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The Godfather: 50th Anniversary Edition Paperback – March 1, 2002

4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 25,218 ratings

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50th ANNIVERSARY EDITION—WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA

Mario Puzo’s classic saga of an American crime family that became a global phenomenon
nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read.

With its brilliant and brutal portrayal of the Corleone family,
The Godfather burned its way into our national consciousness. This unforgettable saga of crime and corruption, passion and loyalty continues to stand the test of time, as the definitive novel of the Mafia underworld.

A #1 
New York Times bestseller in 1969, Mario Puzo’s epic was turned into the incomparable film of the same name, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. It is the original classic that has been often imitated, but never matched. A tale of family and society, law and order, obedience and rebellion, it reveals the dark passions of human nature played out against a backdrop of the American dream.

With a Note from Anthony Puzo and an Afterword by Robert J. Thompson
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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Though not out of print, this 1969 gangster potboiler here makes the leap to trade paperback. Thanks to Francis Coppola's brilliant film adaptation, this story has achieved cult status with millions of fans, who continue to read it. In addition to its larger size, this incarnation offers a new introduction and afterword. How could you refuse?
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

“A staggering triumph...The definitive novel about a sinister fraternity of crime.”—The Saturday Review

“You can’t stop reading it, and you’ll find it hard to stop dreaming about it.”—
New York Magazine

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley; Reissue edition (March 1, 2002)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 448 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0451205766
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0451205766
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.28 x 1 x 7.96 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 25,218 ratings

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4.8 out of 5 stars
25,218 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book easy to read and engaging. They praise the writing quality as excellent and fresh. The characters seem realistic and well-developed. The book teaches valuable life lessons and values, with insights into powerful people's motivations. Overall, customers find the book well-crafted and insightful.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

743 customers mention "Readability"718 positive25 negative

Customers find the book easy to read and engaging. They say it details the complex story behind the movie, which is considered one of the best ever made. The book is described as brilliant and well-crafted, making it a true pleasure to read. Readers also mention that the story is timeless and the basis for two Academy Award-winning movies.

"What can I say but this is one of the best books I have ever read...." Read more

"...It is a worthwhile read in that it gives one another view. Is it better? No. Just different...." Read more

"TL;DR: a good read, if not entirely to my taste. (SPOILERS AHEAD - READER, BEWARE!) I love stories about the Mafia...." Read more

"...It is the author’s third novel. It is the basis for two Academy Award winning movies. I completely enjoyed the novel...." Read more

364 customers mention "Story quality"359 positive5 negative

Customers enjoy the engaging and exciting story. They find the writing great and the characters entertaining. The book faithfully translates the movie's plot, with complex subplots explained in detail. While the movie is better, the book is enjoyable and makes the mysteries clearer.

"...The story is heavy on plot for- let's face it- plot makes a great Mafiosi story become an outstanding Mafiosi story...." Read more

"...Despite all of that problematic content, I enjoyed the story overall, and I felt that it was a very different perspective on the intent and behavior..." Read more

"...The author keeps on point. This story has many parts to it and spans numerous years...." Read more

"...This story gets an A+ for both. The plot is interesting, complex but not overly hard to follow, covers a lot of ground over a lot of time..." Read more

193 customers mention "Writing quality"168 positive25 negative

Customers enjoy the book's writing quality. They find the prose fluid and fresh, reading like the movie. The book is described as one of the best novels ever written and a masterpiece by Mario Puzo. Readers appreciate the author's storytelling ability and realism.

"...The characters from the Coppola film are explained in great detail...." Read more

"...The book and the fluid prose within was fresh to me. I think I will order the movies. I couldn't put it down...." Read more

"...What Puzo excels at is realism...." Read more

"...The author keeps on point. This story has many parts to it and spans numerous years...." Read more

128 customers mention "Character development"123 positive5 negative

Customers enjoy the depth of the characters. They say the story switches between them to provide alternate views of the family. The characters seem realistic and well-developed, with a phenomenal narrator who is easy to hear Brando's voice as the Godfather.

