review: i'll make you an offer you can't refuse by michael franzese

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Michael Franzese used to be in the mob. He was pretty successful in his Mafia business dealings, but eventually the life caught up with him (he says that’s the case for all mobsters) and he went to prison. Franzese doesn’t get into the reasons he decided to leave the mob, but he did and now makes a living writing books and as a motivational speaker. I’ll Make You an Offer You Can’t Refuse compares life in the mob to working in a legitimate business. Franzese uses the philosophies of Machiavelli and Solomon to get his point across. At the end of each chapter is a summary of the advice, which is really handy to come back to.

Since I really don’t know anything about the Mafia, I enjoyed learning more through the comparison to the business world. Some of the tips are simply common sense, but the stories still make for an interesting read. In Chapter Seven he shares insight about how gambling affects legitimate businesses negatively by giving examples of those who have met their downfall because of a gambling addiction. Those real life examples come throughout the book, which makes it easy to understand how all of these tips apply. The mob stories were especially intriguing!

Reading this made me interested in Franzese’s other books, Quitting the Mob and Blood Covenant; I’d like to know more about what made him change his life.
4/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, Thomas Nelson.