On the Run: A Mafia Childhood

by Gina Hill and Gregg Hill

Book Overview

Written by the son and daughter of Henry Hill (the Mafia informant who became the focus of the book 'Wiseguy' and the movie 'Goodfellas'), this is an account of a childhood spent inside the Witness... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 044652770X
• ISBN13: 9780446527705
• Release Date: September 2004
• Publisher: Warner Books (NY)
• Length: 245 Pages
• Weight: 1.02 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

On The Run PoppaKC Review

Having been raised with a sister with whom I was very close, the characters in this book were very relatable to how different their father was viewed. Although some organized crime fathers doted on their kids or ignored them altogether, I had no idea how bad a "father" Henry Hill behaved.

HOLY [...] THIS IS A GOOD BOOK TO READ!!

Amazing read! If you absolutely loved Goodfellas or the book Wiseguy...you will not put this book down! I didn't - I read it straight through! It will make you see Henry Hill in a new light. How his son ever became a lawyer is beyond me?? These kids had one F'd up childhood and not before Henry went away - but after!! Henry has screws loose - seriously - or at least did in witness protection. This is a very sad account of the kids lives told by them themselves! I dont want to give everything away but there are some crazy stories in this book, such as crazy Henry giving trolley tours in an old beat up trolly in the ghetto in Cincinnati, Ohio, WHILE HE SHOULD BE HIDING OUT BEING GOOD IN WITNESS PROTECTION. Or the time he ran off with some hag and got married while he was married to his wife still, will make you fall out your chair laughing with the way his son tells it. Its not really funny but his son tells it funny.I wish this book were just written by him.....he is really comical but this book isn't but his son is amusing and he just has a way with telling a story. This book is a great addition to Wiseguy and Goodfellas. You will love it I assure you. There is a million stories that make you for sure know Henry Hill is a nutjob or at least was at that time in his life.

The other side of the story

"On the Run" is the other side of the Henry Hill story and his family as narrated by his son and daughter. When I first saw the movie "Good Fellas", I thought Henry Hill was the "good guy" (relatively speaking) out of the gang of Lucchese crime thugs. However, after reading "On the Run", it is obvious that Henry Hill was a low-life criminal and drug addict who didn't care how much his family had to pay for his life of crime. This book also demonstrates that the witness protection program is a constant life on the run. Maybe Hill's family would've had an easier time had he not made it more difficult for the Feds to protect the family. But Henry Hill's ego, drug addiction and criminal mindset would not allow that. I feel sorry for his family and the scars that they have to live with still. All in all, "On the Run" is a riveting account of a family's struggle to survive the imminent dangers of a life tied to the mob. For sure, this is not the "Sopranos".

HOLY CRAP THIS IS A GOOD BOOK TO READ!

If you absolutely loved Goodfellas or the book Wiseguy...you will not put this book down! I didn't - I read it straight through! It will make you see Henry Hill in a new light. How his son ever became a lawyer is beyond me?? These kids had one F'd up childhood and not before Henry went away - but after!! Henry has screws loose - seriously - or at least did in witness protection. This is a very sad account of the kids lives told by them themselves! I dont want to give everything away but there are some crazy stories in this book, such as crazy Henry giving trolley tours in an old beat up trolly in the ghetto in Cincinnati, Ohio, WHILE HE SHOULD BE HIDING OUT BEING GOOD IN WITNESS PROTECTION. Or the time he ran off with some hag and got married while he was married to his wife still, will make you fall out your chair laughing with the way his son tells it. Its not really funny but his son tells it funny.I wish this book were just written by him.....he is really comical but this book isn't but his son is amusining and he just has a way with telling a story. This book is a great addition to Wiseguy and Goodfellas. You will love it I assure you. There is a million stories that make you for sure know Henry Hill is a nutjob or at least was at that time in his life.

Finally- the truth from those that lived it !

My heart goes out to both Gina and Gregg for living to tell that tale, of growing up with such absolutely unfit parents and in such harrowing circumstances.Both children LITERALLY survived murder attempts by their father, the infamous sociopathic gangster Henry Hill, during their term in the witness protection program. Congratulations to both of them for severing their ties to their family and going their own ways to become responsible adults and loving parents. Nowhere in this book do we hear either co-writer justifying or glamorising their parents violent and degrading lifestyle. To their mother's credit, she was not lacking compassion, but just appeared to be a ding-dong and got too far in to the life to see clearly- a classic co-dependant. Unfortunately,as a parent of two children she abdicated her responsibility to protect her children from harm. I've read Henry Hill's book, and have seen Goodfellas numerous times- now I know I was seeing one dimension of this character. The 360 degree vision is not so pretty- it's intolerable. The co-writers explain their sides of the story, fascinating that they each came to the same conclusions, eventually, even though there coping mechanisms were different. Gina, Henry's daughter, wore rose colored glasses , seeing only the Good Dad and making the best of things- which is not such a bad modus operandi- it worked- she survived and maybe eeked out a childhood.Gregg, Henry's son, is more realistic, he sees his dad as an angry violent maniupulative sociopathic drug addict and alcoholic that endangers the well being of his family on a daily basis -for selfish motives. Gregg seethes with fury and fights back eventually-and I for one am cheering him on. I won't spoil it for the reader because this tale is engaging and unique, I have always wondered what the witness protection program was like in practice, and this case is probably the most bizarre application of this necessary evil.In addition, this is almost a Mafia "Daddy Dearest",- inarguably well deserved , that highlights a truth that we living in this media saturated La La land need to be reminded of- Gangstas are bums!

And You thought Your Family was Dysfunctional

Let's see, the young boy is preparing for his bar mitzvah, the young girl is buying her first bra. Daddy is spending his time talking to the FBI about his life in the mob. Mom is facilating the whole thing, perhaps pretending that everything would work out OK, cleaning up the messes. This book is the first I've read about what life is like in the witness protection program from the standpoints of the two children. What do you tell your friends about your past in church, school or at the senior prom? How do you possibly break away for a normal life? Then when your father seems to have a descruction wish, dealing drugs, writing for the press, drinking, beating up the rest of the family, how do you continue the love you can't help but have for your parents? Growing up is hard enough in a normal family. All you can do is wish these two kids the best.