The Don - by Rj Roger & Joost Elffers (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A captivating history of the Mafia in America as well as an illuminating breakdown of the formidably effective--indeed ruthless--success strategies of the infamous Five Families that ruled, for anyone who's ever wondered what it takes to be a boss.

The Don: 36 Rules of the Bosses is the fascinating culmination of author RJ Roger's extensive research into the Italian-American Cosa Nostra. Analyzing more than 100 years of underworld history, Roger has distilled the behavior of the bosses of the five New York Mafia families--the most powerful in the United States--into 36 rules. Unwritten until codified in The Don, these rules were the foundation of the bosses' success for over a century.

Created in collaboration with Joost Elffers, the producer behind Robert Greene's international bestseller The 48 Laws of Power, Roger's The Don: 36 Rules of the Bosses details the history of the American Mafia. More important, it elucidates the strategies by which the bosses of the Five Families achieved and held power.

Many of these leaders were devotees of Niccolò Machiavelli's treatise The Prince, a manual for would-be rulers written in 1513 and still read today by power brokers of many kinds around the world. Understanding the influence of this book on the most successful Mafia bosses, and also applying his expertise in contemporary business practices and his deep knowledge of America's underworld, Roger has identified 36 rules common to them all. In The Don, he explains these rules in ways that will be useful to any reader hoping to gain power, whether personally, politically, or in business.

Review Quotes

"Robert Greene's The 48 Laws of Power meets Mario Puzo's The Godfather in The Don. RJ Roger has written a fun and informative book that many readers will keep on their bedside table." --Louis Ferrante, internationally bestselling author of Mob Rules: What the Mafia Can Teach the Legitimate Businessman, Borgata: Rise of Empire, and Borgata: Clash of Titans

"A smart, tough, and eye-opening book--even for people who think they know everything there is to know about the Mob. It will stay with you long after you finish it." --S. J. Peddie, Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of Sonny: The Last of the Old-Time Mafia Bosses, John "Sonny" Franzese

"RJ Roger takes a hundred years of American Mob history and synthesizes it down to the actual traits the top bosses had, to give the reader these thirty-six nuggets we can use in all areas of hierarchy and power. In a world where failure meant death, these traits have been tested in the gritty underworld and proven true. Brilliantly done." --Everett De Morier, coauthor of In the Ghost Shadows: The Untold Story of Chinatown's Most Powerful Crime Boss

About the Author