"...I couldn't put it down. Puzo creates characters that are complicated and somewhat fleshed out...." Read more

"...What Puzo excels at is realism. The majority of his characters feel very human, with all of the virtues and faults you'd expect in a novel with such..." Read more

"...As good as the plot is, the characters really shine in this book. Everyone is unique, has their own backstory, motivations, history, and goals...." Read more

"...The character development was excellent and Puzo gave an in depth back story for many. Don Vito's birth name was Vito Andolini...." Read more

56 customers mention "Book value"56 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's value. They find it insightful and a masterful work that teaches valuable life lessons. The plotting and mentality of powerful people are described as breathtaking. Readers appreciate the thoughtful, precise management of a business and the portrait of the deepest passions of the human soul. While some parts of the story are serious, others are quite speculative, this poignant tale has both serious and speculative qualities.

"...Everyone is unique, has their own backstory, motivations, history, and goals...." Read more

"...A copy belongs in every serious library." Read more

"...is developed with enough clarity that you'll be able to understand their motivation and maybe even predict their actions somewhat...." Read more

"...that follows the Corleone family, that has spawned three movies, memorable quotes, and even board games...." Read more

54 customers mention "Depth"42 positive12 negative

Customers appreciate the book's depth. They find the character development and nuances explained in detail, making it easier to understand the violence. The writing style is easy to read yet well-thought-out, making the story easy to follow. Readers appreciate the rationalization of the irrational and their greater appreciation for the film adaptation.

"...place throughout the story with the multiple characters is incredibly detailed and compelling...." Read more

"A must read. Simply brilliant so well crafted. Can’t recommend this book enough. Buy it and thank me later. out." Read more

"...Every character came alive on the page, and it was easy to understand the violence because I saw it through their eyes...." Read more

"...same way as the violence of authors like James Patterson, but it is still explicit and can be shocking to those unaccustomed to crime novels...." Read more

44 customers mention "Visual quality"37 positive7 negative

Customers appreciate the visual quality of the book. They find the imagery beautiful and vivid, providing a good depiction of the story. The plot from The Godfather serves as perfect illustrations for philosophical ideas. It has a simple, clean design with a nice dust jacket. The author's artistry is appreciated for telling such a story and building characters well.

"...Puzo creates characters that are complicated and somewhat fleshed out...." Read more

"...of the characters were fascinating to explore, and the brilliance of Don Corleone is riveting...." Read more

"...Mario Puzo's writing is crisp, colorful and moves along at a pace most readers will find enjoyable...." Read more

"...Its images are so iconic that one can hardly imagine a different Don Corleone than Marlon Brando or, indeed, any of the rest of its superb cast...." Read more

42 customers mention "Family story"35 positive7 negative

Customers enjoy the family story. They find it a great read with a human drama of family and love. The book is described as a lushly drawn, deep character-driven story about family loyalty. Readers appreciate the accurate familial symbolism and the Sicilian Familia lifestyle. Many consider it a modern Greek tragedy surrounding a crime family and one son's struggle.

"...Thus is the myth of the compassionate, stern and loving Godfather, a truly American story...." Read more

"...The terrible business they are in not with standing. It is not gory the violence is keep to minimum, and only when necessary in their gang infested..." Read more

"...Sure this is a lushly drawn deep character driven story of a family and how the youngest son changes from All American boy does good to killer in..." Read more

"...the United States between 1930 and 1950, and an interesting insight into the alternative worldview and morality of the Mafia...." Read more

Collectable Leatherbound Book
5 out of 5 stars
Collectable Leatherbound Book
Love all the leatherbound books from Barnes and Noble. I never unwrap or read them.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2025
    What can I say but this is one of the best books I have ever read. You can bring yourself to this space in time and you become a part of the Corleone family. The characters from the Coppola film are explained in great detail. You can follow the course of Vito, Mikey, Sonny, and Fredo with ease and learn about the views of the author on the mafia, or whatever term they used, lifestyle.

