Giuseppe Musolino was very interesting person -- an Italian brigand who was accused and convicted with false testimony of a crime he did not commit. Soon after being imprisoned, he escaped and then spent the next three years extracting revenge. Revenge in Calabria is a vendetta, and can be taken upon not only those who did you harm, but also their family. I didn't get a feeling of having gotten to know the man. Possibly with the information available, this was the best portrait Possumato could paint. Mixed in with revenge were some acts of kindness and generosity to strangers but some of the revenge seemed to dip into blood lust. Here is a protagonist who is not entirely likable nor entirely despicable. The book was competently if not brilliantly written and left me wondering if the system does not provide us with justice, if it is right to take it into our own hands. ( )

3.5 ⭐️ Rounded up

I really enjoyed this short story about the Italian Robin Hood. I had never heard of this historical figure, but thought that his story was very interesting and that he himself was certainly a character whose charisma encouraged attention. The author clearly researched his ancestor thoroughly, and did a great job of chronicling his life with interesting sources. I especially liked reading about and seeing the posters for the Hollywood adaptations of his life, thus proving that his celebrity really spanned across oceans. ( )

Very intriguing (if sadly short) recapping of the life of Giuseppe Musolino, a man who happens to be the author's third cousin and who may (or may not) have committed a ton of crimes. (I think you can buy that there were several murders in the middle, but It was quite interesting to read, though it makes you wish there was much more there. Sometimes our history sources don't tell us enough, though, so I at least appreciate that he was honest in that regard.

Well worth your time to read, especailly as it's not that long. ( )

A pretty interesting look at the life and crimes of an Italian man who may or may not have been a career criminal; unjustly accused; a bandit; entirely sane. As befits the scarcity of the source material, this is a short book, and whilst the author doesn't attempt to fill in the gaps it does feel like we're missing a lot. Still worth a read! ( )

Disclaimer, this is written by a personal friend of the author.

A few years ago I had the fortune to have a weird, temporary job traveling the state of Oregon to teach county staff how to use a new vital records program the state was implementing. My partner in crime was the author of this work. He is a great storyteller from Pittsburgh who entertained me for hours in the car as we drove from county seat to county seat, telling me wonderful and interesting tales about his experiences as an Army administrator living overseas and on bases in the US, as well as his upbringing, his experience playing Irish music, and this story about this distant relation of his who was a notorious outlaw in turn of century Italy.

Dan did a lot of research on this last story, about Giuseppe Musolino, and wrote a book about it! It is available as an e-book, and is very entertaining. It's a short read but fascinating. This Musolino was a pretty grim character, who basically was like a Hatfield or McCoy using an American reference, and was on a vendetta against various people who he maintained had framed him for a murder. He led the police of Italy a merry chase after escaping from prison for the original crime and killing many more people who had helped send him there or had done something he resented during his time as a fugitive. He became something of a folk hero for his flamboyance. His story and his eventual trial after recapture were covered by the international press.

Dan writes entertainingly and well, footnotes and endnotes document all of his sources, and he includes photos and drawings from the period.

All in all, a fun read by someone who I have always maintained is a natural born storyteller. Well done, Mr. Possumato. ( )