The Deeds of My Fathers: How My Grandfather and Father Built New York and Created the Tabloid World of Today

Once considered the black sheep of America's publications, the National Enquirer is celebrated on the eve of its 60th anniversary by Pope's powerful biography of its creators, the family patriarchs. The book, which sometimes reads like a straightforward Puzo sequel, chronicles the arrival of Generoso Pope, the author's grandfather on these shores with $10 and no prospects; Gene, Generoso's son and publisher of the scandalous tabloid; and the realization of the ultimate American immigrant dream. Its chapters detail the Pope men's achievements, the grandfather's construction firm building some of Gotham's landmarks and the father's grooming of a struggling paper into a major publication. Crowded with presidents, celebrities, and mobsters, this bio of ambitious alpha males, in a dysfunctional clan worthy of a soap opera, is among the best portraits of Italian-American life to appear in some time. (Oct.)