    Why you are looking for validation in the review section is beyond me, buy this book or order it at your local library post-haste, I am sure you will like it and buy the entire series like I did.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2013
    `The Godfather' by Mario Puzo. What a journey! There was a copy of this book in my mother's library. In all those years I have never read it. Of course I did see the movies a while back, but it has been quite some time. The book and the fluid prose within was fresh to me. I think I will order the movies.

    I couldn't put it down. Puzo creates characters that are complicated and somewhat fleshed out. The `family' is a complicated place to exist, and one must be complicated to survive. The story is heavy on plot for- let's face it- plot makes a great Mafiosi story become an outstanding Mafiosi story.

    The heart and drive of the story comes from the Don's rejection of an offer to do business with Virgil Sollozzo, who has the backing of the Tattaglia family. Sollozzo's reaction to the rejection sets off a series of events that reverberates through the lives of every character. The Don's reasoning for the rejection is simple: it assaults his integrity and belief system. He sees that the offer can make a lot of money in the short-run. But the Don is far-sighted and knows such a business will destroy everything he built, and will ultimately decimate his beloved family. This creates a war between the 5 Families, and the repercussions of this war are felt not only in New York, but in the burgeoning Las Vegas, and in the sunny countryside of Corleone Sicily, Italy.

    I will not go into the story here. Puzo leaves a few questions unanswered in this book. I am going to move forward hoping that these will be addressed in `The Sicilian'. Puzo moves the story along in blocks, or major events. It is a different style of storytelling than I am used to, but an easy one to adjust to. The story is set up like a chess board, with each character being positioned to drive story. Yet, at the same time each character and their actions are driven by the events unfolding in their lives. It is a fine, fine line to walk as an author, and Puzo deftly does just that.

    Just a side note; Mario Puzo has a little fixation on male and female genitalia that kind of just sits there. I felt it added nothing to the story. I could make the argument that Puzo's fascination with Santino's (Sonny) extraordinarily large penis was a direct correlation with the size of Sonny's ego, bravado, and attitude. I didn't feel it was needed. Puzo was able to clearly show Sonny's impulsiveness, rage, and ego through Sonny's actions and reactions. I don't know. Maybe it was just me.

    I loved the book. It has taken me 35 years to get to it. There are a few books that maybe one should wait until they are a little older to understand and comprehend the nuances of the author. I feel this might have been one of those books. Had I read it all those years ago, I may have read the same story completely differently. There are several authors I feel this way about.

    I am glad I found this book at the flea market used books stand. Best $1.00 I ever spent!
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2024
    Let me say that I have seen the entire "Godfather" series as they came out on the big screen as a kid , on cable and also have the DVD collection. It's been viewed numerous times and each time it grows on me more largely due to the cast and story. When I was in my young 20s while in college I tended bar in a notorious club in Brooklyn, NY and always had a facination with these "family", wise-guy stories as I witnessed alot in the couple of years working in that environment. A real wake-up reality for me to say the least. So, I finally decided to read the 'Book" itself by Mario Puzo. It is a worthwhile read in that it gives one another view. Is it better? No. Just different. There are times when Mr. Puzo seems to go off the rails as he writes about a womans surgical "pelvic floor procedure" to attain a more youthful body etc.....There are quite a few instances where the reading is not seen in the cinematic version. So there is that.....kind of a bonus if you will. There are some of Mr. Puzos' meanderings I could have done without. Still a good read.
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2017
    TL;DR: a good read, if not entirely to my taste.

    (SPOILERS AHEAD - READER, BEWARE!) I love stories about the Mafia. From the families depicted on Law and Order to true crime documentaries, I love it all. Being a film buff as well, I wanted to see the Coppola classic The Godfather, but I felt like I should read the source material first. What Puzo excels at is realism. The majority of his characters feel very human, with all of the virtues and faults you'd expect in a novel with such a large cast. His descriptions of sex are passionate and deliciously reverent, and the moments where he allows himself to be less prosy are splendidly vibrant. He also makes characters with different (or non-existent) moral codes compelling. For example, I was very invested in and entertained by Sonny Corleone, though he's not a person I'd like in real life, and his death was one of my least favorite pieces of the story.

