Did you know that Joseph Bonanno took acting classes before leading one of New York's most powerful crime families? Or that Al Capone formed a banjo band while imprisoned at Alcatraz? Has anyone told you how Santo Trafficante Jr., Florida's crime boss, narrowly escaped the brutal prisons of Castro's Cuba?

These extraordinary stories shed valuable light on the many personalities who elevated the mafia to mythic status in American consciousness. From the Prohibition era to the present day, delve into the hidden world of organized crime through two hundred anecdotes, meticulously organized into twelve thematic chapters.

Anton Schwartz is an author specializing in the history of the American Mafia.