A review by echombravo
Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi

3.0

Probably when I first picked up this book and put it in my "to-read" pile, I read the back cover that clearly says that this is the story of Henry Hill. However, somewhere between then and now, I thought this book was going to be the story of an undercover cop in the mob. Yes, I believe I got the show and the book mixed up. I was quite surprised to find out I was reading the book Goodfellas was based on. (The edition I had was printed before the movie so there was no advertising to the fact on the cover.) Overall, a good look into the inter workings of a low level thug in an organization. I didn't really like Goodfellas, so this didn't capture my attention as much. I prefer the Valachi Papers for organized crime expose. Most of the best (and memorable) parts of the book are in the movie. Much like the movie, my favorite parts were when the point of view switch to Henry's wife. That dynamic and relationship is the best part of the whole book.