    Some of the weaknesses in the novel, I feel, are the somewhat clumsy integration of Puzo's sociopolitical and moral philosophy into the narrative, and an occasionally meandering plot. The first of those happens most often through large monologues of either Don Corleone and his son Michael. Puzo attempts to elevate seemingly business-focused and down-to-earth conversations into meditations on the justice of the Family's ethical code, the injustice of Western models of governance, the nature of Sicilian people and the characteristics of ideal men and women. The second lies in the fact that there are many threads of story going at any one time, but they don't all have a satisfying conclusion; the central arc comes to a close, but the situation of several important characters isn't addressed in the end, so there's very little payoff for many pages of storytelling and emotional investment.

    The biggest issues I had, as a modern reader with very liberal beliefs, were not necessarily of Puzo's style. I understand that the book was written in 1969 and set in the 1940s and 1950s, so I didn't expect it to be the most progressive text. Nevertheless, I want to put forward the following.

    CONTENT WARNINGS: graphic violence, sexual assault, racism, sexism, domestic violence

    I expected some of these, but good lord. The violence is not graphic in the same way as the violence of authors like James Patterson, but it is still explicit and can be shocking to those unaccustomed to crime novels. Descriptions of the decapitated horse head and of the physical responses of someone being garroted are the most graphic, but glossing over those portions of text won't reduce your experience of the plot so no worries, fellow squeamish folk! (Sidenote: I found the killing of the horse exceptionally sad. Puzo goes out of his way to describe in an earlier scene how beautiful and dignified the horse is, and the destruction of such a marvelous living thing broke my heart. So if you're a softy like me, be prepared.) One other thing to beware of: the killer Luca Brasi is described throughout most of the book as unusually violent (to such an extent that other Family members are actively terrified of him), and his capacity for violence is stated as being ultimately confirmed by a story that few in the Family know and that none of those will tell Michael Corleone. The story is later revealed to be him forcing a midwife at gunpoint to murder his newborn child by placing it in a furnace. It is obviously deeply upsetting, and it's not treated with the horror that it should be.

    There is no actual incident of sexual assault in the book, but one of the first arcs we're introduced to is a man seeking Don Corleone's help in revenging himself on two men who attempted to rape his daughter and beat her severely when she resisted. Sexual violence is mentioned in other contexts, largely as a danger faced by economically disadvantaged women. Racism in The Godfather is mostly directed at non-Italians and black people, and an Italian character is at least once referred to by the slur d*go (evolved from deliberate mispronunciation of the common Spanish/Italian name Diego). Black people are referred to as "savages" and characterized as violent drug addicts or abused promiscuous women/sex workers.

    I expected a lot of that, but the sexism of the book was way more than I was prepared for. Female characters, even those through whose eyes we view portions of the story, are largely appendages to the male characters and are depicted exclusively in the context of their romantic/sexual relationships with men of the Corleone Family. The possessive, patronizing way that the men treat women in the text is "justified" through lengthy asides about how the man in question just loves the woman so much or how it's the Sicilian way or how it's for the women's own protection. This also includes the text's treatment of domestic violence. When Connie Corleone tells her parents about her husband's violent physical abuse, they tell her that she has to work it out herself because the relationship between a husband and wife is no one else's business. Her abuse is normalized and only included in the text because of the effect it produces in her brother and has on her husband. No one checks in with the female characters when they experience trauma, and they are explicitly acknowledged as not being equal partners to their husbands or other male family members (which the story justifies by ascribing it to the inability of the men to divulge the details of Cosa Nostra to their spouses and the desire to keep women and children in the "protected" position of noncombatants). Sex workers and other female characters who retain control over their sexual agency are largely dismissed and judged as being of little value, all while the male characters indulge themselves in the custom of those sex workers or have mountains of one-off sexual relationships themselves.

