The Godfather by Mario Puzo

The Godfather is a crime novel written by Italian-American author Mario Puzo, originally published in 1969. The Godfather details the story of a fictitious Sicilian Mafia family based in New York City (and Long Beach, New York) and headed by Don Vito Corleone, who became synonymous with the Italian Mafia. The novel The Godfather covers the years 1945 to 1955, and also provides the back story of Vito Corleone from early childhood to adulthood. The book The Godfather introduced Italian criminal terms like consigliere, caporegime, Cosa Nostra, and omertà to an English-speaking audience.
The Godfather formed the basis for a 1972 film of the same name. Two film sequels of The Godfather, including new contributions by Mario Puzo himself, were made in 1974 and 1990. The first and second The Godfather films are widely considered to be two of the greatest films of all time. The Corleone family patriarch is Vito Corleone (The Don), whose surname (Italian for “Lionheart”) recalls the town of Corleone, Sicily. Vito has four children: Santino “Sonny” Corleone, Frederico “Fredo” Corleone, Michael “Mikey” Corleone, and Constanzia “Connie” Corleone. He also has an informally adopted son, Tom Hagen, who became the Corleones’ consigliere. Vito Corleone is also the godfather of singer and movie star Johnny Fontane. The godfather referred to in the title is generally taken to be Vito. However, the story’s central character is actually Michael. (Summary by Wikipedia)