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The Godfather
- Narrated by: Joe Mantegna, Anthony Puzo, Angelo Di Loreto
- Series: The Godfather, Book 1
- Length: 18 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Crime Fiction
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The Sicilian
- Written by: Mario Puzo
- Narrated by: full cast
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Michael Corleone is returning to the U.S. after the two-year exile to Sicily in which listeners left him in The Godfather. But he is ordered to bring with him the young Sicilian bandit, Salvatore Guiliano, who is the unofficial ruler of northwestern Sicily. In his fight "to make Sicilians free people", the young folk hero, based on the real-life Giuliano of the 1940s, has made both the police and the Mafia his enemies.
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Listen to the sample first
- By Zachary on 2019-08-29
Written by: Mario Puzo
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Omerta
- A Novel
- Written by: Mario Puzo
- Narrated by: Michael Imperioli
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
To Don Raymonde Aprile’s children, he was a loyal family member, their father’s adopted “nephew.” To the FBI he was a man who would rather ride his horses than do Mob business. No one knew why Aprile, the last great American don, had adopted Astorre Viola many years before in Sicily; no one suspected how he had carefully trained him...and how, while the don’s children claimed respectable careers in America, Astorre Viola waited for his time to come.
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Big fan if Michael Imperioli.
- By Robbie on 2021-09-26
Written by: Mario Puzo
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The Godfather Returns
- A Novel
- Written by: Mark Winegardner
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 20 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
Thirty-five years ago, Mario Puzo's great American tale, The Godfather, was published, and popular culture was indelibly changed. Now, in The Godfather Returns, acclaimed novelist Mark Winegardner continues the story, the years not covered in Puzo's best-selling book or in Francis Ford Coppola's classic films.
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Great Side Character Development
- By Kat W on 2021-05-28
Written by: Mark Winegardner
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The Family Corleone
- Written by: Ed Falco
- Narrated by: Bobby Cannavale
- Length: 14 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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For Vito Corleone, nothing is more important than his family's future. While his youngest children, Michael, Fredo, and Connie, are in school, unaware of their father's true occupation, and his adopted son Tom Hagen is a college student, he worries most about Sonny, his eldest child. Vito pushes Sonny to be a businessman, but Sonny - 17 years old, impatient, and reckless - wants something else: To follow in his father's footsteps and become a part of the real family business.
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If youre a fan of the Godfather, this is a must!
- By Jim Bag on 2019-09-20
Written by: Ed Falco
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The Complete Sherlock Holmes
- The Heirloom Collection
- Written by: Arthur Conan Doyle
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 58 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes tales are rightly ranked among the seminal works of mystery and detective fiction. Included in this collection are all four full-length Holmes novels and more than forty short masterpieces - from the inaugural adventure A Study in Scarlet to timeless favorites like “The Speckled Band” and more. At the center of each stands the iconic figure of Holmes - brilliant, eccentric, and capable of amazing feats of deductive reasoning.
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Excellent Reading of the Sherlock Holmes Canon
- By Gentleman Gamer on 2017-09-14
Written by: Arthur Conan Doyle
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The Godfather's Revenge
- Written by: Mark Winegardner
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 19 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The third installment in Mario Puzo's epic chronicle of the Corleone crime family - one of the most enduring lineages in American literature and cinema - achieves a stunning crescendo with a story that imagines the role of the Mafia in the assassination of a young, charismatic president.
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Great Story, but not for the Corleone's
- By Kat W on 2021-05-28
Written by: Mark Winegardner
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The Sicilian
- Written by: Mario Puzo
- Narrated by: full cast
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Michael Corleone is returning to the U.S. after the two-year exile to Sicily in which listeners left him in The Godfather. But he is ordered to bring with him the young Sicilian bandit, Salvatore Guiliano, who is the unofficial ruler of northwestern Sicily. In his fight "to make Sicilians free people", the young folk hero, based on the real-life Giuliano of the 1940s, has made both the police and the Mafia his enemies.
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Listen to the sample first
- By Zachary on 2019-08-29
Written by: Mario Puzo
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Omerta
- A Novel
- Written by: Mario Puzo
- Narrated by: Michael Imperioli
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
To Don Raymonde Aprile’s children, he was a loyal family member, their father’s adopted “nephew.” To the FBI he was a man who would rather ride his horses than do Mob business. No one knew why Aprile, the last great American don, had adopted Astorre Viola many years before in Sicily; no one suspected how he had carefully trained him...and how, while the don’s children claimed respectable careers in America, Astorre Viola waited for his time to come.
