The Valachi Papers is a 1968 biography written by Peter Maas, telling the story of former mafia member Joe Valachi, a low-ranking member of the New York–based Genovese crime family, who was the first ever government witness coming from the American Mafia itself. His account of his criminal past revealed many previously unknown details of the Mafia. The book was made into a film in 1972, also called The Valachi Papers, starring Charles Bronson as Valachi.
In 1964, the US Department of Justice urged Valachi to write down his personal history of his underworld career. Although Valachi was only expected to fill in the gaps in his formal questioning, the resulting account of his thirty-year criminal career was a rambling 1,180-page manuscript titled The Real Thing.[3][4][5] Before its digital publication, the manuscript had first been made publicly accessible at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston in 1980.[6] In November 2020, Thomas Hunt, an editor, publisher, and historian of organized crime, fully digitized and published the manuscript on his website.[7][8]
Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach authorized the public release of Valachi's manuscript. He hoped that publication of Valachi's story would aid law enforcement and possibly encourage other criminal informers to step forward. Author Peter Maas, who broke Valachi's story in The Saturday Evening Post, was assigned the job of editing the manuscript and permitted to interview Valachi in his Washington, D.C., jail cell.[3][4]
The American Italian Anti-Defamation League promoted a national campaign against the book on the grounds that it would reinforce negative ethnic stereotypes. If the book's publication was not stopped they would appeal directly to the White House. Katzenbach reversed his decision to publish the book after a meeting with President Lyndon B. Johnson, an action that embarrassed the Justice Department.[3][4]
In May 1966, Katzenbach asked a district court to stop Maas from publishing the book—the first time that a U.S. Attorney General had ever tried to ban a book. Maas was never permitted to publish his edition of Valachi's original memoirs, but he was allowed to publish a third-person account based upon interviews he himself had conducted with Valachi. These formed the basis of the book The Valachi Papers, which was published in 1968 by Putnam.[3][4] It was published in the UK in 1969 by MacGibbon & Kee as The Canary That Sang.[9]
valachi, papers, book, valachi, papers, 1968, biography, written, peter, maas, telling, story, former, mafia, member, valachi, ranking, member, york, based, genovese, crime, family, first, ever, government, witness, coming, from, american, mafia, itself, accou. The Valachi Papers is a 1968 biography written by Peter Maas telling the story of former mafia member Joe Valachi a low ranking member of the New York based Genovese crime family who was the first ever government witness coming from the American Mafia itself His account of his criminal past revealed many previously unknown details of the Mafia The book was made into a film in 1972 also called The Valachi Papers starring Charles Bronson as Valachi The Valachi PapersPaperback editionAuthorPeter MaasCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishGenreCrime BiographyPublisherG P Putnam s SonsPublication date1968Media typePrintPages285 pp Hardback ed ISBN978 0399108327Overview editIn October 1963 Valachi testified before Senator John L McClellan s congressional committee on organized crime the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the U S Senate Committee on Government Operations In the so called Valachi hearings he gave the American public a firsthand account of Mafia activities in the United States 1 2 In 1964 the US Department of Justice urged Valachi to write down his personal history of his underworld career Although Valachi was only expected to fill in the gaps in his formal questioning the resulting account of his thirty year criminal career was a rambling 1 180 page manuscript titled The Real Thing 3 4 5 Before its digital publication the manuscript had first been made publicly accessible at the John F Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston in 1980 6 In November 2020 Thomas Hunt an editor publisher and historian of organized crime fully digitized and published the manuscript on his website 7 8 Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach authorized the public release of Valachi s manuscript He hoped that publication of Valachi s story would aid law enforcement and possibly encourage other criminal informers to step forward Author Peter Maas who broke Valachi s story in The Saturday Evening Post was assigned the job of editing the manuscript and permitted to interview Valachi in his Washington D C jail cell 3 4 The American Italian Anti Defamation League promoted a national campaign against the book on the grounds that it would reinforce negative ethnic stereotypes If the book s publication was not stopped they would appeal directly to the White House Katzenbach reversed his decision to publish the book after a meeting with President Lyndon B Johnson an action that embarrassed the Justice Department 3 4 In May 1966 Katzenbach asked a district court to stop Maas from publishing the book the first time that a U S Attorney General had ever tried to ban a book Maas was never permitted to publish his edition of Valachi s original memoirs but he was allowed to publish a third person account based upon interviews he himself had conducted with Valachi These formed the basis of the book The Valachi Papers which was published in 1968 by Putnam 3 4 It was published in the UK in 1969 by MacGibbon amp Kee as The Canary That Sang 9 References edit Killers in Prison Time October 4 1963 The Smell of It Time October 11 1963 a b c d The Valachi Papers Censorship accessed March 6 2011 a b c d Peter Maas Encyclopedia of World Biography accessed March 6 2011 Books His Life and Crimes Time January 17 1969 JFK Public Library Valachi Papers Archived version accessed March 31 2024 The Real Thing Manuscript Archived version accessed March 31 2024 Mafia History Sharing Valachi s Memoirs Archived version accessed March 31 2024 Mafia History World Cat Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Valachi Papers book amp oldid 1216573822, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
