Youngest Godfather / Icon

YOUNGEST GODFATHER
The circumstances surrounding Joseph’s birth in 1904 set the stage for his life in the Mafia. Seeking to end a bloody and bitter feud between rival families in Castellammare, Salvatore Bonanno decides to make the leader of the rival family godfather to his newborn son, Joseph. The move is successful and the two families are reconciled.

In 1921, young Joseph is forced to leave Italy because of his opposition to Mussolini’s fascists. He and his cousin are smuggled into the United States, where Joseph joins the bootlegging business in New York during Prohibition. But when one of Bonanno’s partners is killed in a warehouse explosion, Joseph comes under the patronage of Mafia head Salvatore Maranzano, who eventually makes Bonanno second in command. But when there is a sudden shift in power, Maranzano is assassinated.

At 26-years-old, Bonanno is chosen to succeed Maranzano as head of the Castellamarese—the youngest boss in Mafia history.

ICON
Best-selling phenomenon Frederick Forsyth has set the thriller standard.

Russia is on the brink of anarchy, and its current president stands powerless against the growing famine and inflation, the escalating crime and corruption, and the teeming hordes of unemployed rebels roaming the streets. Radical right-wing party leader Igor Komarov (Patrick Bergin) welcomes the chaos. He looks forward to the new election, having gained the respect of the restless masses by promising law, order, prosperity, and to restore the lost greatness of their homeland. Who is this icon of peace who assures a Russia reborn? One man who knows is Jason Monk (Patrick Swayze), ex-CIA and "the best damn agent-runner" in the business. He’s seen Komarov’s confidential "Black Manifesto," which calls for a return to dictatorship, military expansionism, and genocidal ethnic cleansing.

Now Monk’s determined to blow the lid off Komarov’s secret new order, and he’s on a personal vendetta as well—to find Anatoli Grishin (Ben Cross), the sadistic KGB officer who once tortured and murdered four of his agents and is now Komarov’s head of security. Monk’s mission is to stop Komarov, whatever it takes, and finally settle the score with Grishin. But to accomplish it, he must remain alive. The forces allied against him are ruthless—and time is running frighteningly short.

Based on the thrilling novel the New York Times calls "vintage Forsyth," this gripping thriller poses a scenario as frighteningly plausible as tomorrow’s headlines.