    The most egregious example of sexism in the story for me, though, was when Michael Corleone marries a young woman (Apollonia) while hiding in Sicily. First, she is explicitly acknowledged in the text as being a teenager but possessing the body and attractiveness of an adult (which is just disgusting), so Michael has no business getting into a relationship with her. Second, he decides that he wants to marry this girl after he is "struck by the thunderbolt", which is basically lusting so hard after someone that you turn into a possessive weirdo. From the moment he talks with her father, it is heavily implied that this marriage is going to happen because of Michael's powerful family connections and personal wealth; there's no room made for the possibility that Apollonia may not want to marry this older stranger. She does seem to really fall for him, but that is just convenient, not necessary for the sealing of this contract. (Sidenote: I understand the historical context of marriage, but this storyline was creepy in a narrative that also talks about the beautiful connection between Michael and his other romantic interest. That coupling was not countenanced by his family at first, but the story lauds Michael's decision to choose loyalty to his heart rather than his family's traditions. So clearly not every marriage is a simple financial arrangement. Apollonia being a teenager only makes this whole thing worse.) Third, she says exactly 1 word of dialogue, which is a demure expression of thanks for a gift from Michael. Fourth, about 85% of the descriptions of her in the text concern her physicality and the things Michael finds sexy about her, instead of giving her any kind of personality. Finally, it's obvious that her role in the story is to be sexually enticing, to embody the "perfect" Sicilian young woman, and to give Michael's character arc another shove with her violent death. I really felt for her, and her descriptions made her sound like a really pleasant person who absolutely deserved a better life than the one she got.

    Despite all of that problematic content, I enjoyed the story overall, and I felt that it was a very different perspective on the intent and behavior of criminals than I'd experienced before. The careful, calculated relationships between most of the characters were fascinating to explore, and the brilliance of Don Corleone is riveting. I enjoyed the plot twists, too, mostly because I couldn't see them coming. Some of the Don's lines are deliciously memorable, and his characterization is endlessly engrossing, mostly due to the rigid moral code he possesses and the way he asserts his power in all of his relationships. I am more eager than ever to see the films!
    44 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • José Mijares
    5.0 out of 5 stars Igual a la foto
    Reviewed in Mexico on November 7, 2024
    Buen material
  • Dubai
    5.0 out of 5 stars Avaliação sincera!
    Reviewed in Brazil on March 20, 2024
    Fantástico! Livro tão bom, tão bom, dá pena de acabar! Mto talento e uma habilidade para escrever , que prende o leitor desde as primeiras páginas!
  • Paolo Carboni
    5.0 out of 5 stars Conswgna precisa
    Reviewed in Italy on August 21, 2024
    Consegna precisa e puntuale e libro in perfetto stato. Carina l'edizione con la prefazione di Coppola
  • FW
    5.0 out of 5 stars Quality
    Reviewed in the United Arab Emirates on August 4, 2024
    Good print and very handy
  • Betseylee
    5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 29, 2022
    This is not the sort of book I normally read: crime, murder, family feuds - but I have seen the films many times and I bought the book on a Kindle daily deal - I like to collect classics.

    The first thing to say is, it is beautifully written and with affinity for each of the main characters and their point of view, as they enter the story. I cannot say how much of the three dimensionality - or sometimes four-dimensionality - of the characters I feel is due to the book itself, or my familiarity with the films; it can't be separated now.

    That leads me on to the next thing I must mention, which is the first thing I noticed on reading this book. The first part of the book and the first part of the film are almost identical, so I was in familiar territory. We are at Connie's wedding party, in the grounds of the Corleone family estate and it is almost as if, like 2001, the two were written synonymously. I have to say that this makes the film enormously clever, I feel, to pull off such a thing - but then, Mario Puzo was heavily involved in the making of the film - and I might have felt very differently about it, if I had read the book first (I hated Disney's Winnie the Pooh!).

    The book, however, contains a lot of detail that is not in the film - a whole different dimension to both Johnny Fontane, and Lucy Mancini (Sonny's Mistress) and, even having seen the films many times, I still thoroughly enjoyed it - in fact, it was comforting to have ready made images I could call up, for these characters, which did not clash with the book in any way.

    All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable, well-written book, with few grammatical errors and I am on to the next one now, while my husband, who has been anxiously waiting in the wings, for me to finish this one, commences to devour it, probably in half the time it took me!