Friedman, Robert

• Red Mafiya

  • This book as essentially an investigative journalism treatment of the Russian mafia in America. Friedman has an immense amount of detail, and I gather from the book that he has put himself in danger by publishing this. The subject is as interesting as any treatment of crime families, and parallels with famous movies and stereotypes abound. For me personally, I was very interested in the first few chapters, but after a while, I grew rather desensitized. There are a number of compelling stories in here, such as the infiltration of the NHL by many of these characters, but no overriding story or theme that held up. About halfway through the book, I felt overwhelmed by detail. Or maybe I just didn't want to believe this kind of evil really is out there. If you like true crime books and mafia stories, this is a very good book.

Return to the Welcome Page of Doug's Library.