The Godfather Effect Changing Hollywood, America, and Me

Forty years and one billion dollars in gross box office receipts after the initial release of The Godfather, Francis Ford Coppola's masterful trilogy continues to fascinate viewers old and new. The Godfather Effect skillfully analyzes the reasons behind this ongoing global phenomenon. Packed with behind-the-scenes anecdotes from all three Godfather films, Tom Santopietro explores the historical origins of the Mob and why they thrived in America, how Italian-Americans are portrayed in the media, and how a saga of murderous gangsters captivated audiences around the globe. Laced with stories about Brando, Pacino, and Sinatra, and interwoven with a funny and poignant memoir about the author's own experiences growing up with an Italian name in an Anglo world of private schools and country clubs, The Godfather Effect is a book for film lovers, observers of American life, and Italians of all nationalities.

Tom Santopietro is the author of The Importance of Being Barbra, Considering Doris Day (A NY Times Editor’s Choice) and Sinatra in Hollywood. He has worked for the past twenty years in New York theater as a manager of more than two dozen Broadway shows.

Praise for Tom Santopietro:
“Terrifically lucid and entertaining.”
—Kirkus Reviews on Sinatra in Hollywood
“The observations are apt—and often bold.”
—The Atlant ic on Considering Doris Day