chin", a nickname that struck fear throughout organized crime as he routinely ordered the murders of mobsters who violated the Mafia code. Vincent Gigante was hand-picked by Vito Genovese to run the Genovese Family when Vito was sent to prison. Chin raked in more than $100 million for the Genovese Family, all while evading federal investigators.

  • 4 out of 5 stars

  • Not as good as others

  • By KMRKR on 02-05-17
Carmine the Snake audiobook cover art

  • Carmine the Snake

  • Carmine Persico and His Murderous Mafia Family
  • By: Frank DiMatteo, Michael Benson
  • Narrated by: Johnny Heller
  • Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
  • Unabridged
  • Overall
    4.5 out of 5 stars 12
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars 11
  • Story
    4.5 out of 5 stars 11

In this blistering street-level account, "Mafia survivor" Frank DiMatteo teams up with true-crime master Michael Benson to take down one of the most notorious figures in the American La Cosa Nostra. This is the real inside story of Carmine "The Snake" Persico, from his crime-filled childhood on the streets of Brooklyn to the long-term jail sentences that didn't stop him from controlling his criminal empire, with the help of his brother - the equally kill-crazy Alphonse "Allie Boy" Persico.

  • 5 out of 5 stars

  • Excellent in depth book.

  • By Jeffery D. Giuliani on 09-21-18

Publisher's Summary

To what extent was Rosario “Russell” Bufalino involved in the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa in 1975? In the CIA’s recruitment of gangsters to assassinate Fidel Castro? In organizing the historic meeting of crime chieftains in 1957? Even in the production of The Godfather movie.

Secretive - even reclusive - Russell Bufalino quietly built his organized crime empire in the decades between Prohibition and the Carter presidency. His reach extended far beyond the coal country of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and quaint Amish farms near Lancaster. Bufalino had a hand in global, national, and local politics of the largest American cities, many of its major industries, and controlled the powerful Teamsters Union. His influence also reached the highest levels of Pennsylvania government and halls of Congress, and his legacy left a culture of corruption that continues to this day.

A uniquely American saga that spans six decades, The Quiet Don follows Russell Bufalino’s remarkably quiet ascent from Sicilian immigrant to mob soldier to a man described by a United States Senate subcommittee in 1964 as “one of the most ruthless and powerful leaders of the Mafia in the United States.”

©2013 Matt Birkbeck (P)2014 Tantor

What members say

Average Customer Ratings

Overall

  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    24
  • 4 Stars
    21
  • 3 Stars
    13
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    2

Performance

  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    19
  • 4 Stars
    18
  • 3 Stars
    13
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    4

Story

  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    26
  • 4 Stars
    13
  • 3 Stars
    13
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    2
Audible.com Reviews
Amazon Reviews
Sort by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Ted
  • Lancaster, PA, United States
  • 04-03-14

Important But Edited By Lawyers?

Micheal Prichard's voice is as flat as a big swath of Matt Birkbeck's writing. Birkbeck's a newspaper reporter, not a writer in the magazine or fiction sense. Moreover, he's challenged here by a big cast of characters and events. Topping it off he imposes some literary devices… flashbacks in particular… that make the story bumpier than the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Anyway, the corruption Birkbeck intimates or alleges here is unnerving. It's an important read for anyone with Pennsylvania roots even if the story arc feels as if the it's had potentially risky chunks hacked away by the publisher's legal staff.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Overview

Was excited to read about Russell Bufalino but found the book was only about 30% about him. The author was kind of all over the place and found myself confused. Michael Prichard was kind of boring. I would probably not listen to another book narrated by Michael. Overall about a 2 out of 5.

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Should have been better

This is the story of an important man and should have been better. The book wanders around through various events, some barely related to the main character. Disappointing.

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyed this one..!!

If you could sum up The Quiet Don in three words, what would they be?

Excellent book.

What did you like best about this story?

Well researched, and well written. There is little information on Russell Bufalino, so I am greatful for all of the info I can get.

Which character – as performed by Michael Prichard – was your favorite?

No one in particular.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No.

Any additional comments?

I always enjoy listening to Michael Prichard, as he is very professional and seems to show up on books that I have a great deal of interest in.

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not enough Bufalino and too much Denaples

Would you try another book from Matt Birkbeck and/or Michael Prichard?

Probably not.

Would you be willing to try another one of Michael Prichard’s performances?

Absolutely not.

Was The Quiet Don worth the listening time?

No

Any additional comments?

Michael Prichard absolutely slaughtered the Italian names. Bufalino, Delia and Osticco mispronounced. There were others also. Shame on Pritchard.

1 of 2 people found this review helpful