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Big fan if Michael Imperioli.
- By Robbie on 2021-09-26
Written by: Mario Puzo
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The Godfather Returns
- A Novel
- Written by: Mark Winegardner
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 20 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thirty-five years ago, Mario Puzo's great American tale, The Godfather, was published, and popular culture was indelibly changed. Now, in The Godfather Returns, acclaimed novelist Mark Winegardner continues the story, the years not covered in Puzo's best-selling book or in Francis Ford Coppola's classic films.
-
-
Great Side Character Development
- By Kat W on 2021-05-28
Written by: Mark Winegardner
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The Family Corleone
- Written by: Ed Falco
- Narrated by: Bobby Cannavale
- Length: 14 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For Vito Corleone, nothing is more important than his family's future. While his youngest children, Michael, Fredo, and Connie, are in school, unaware of their father's true occupation, and his adopted son Tom Hagen is a college student, he worries most about Sonny, his eldest child. Vito pushes Sonny to be a businessman, but Sonny - 17 years old, impatient, and reckless - wants something else: To follow in his father's footsteps and become a part of the real family business.
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If youre a fan of the Godfather, this is a must!
- By Jim Bag on 2019-09-20
Written by: Ed Falco
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The Complete Sherlock Holmes
- The Heirloom Collection
- Written by: Arthur Conan Doyle
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 58 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
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Performance
-
Story
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes tales are rightly ranked among the seminal works of mystery and detective fiction. Included in this collection are all four full-length Holmes novels and more than forty short masterpieces - from the inaugural adventure A Study in Scarlet to timeless favorites like “The Speckled Band” and more. At the center of each stands the iconic figure of Holmes - brilliant, eccentric, and capable of amazing feats of deductive reasoning.
-
-
Excellent Reading of the Sherlock Holmes Canon
- By Gentleman Gamer on 2017-09-14
Written by: Arthur Conan Doyle
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The Godfather's Revenge
- Written by: Mark Winegardner
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 19 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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The third installment in Mario Puzo's epic chronicle of the Corleone crime family - one of the most enduring lineages in American literature and cinema - achieves a stunning crescendo with a story that imagines the role of the Mafia in the assassination of a young, charismatic president.
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Great Story, but not for the Corleone's
- By Kat W on 2021-05-28
Written by: Mark Winegardner
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Wiseguy
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This is the true crime best seller that was the basis for Martin Scorsese’s film masterpiece GoodFellas, which brought to life the violence, the excess, the families, the wives and girlfriends, the drugs, the payoffs, the paybacks, the jail time, and the Feds...with Henry Hill’s crackling narration drawn straight out of Wiseguy and overseeing all the unforgettable action.
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Fantastic.
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Written by: Nicholas Pileggi, and others
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The Last Don
- Written by: Mario Puzo
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 18 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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The last don is Domenico Clericuzio, a wise and ruthless man who is determined to see his heirs established in legitimate society but whose vision is threatened when secrets from the family's past spark a vicious war between two blood cousins. This is a mesmerizing tale that takes us inside the equally corrupt worlds of the mob, the movie industry and the casinos - where beautiful actresses and ruthless hit men are ruled by lust and violence.
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The Last (Ditch Attempt at a) Don.
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Written by: Mario Puzo
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Jurassic Park
- A Novel
- Written by: Michael Crichton
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 15 hrs and 10 mins
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An astonishing technique for recovering and cloning dinosaur DNA has been discovered. Now humankind’s most thrilling fantasies have come true. Creatures extinct for eons roam Jurassic Park with their awesome presence and profound mystery, and all the world can visit them - for a price.
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You will love it
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Written by: Michael Crichton
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Double Cross
- The Explosive Inside Story of the Mobster Who Controlled America
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One of the most feared Chicago mobsters, Sam Giancana, clawed his way to the top of the Mafia hierarchy by starting as a hit man for Al Capone. He was known as one of the best vehicle escape artists, a tenacious business man, and a ruthless killer. He partied with major stars such as Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe and did business with agents ranging from the CIA to the Vatican to the shah of Iran. When politician Joe Kennedy gave Giancana the chance to use mob muscle to get his son John elected, Giancana jumped at the task.
