Mario Puzo

Mario Puzo (October 15, 1920 – July 2, 1999) was an American author known for his fictional books about the Mafia.

Puzo was born into a family of Sicilian immigrants living in the "Hell's Kitchen" neighborhood of New York City. Many of his books draw heavily on this Sicilian heritage. He joined the United States Air Force in World War II and was stationed in Asia and Germany His first book, Dark Arena was published in 1955.

His most famous work, The Godfather, was first published in 1969 after hearing anecdotes of Mafia organisations during his time in Pulp Journalism. It was developed into a trilogy of films co-written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, which appeared in 1972, 1974 and 1990.

Complete List of Books

Fiction

• The Dark Arena
• The Fortunate Pilgrim
• The Godfather
• Fools Die
• The Sicilian
• The Fourth K
• The Last Don
• Omertà
• The Family
• The Runaway Summer of Davie Shaw (children's book)

Nonfiction

• The Godfather Papers & Other Confessions
• Inside Las Vegas

External links

• FreshAir Interview - Audio interview from Fresh Air. Originally broadcast July 25, 1996
• Mario Puzo at the Internet Movie Database
• Mario Puzo biography
• The Official Mario Puzo Library