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''Honor Thy Father'' is a 1971 book by
Gay Talese Gaetano "Gay" Talese (; born February 7, 1932) is an American writer. As a journalist for ''The New York Times'' and ''Esquire'' magazine during the 1960s, Talese helped to define contemporary literary journalism and is considered, along with ...
, about the travails of the
Bonanno crime family The Bonanno crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the " Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, and in the United States, as part of the criminal phenomenon known as ...
in the 1960s, especially
Salvatore Bonanno Salvatore Vincent "Bill" Bonanno (November 5, 1932 – January 1, 2008) was an American mobster who served as consigliere of the Bonanno crime family, and son of crime boss Joseph Bonanno. Later in life, he became a writer and produced films f ...
and his father Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno.


Background

In 1965, Gay Talese left his job as a reporter at ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' to focus on magazine writing, such as 1966's " Frank Sinatra Has a Cold" and longer projects, like his 1969 book '' The Kingdom and the Power''. During this period, however, Talese had begun to research a book about the
Mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...
. The research for the nonfiction novel began when Talese introduced himself to mafioso Salvatore "Bill" Bonanno in a courthouse in 1965. That same year, Talese signed a $30,000 advance to write the book. For nearly seven years, Talese interviewed Bonanno and other members of the Mafia extensively. Talese even traveled to
Castellammare del Golfo Castellammare del Golfo (; scn, Casteddammari; la, Emporium Segestanorum or ) is a town and municipality in the Trapani Province of Sicily. The name can be translated as "Sea Fortress on the Gulf", stemming from the medieval fortress in the h ...
,
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
to research the ancestral origins of the subjects of his story. Talese feared, during the research, that the government would subpoena him to find out what he learned about the Mafia, though this never came to pass. He also fretted that he would be mistaken for one of Bonanno's associates by his enemies.


Story

The book begins when Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno is kidnapped from the streets of New York in 1964 and the Bonanno crime family is thrown into disarray for two years in a power struggle called the Banana War, culminating in an armed-ambush in Brooklyn in which Joe's son Bill Bonanno is nearly killed. Though punctuated by life-threatening encounters, Talese also recounts how much of a mafioso's life is as tedious as any person's: days filled with television, overeating, time spent with family. Prominent mafiosi, like
Vito Genovese Vito Genovese (; November 21, 1897 – February 14, 1969) was an Italian-born American mobster who mainly operated in the United States. Genovese rose to power during Prohibition as an enforcer in the American Mafia. A long-time associate and chi ...
, Lucky Luciano,
Joseph Profaci Giuseppe "Joe" Profaci (; October 2, 1897 – June 6, 1962) was an Italian-born New York City Cosa Nostra boss who was the founder of what became the Colombo crime family. Established in 1928, this was the last of the Five Families to be organi ...
, feature in Talese's account, but the story is focused on Bill Bonanno's thoughts about his life as a mafioso. Talese notes the similarities of Bill's life to many ordinary Americans — homogenized from his ancestors' culture, an alumnus of the
University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...
where he belonged to ROTC. But as son of Joe Bonanno, he was an heir to his father's empire, which was a source of great stress for Bill. The book's title was suggested by Bill's wife Rosalie as acid commentary on the deleterious effect of Joe Bonanno on her husband's life. The intensely introspective account that Talese extracted from Bill Bonanno prompted ''
Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Ma ...
'' to label him "the golden retriever of personalized journalism".Sheppard, R.Z. "Second Banana". ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
''. (October 4, 1971).
A review in ''The New York Times'' wrote that Talese "conveys the impression that being a mobster is much the same as being a sportsman, film star or any other kind of public 'personality.'"MacInnes, Colin. "Honor Thy Father". ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
''. (October 31, 1971): BR2.
Talese concludes with the controversial thesis that the Italian Mafia was little different than gangs that came with previous waves of immigration, such as Irish gangs in the century before, or black and Latino gangs that Talese saw as following. Talese attributed the rise of the gangs as a consequence of a majority that oppresses a minority group.