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Great Listen
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The Hunt for Red October
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Somewhere under the freezing Atlantic, a Soviet sub commander has just made a fateful decision. The Red October is heading west. The Americans want her. The Russians want her back. The chase for the highly advanced nuclear submarine is on - and there’s only one man who can find her... Brilliant CIA analyst Jack Ryan has little interest in fieldwork, but when covert photographs of Red October land on his desk, Ryan soon finds himself in the middle of a high-stakes game of hide-and-seek played by two world powers - a game that could end in all-out war.
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Does not disappoint!
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Written by: Tom Clancy
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Dracula
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Although Stoker did not invent the vampire, the novel's influence on the popularity of vampires has been singularly responsible for many theatrical, film, and television interpretations since its publication. Required listening for any fan of the genre!
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The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes, Volume 1
- Written by: Arthur Conan Doyle
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 20 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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First appearing in print in 1890, the character of Sherlock Holmes has now become synonymous worldwide with the concept of a super sleuth. His creator, Conan Doyle, imbued his detective hero with intellectual power, acute observational abilities, a penchant for deductive reasoning and a highly educated use of forensic skills. Indeed, Doyle created the first fictional private detective who used what we now recognize as modern scientific investigative techniques.
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The Sixth Family
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On May 5, 1981, three rebellious members of New York's Bonanno crime family were gunned down in a Brooklyn social club. One of the gunmen was Vito Rizzuto, a man who would rise to the top of the underworld in Canada and then expand his reign across continents to become a global superboss. The Sixth Family, now revised and updated, reveals the hidden history of the rise of the Rizzuto clan, the alliances it forged around the world, and the bloody events that led to charges against Vito Rizzuto in the United States and Italy for racketeering and corruption.
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Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
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In Las Vegas to cover a motorcycle race, Raoul Duke (Thompson) and his attorney Dr. Gonzo (inspired by a friend of Thompson) are quickly diverted to search for the American dream. Their quest is fueled by nearly every drug imaginable and quickly becomes a surreal experience that blurs the line between reality and fantasy. But there is more to this hilarious tale than reckless behavior, for underneath the hallucinogenic facade is a stinging criticism of American greed and consumerism.
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Fun Fun Fun AND Totally Tasteless
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The Irishman (Movie Tie-In)
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The Irishman is an epic saga of organized crime in post-war America told through the eyes of World War II veteran Frank Sheeran, a hustler and hitman who worked for legendary crime boss Russell Bufalino alongside some of the most notorious figures of the 20th Century. Spanning decades, Sheeran’s story chronicles one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in American history, the disappearance of legendary union boss Jimmy Hoffa, and offers a monumental journey through the hidden corridors of organized crime: its inner workings, rivalries, and connections to mainstream politics.
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Shallow Waters
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In this stirring and lyrical debut novel - perfect for fans of The Water Dancer and the Legacy of Orïsha series - the Yoruba deity of the sea, Yemaya, is brought to vivid life as she discovers the power of Black resilience, love, and feminine strength in antebellum America.
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Black Excellence
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Five Families
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Genovese, Gambino, Bonnano, Colombo, and Lucchese. For decades these Five Families ruled New York and built the American Mafia (or Cosa Nostra) into an underworld empire. Today, the Mafia is an endangered species, battered and beleaguered by aggressive investigators, incompetent leadership, betrayals, and generational changes that produced violent, unreliable leaders and recruits.
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Great book...comprehensive history of the mob
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Publisher's Summary
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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What listeners say about The Godfather
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Josh D
- 2017-09-18
Great Book That Is Difficult To Put Down
I bought this book because I have never seen The Godfather movies and wanted to understand what all the hype was about. From the moment I began I found it difficult to stop listening. It was a captivating story, which was narrated very well. I am now planning on clearing my schedule this weekend to marathon the movies.
5 people found this helpful
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- Lakers Fan
- 2018-09-07
Amazing, incredible. Greatness
This is one of the greatest stories ever told. A more in depth look into the greatest movie ever made. Joe Mantegna is a great narrator. Very cool to have someone from the trilogy narrating the story. To me, Godfather 1 And 2 are the greatest movies ever made. There is so much more detail and insight into what’s going on in the characters minds and a lot of unexplored stories. To those that are new to the novel, it’s the first movie with some of the second as well. It’s a must for any fan. Just wonderful.
