c/o Ms. Gokturk

Paul D. Schreiber High School

101 Campus Drive

Port Washington, NY  11050

3/30/05

Mr. Pileggi

Author of Wiseguy

c/o Simon & Schuster

1230 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York 10020

 

Dear Mr. Pileggi,

            My name is Jake Paisner and I have recently read your book Wiseguy.  I really enjoyed your book.  I have always had a certain admiration for people like Henry Hill.  Your book is without a doubt the most realistic in depth description of life in a mafia family I have ever encountered.  Sure “The Sopranos” and The Godfather are exciting and depict life in mafia on a day to day basis pretty accurately; however, you never see Tony Soprano having to go to jail and find a way to maintain his immediate family’s lifestyle when they have no money coming in.

 What I like most about your book is that when you’re speaking you use the same language as Henry when he is speaking, making the reader feel as if Henry is directly telling his story.  Your book has provided me with a sense of life in the mafia unlike any other piece on the subject.  Maybe it’s because Wiseguy is the only biography on a wiseguy I’ve ever read, but never before have I seen such a detailed description on someone’s experience in the mafia from age twelve to the end of their career.    

            I really don’t like reading.  I usually think of it as a waste of time and something that is completely unnecessary, and it usually is.  However, when I was reading your book I couldn’t put it down.  I read it over the course of a five hour plane ride to Las Vegas despite the direct TV in front of me (courtesy of Jet Blue).  To me it was more enjoyable than anything I could ever watch on TV, which you should know is something I’ve never said about any piece of writing.  Though I think the Lufthansa robbery could make a very good movie I strongly believe that your writing captures and conveys the life of Henry Hill and life in a mafia family better than anything on a screen could do.     I

 

 

 

                                    Sincerely,

 

 

 

                                         Jake Paisner

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