Product Description

'In 1980, my life as a "Goodfella" came to an end...I traded my Brioni and Armani suits for T-shirts and jeans. I became a normal citizen. I became Joe Schmoe,' says Henry Hill, author of Gangsters and Goodfellas and subject of Wiseguy, which was the inspiration for the blockbuster film Goodfellas. After a quarter of a century of silence, Hill can finally tell us the rest of the story. Gangsters and Goodfellas picks up where Wiseguy left off, taking readers on the crazy ride of Henry's life - hiding out in the Witness Protection Programme, doing prison time for drug charges, testifying in high-profile, heavily guarded mafia trials, leaving his wife and children and eventually ending up in the entertainment business. Including an exclusive selection of photographs from Henry's personal collection, Gangsters and Goodfellas also reveals Henry's lifelong struggle with addiction, his 'business' relationships that have ranged from mob bosses to movie producers and how, through everything, he survived: 'It's been a hell of a journey, and if I hadn't lived it myself, I never would believe it. I survived the mob. I survived the government, now I'm trying to survive Hollywood.'

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22487 in Books
• Published on: 2004-10-25
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

About the Author
Henry Hill, the inspiration for the book Wiseguys and movie Goodfellas is the co-author of A Goodfella's Guide to New York and The Wiseguy Cookbook. He lives in Los Angeles. Gus Russo, a critically-acclaimed investigative reporter and author of The Outfit and Live by the Sword, lives in Baltimore.

Customer Reviews

Not as good as Wiseguy
As a man obsessed with fictional and real Mafia tales, I felt compelled to buy this work.

Anyone who watched Goodfellas and read Wiseguy will be familiar with this tale. This book is somewhat disappointing, but it does at least finally bury the false positive image of Henry Hill as depicted in the movie; indeed his recent jailing only compounds the feeling.

The book does fill in some of the holes left in the tale by Wiseguy and the later Goodfellas. We are told for example why the names of James Burke and the Varios was changed for the film, and we are given more insight into the fate of Tommy DiSimone.

An interesting read for fans of the genre and/or this well known tale.

Incredible Read!!
This book provides a unique insite into something which we very rarely hear much about - the FBI's witness protection programme.
Picking up where Wiseguy left off, this book details Henry's life on the Witness Protection Programme and how he and his family coped with being watched 24 hours per day. It tells us how he still managed to get into trouble even although he was surrounded by feds and how he actually ended up in jail. Throughout the book Henry's sense of humour comes across well and i actually found myself laughing at some scenes!! But, let's not forget what Henry Hill was, he was a cold-bloodied gangster who killed and wheeled and dealed himself into a spiral of drug addiction and gambling until he was final caught in 1980. All of this aside, it's a brilliant read.

A must read for those who read Wiseguy and for those who didn't this book is still fascinating and very humorous.

Buy the original, first
I loved Goodfellas and the origianl Wiseguy, which is a book to be read in one sitting. I enjoyed Gangsters and Goodfellas, but it lacked the pace of Wiseguy and often refered to a lot of Wiseguy in detail. I would certainly recommend this book if you enjoyed Wiseguy and Goodfellas, it is interesting and funny and easy to read, Henry is a funny guy with great observations, but compared to Wiseguy I was left wanting a bit more. In essence, buy Goodfellas!