2 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 2018-05-03
Finally got around to this one!
I've always liked the Godfather films, and have been meaning to get around to the book for years. I'm glad I finally did. There are a lot of places where the book filled in holes left by the films, and as good as they were, I think the book has a more satisfying ending than the trilogy of movies.
2 people found this helpful
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- Amazoni Customerr
- 2020-07-13
Very good
Would’ve been nice to have a woman read over the female lines instead of hearing a man struggling trying to make his voice feminine. other than that, it was great
1 person found this helpful
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- Lexloco
- 2020-05-31
A great story, well performed
For decades, I have loved the first two films, but had never read ( or heard) the book upon which they were based. I enjoyed going to the source; although the structure of the story is different, as are some characters, many of my favourite lines were here.
The reader, one of the characters in the the third film does a great job.
The newly added extras outside of the novel itself are unnecessary and should be skipped.
1 person found this helpful
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- Ben Denison
- 2019-09-13
A must read for lovers of crime fiction
The Godfather exceeded my expectations, and they weren't low to begin with. Puza's writing style makes for a unique and wonderfully detailed story I couldn't get enough of. Joe Mantegna was also an excellent choice to narrate. His accents and pronunciations were perfect. If you love the films do yourself a favor and buy this book!
1 person found this helpful
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- Mohammed E.
- 2019-08-10
A demonstrated classic and must read
I never understood why people were fascinated with the godfather as I couldn't watch the movie so I decided to give it a read and it beat my wildest expectations. Rich narrative, character development and deep insight into Sicilian mafia proved a powerful combination for this master storyteller.
1 person found this helpful
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- Dave tynes
- 2019-08-03
non stop excitement!
loved it, couldn't stop listening. recommended highly looking forward to the other titles in this series.
1 person found this helpful
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- dgypsyme
- 2019-04-05
what can I say.
riveting right to the end. great story, great narrator. I didn't want it to end. I hope his other books are as good! I'm hooked!
1 person found this helpful
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- Kelly C
- 2018-12-20
Fantastic!!
This one surprised me in that even though it was 18 hours long, I was never bored!! and Joe Mantegna was the perfect person to perform it. Very well done.
1 person found this helpful
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- Heather
- 2020-02-28
"Mafia, Character History, and Gross Adult Content"
Really mystified why people praise this book so much. I assume these are movie super fans and thus liked extra background. But if you read the book with no previous knowledge, it's a strange read. There is some interesting mafia content but it wasn't nearly as much as I would have liked. You have situations that are gone into for chapters that are only to set up a sex scene or a woman's surgery to make her you know what smaller and then her doctor trying the goods out (ick). Beating of a pregnant wife and also when she's not pregnant. Lots of hooking up with hot chicks, and a whole section on one guys' big equipment. I was expecting this book to be mostly mafia but instead you end up with a lot of random backstory of the characters that doesn't relate much to mafia activity. Like a guy getting back his singing voice. And a love affair in Italy. I regret reading this book and have no interest in more.
43 people found this helpful
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- Dana
- 2013-10-04
Huge fan of the movie, loved this audiobook!
I have seen The Godfather movies too many times to count. It's part of the lexicon in my family, we quote lines from it all the time in regular conversation. So, I thought this book might be a little boring, just because I already knew the story so well. Not the case! The book adds so much detail to the story that I think I'll be watching the movie again soon in a whole new light. Joe Mantegna does such a wonderful job narrating this story and I'd absolutely recommend his version as opposed to the other full cast version that's out there, especially for people that are really in tune with the movie.
Give it a try!
117 people found this helpful
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- Michelle
- 2020-11-28
They have edited it! Those bastards!
I knew something had changed. I have had this book in my library since Audible began. About a year ago, it would no longer play. They had me delete and redownload. It is now in three parts. And they have changed it! Ex: instead of dont give to one of our paisan, he says don’t give it to congressman Lutico. That is the least of it! Put it back the way it was written originally. Use the original recording too. It was better.
28 people found this helpful
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- Anon E Mouse
- 2015-04-15
Simply a classic!
