Mario Puzo was born on Manhattan’s West Side in a neighborhood known for decades as Hell’s Kitchen. His first books, The Fortunate Pilgrim (“a minor classic” NY Times) and Dark Arena, brought him critical acclaim, but it was publication of The Godfather in March 1969, that catapulted him into the front ranks of American authors. Reviewers hailed the book as “a staggering triumph” (Saturday Review), “big, turbulent, highly entertaining” (Newsweek), “remarkable” (Look), “a voyeur’s dream, a skillful fantasy of violent personal power” (New York Times). Winning readers by the millions, it stayed at or near the top of the New York Times best-seller lists for sixty-nine weeks. Fools Die, Mario Puzo’s brilliant new novel about the feverish world of the big-time gambler, has been hailed as the publishing event of the decade.