Reception

Following the success of Talese's previous book ''The Kingdom and the Power'', his book on the mafia was primed for success, and quickly became a bestseller. Talese's use of literary techniques that were traditionally the domain of fiction, known as "
New journalism New Journalism is a style of news writing and journalism, developed in the 1960s and 1970s, that uses literary techniques unconventional at the time. It is characterized by a subjective perspective, a literary style reminiscent of long-form non- ...
", still was regarded with caution and many suspected the technique of fabrication; a charge that Talese has always strongly denied. A reviewer in ''The New York Times'' wrote that Talese's "fiction-imposed-on-fact has the unfortunate effect of making the whole story seem unreal."Lehmann-Haupt, Christopher. "The Princedom and the Power". ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
''. (October 5, 1971): 39.
Also writing in ''The Times'',
David Halberstam David Halberstam (April 10, 1934 April 23, 2007) was an American writer, journalist, and historian, known for his work on the Vietnam War, politics, history, the Civil Rights Movement, business, media, American culture, Korean War, and late ...
criticized previous reviewers for failing to recognize that Talese's story was more real and had been criticized for not conforming to other reviewers' preconceived ideas about what the mafia should be like. Halberstam, David. "After Three Put-downs, a Put-up". ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
''. (January 30, 1972): BR39.
In general, however, the book was critically acclaimed. ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' wrote:
After the principals are all gone, the book will remain, a
family saga The family saga is a genre of literature which chronicles the lives and doings of a family or a number of related or interconnected families over a period of time. In novels (or sometimes sequences of novels) with a serious intent, this is often ...
as important as any we've seen in this country. It is a book about fathers and sons, about trust and betrayal, about the old style and the new; it is, of course, a tragedy, because the genre of the family saga, real or imagined, always seems to turn out that way. But the book is also a stunning comment on America and the failure of its romantic promise.Hamill, Pete. "Bonanno and son". ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
''. (November 7, 1971).
Joe Bonanno disliked the book and refused to speak to his son Bill after the book came out. Joe reportedly spoke to Talese after publication of the book and said "my son was too sincere with you." Bill Bonanno was initially not happy with the book either, but after rereading the book he became more comfortable with it and asked Talese to inscribe copies for his children.Shepard, Richard F. "The Mafia Is Dying Out, Talese Concludes". ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
''. (November 22, 1971): 52.
By November 1971 the book had sold nearly 200,000 copies and a second printing of 160,000 copies was ordered. Paperback rights were purchased for $450,000 by Fawcett World Library, a greater sum than Fawcett had paid for paperback rights to
Mario Puzo Mario Francis Puzo (; ; October 15, 1920 – July 2, 1999) was an American author, screenwriter, and journalist. He is known for his crime novels about the Italian-American Mafia and Sicilian Mafia, most notably '' The Godfather'' (1969), whi ...
's ''
The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caa ...
''. Though Bill Bonanno was in prison when the book came out, he later cooperated in the production of a CBS miniseries, ''Honor Thy Father'', based on his role in the book and a Showtime miniseries, ''Bonanno: A Godfather's Story'' about his life. Before his death in January 2008, Bonanno also appeared in numerous news programs and documentary looks at the mafia.


Film

In 1973, a film adaptation was made. It was directed by
Paul Wendkos Abraham Paul Wendkos (September 20, 1925 – November 12, 2009) was an American television and film director. Early life and education Wendkos was born in Philadelphia to parents Simon Wendkos and Judith Wendkos. Wendkos served in World War I ...
, and starred
Joseph Bologna Joseph Bologna (December 30, 1934 – August 13, 2017) was an American actor, playwright and screenwriter notable for his roles in the comedy films ''My Favorite Year'', '' Blame It on Rio'' and '' Transylvania 6-5000''. Life and career Bol ...
as
Salvatore Bonanno Salvatore Vincent "Bill" Bonanno (November 5, 1932 – January 1, 2008) was an American mobster who served as consigliere of the Bonanno crime family, and son of crime boss Joseph Bonanno. Later in life, he became a writer and produced films f ...
,
Brenda Vaccaro Brenda is a feminine given name in the English language. Origin The overall accepted origin for the female name Brenda is the Old Nordic male name ''Brandr'' meaning both ''torch'' and ''sword'': evidently the male name Brandr took root in area ...
as Rosalie Bonanno, and
Raf Vallone The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's Air force, air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal ...
as
Joseph Bonanno Joseph Charles Bonanno (born Giuseppe Carlo Bonanno; ; January 18, 1905 – May 11, 2002), sometimes referred to as Joe Bananas, was an Italian-American crime boss of the Bonanno crime family, which he ran from 1931 to 1968. Bonanno was born i ...
.


References

{{Gay Talese 1971 non-fiction books Works by Gay Talese Non-fiction books about the Sicilian Mafia Non-fiction books about Italian-American organized crime World Publishing Company books Works about the American Mafia