One of the best! A truly moving saga that was fantastic even though I had seen the movie. Much better than any of the sequels or imitations.
20 people found this helpful
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- Tinise
- 2017-03-20
Outstanding!!!!
There is not one single aspect about this that I didn't enjoy. I bought the book many years ago but because of busy everyday mom life, I haven't been able to really dive into it. This gave me the chance to do so and I couldn't be happier. The narrator, the story, all of it. Sublime. A thousand times better than the movie and the movie is one of my favorites.
18 people found this helpful
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- Null Hypothesis
- 2013-01-08
Solid.
What did you love best about The Godfather?
Having seen the movie first, I came away from the book very impressed with how well Coppola treated the story. Anyone taking the time for the book will come away with greater insight of the characters and setting and will view the theatrical version with greater perspective. A solid story.
15 people found this helpful
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- Richard Delman
- 2012-09-23
One of a kind. A masterpiece.
The book upon which the movie was based, this is an astonishing feat of fiction writing. Most of us have seen the movie, I imagine, but listening to the marvelous Joe Mantegna tell the story lets us know that Mario Puzo wrote all those incredible scenes that Francis Ford Coppola turned into one of the greatest movies of the 20th century. Listening to the book gives us so much more detail about the Corleones and their fellow Mafia families. Of course Coppola had to leave out much of the book in order to make the movie(s). Even through the third movie in the cycle, there is still more enjoyable detail here. It is impossible not to see the faces of Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall and the rest of the actors. In my view, the actors enrich the book. Even when you know what is coming, as in the scene where Michael shoots Solozzo and Captain McCluskey, the background and all the planning that lead up to the scene in the book will just grab your attention and hold it. Very few movies are a match for a great book. This book is so monumental in how it taught us the story of immigrant families and their struggles to adjust to life in the United States that it informs our understanding of many other immigrant stories. Joe Mantegna is so great at this that it is really hard to imagine any other narrator reading it. The feel of New York is also a wonder in Puzo's description of it. You see Don Corleone's opposition to joining the Solozzos and the other families in the drug trade, and you think, how principled he is, not what a monstrous gangster he is. This, again, is a feat of fiction writing that may never be surpassed. Sit back and enjoy one of the finest audiobooks you will ever experience.
106 people found this helpful
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- Donna70
- 2013-02-01
What an enjoyable journey.
What made the experience of listening to The Godfather the most enjoyable?
Joe Mantegna was the perfect choice for the narrator for THE GODFATHER. The timbre of his voice, his varied accents were all the perfect additions for the audio version of this novel.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Just as it was when I read this novel as a young mother, Michael Corleone was my favorite character. However, at this point in my life, I found him in many ways to be the most dangerous of the Corleone family. His choices were made out drop grief and need for revenge, while his father made his choices out of a sense of "necessity" or "practicality."
What about Joe Mantegna’s performance did you like?
Mr. Mantegna's performance was so enjoyable by his inflection and interpretation. He did not try to replicate the female voices, but he just softened his voice. This was much more believable than an attempt to use a higher pitch to his voice. I also was pleased that there was only one narrator. This helped the plot to flow naturally.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
A good book is to be savored, not devoured. Especially since I was revisiting this book, I did not want to rush through any part of it.
36 people found this helpful
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- Jt1976
- 2013-09-29
wow
What made the experience of listening to The Godfather the most enjoyable?
Its like having a movie in your head as you listen made days at work fly by
What did you like best about this story?
Narrator
What about Joe Mantegna’s performance did you like?
The accents and inflections of his voice for different character
Who was the most memorable character of The Godfather and why?
The Don of course
Any additional comments?
More
11 people found this helpful
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
- Blythe
- 2017-06-12
Complex, nuanced, moving story
Any additional comments?
I'd never seen the movies, and this is not a genre that interests me, but I picked up the audiobook on audible recently. Wow, what an impressive, detailed, and complex story of a complicated family and culture adapting to America. The characters were nuanced, and the reader can sympathize with even the nastiest of them. The plot spans decades and a generation, and while the Corleone family is at the center, the reader sees them and their actions both from the inside and the outside, through the eyes of various different characters, to give a very complete and in-depth picture. Although as I said this isn't a genre that usually interests me much, this book was well worth reading and all the more so because I'd never seen the movies and had no pre-set expectations.
9 people found this helpful