On the Run: A Mafia Childhood - Hardcover

Hill, Gregg; Hill, Gina

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 044652770X ISBN 13: 9780446527705

Publisher: Warner Books, 2004

Synopsis

The children of Henry Hill, whose life inspired such works as Wiseguy and Goodfellas, share their experiences of growing up in their father's out-of-control world of witness protection program identities and mafia retribution, describing their never-ending quest for safe and normal lives. 100,000 first printing.

About this title

About the Author:

Gregg and Gina Hill currently live in different parts of the country under aliases.

From Publishers Weekly:

Fans of mob turncoat Henry Hill based on Nicholas Pileggi's Wiseguy (an account of Hill's life) and the popular film adaptation Goodfellas will be forced to dramatically re-evaluate him after reading this gripping memoir by his children—who were only a passing blip in those earlier versions. Their warts-and-all portrayal of the immense disruption to their lives caused by their father's criminal recidivism is often heartbreaking. At a young age, they were exposed to family friends like Jimmy "the Gent" Burke, whom they knew as Uncle Jimmy, unaware he was a brutal truck hijacker. When investigators on the 1980 multimillion-dollar Lufthansa heist obtained Hill's cooperation as a witness, the children were given an hour to pick through their possessions to select what they could take with them into their new life in the witness protection program. Gregg and Gina often give overlapping perspectives of the same events, as they struggle to adjust, without the benefit of any guidance, and to craft plausible backstories for their new classmates and neighbors. Gregg's story is especially moving as he traces his personal evolution from model student to an adolescent forced to protect his mother from his father. The grimness is leavened with humor, and the many readers who will be rooting for these innocent victims will be heartened by their capacity to transcend a truly awful upbringing. B&w photos.
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About this edition

• Publisher: Warner Books
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 044652770X
• ISBN 13: 9780446527705
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256