Though there are many books about organized crime, this is the only book that focuses on how the mob adapted to the murders of its bosses, failed hits, internecine wars, and to prosecutions and continued to thrive throughout the United States for the better part of the 20th century.
Mafia Hits, Misses, Wars, and Prosecutions is about pivotal events that changed the way the Italian American Mafia has done business since its establishment in the United States. This book covers the murders and wars that ended the careers of Mafia bosses from the Five Families and the prosecutors who built successful political careers following noteworthy mob convictions for ambitious prosecutors like Thomas Dewey, Robert F. Kennedy, and Rudolph Giuliani.
Throughout the book, Sussman covers the notorious murders and wars the mob engaged in from the St. Valentine's Day Massacre to the Castellamarese War, even the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and shows how with each event the mob learned and changed to continue its reign of terror however it could.