Luciano's Luck by Jack Higgins is very short, only two audio tape cassettes. It was a pleasant surprise. Since I had already read some reviews about the fiction in this historical fiction story, I did a little bit of research on this short chapter of history prior to listening to the cassettes. The story starts with General Eisenhower’s part in this and the author give some background information about Sicily. Jack Higgins says that Sicily had its own version of government and felt no allegiance to Italy. In fact each town in Sicily had its own capo and obedience was paid only to that capo not to those in other towns.Basically the plan was to take Lucky Luciano aka Salvatore Lucina out of prison, commute his sentence and smuggle him to Sicily to rally the Sicilians and back the Allied Invasion. There were some secondary story which are probably the fictional part of the story.I really enjoyed the male narrator’s voice which was a bit like Burt Lancaster’s. Both he, Tony Amendola and Judith Marx made it an exciting story to listen to. It was very entertaining and dramatic and Jack Higgins added some Sicilian cultural information. He said that when a woman was ready to deliver, a “witch” or streghe was sought out. There was some explicit sex but it was short. He also alludes to Sicilian customs that may have been carried over into the Mafia. The best reason for listening to this story is that it can cause you to hunger for more details of history and more information on Sicilian culture.If you have to chance to listen to this story, I highly recommend it.
In July 1943, British and American forces were to be landed on the southern coast of Sicily. British Army units, under General Montgomery, were to land at the Eastern end of the island, while General Patton and the Seventh Army were to land in the South and strike for Palermo.The terrain, that Patton's Seventh Army would have to pass through, to reach Palermo, was a soldier's nightmare, the area around the Cammarata a warren of ravines and mountains. It could take months to hack a way through it, if at all it were not to be destroyed in ambushes.General Eisenhower, American Commander, realised that progress would be slow and casualties high, if the Allies were to attack without local support. On the other hand, if the local Mafia used its power, to promote an uprising of the people and to persuade Italian units to surrender, the Germans would have no other recourse, but to retreat.Charles ‘Lucky’ Luciano, the infamous Mafia gangster, was serving a sentence of thirty to fifty years in Great Meadow Penitentiary in New York State. Luciani was sprung out of prison by American Intelligence and dropped into Sicily, along with Colonel Harry Carter and his team of Commandos.The Plan ? To meet and to get support from local Mafia Dons, under Don Antonio Luca, the Capo di Tutti Capi (Boss of bosses), so as to prepare the way for the Allied invasion.The only problem was, that Don Antonio hated the Americans, even more than the German invaders...
What do You think about Luciano's Luck (1981)?
With handful of facts with shovel loads of fictionalisation this book covers mafia leader Lucky Luciano's involvement in paving the way for the U.S. invasion of Italy during World War II.In the scheme of Jack Higgins books it's pretty good, in the scheme of literature in general it's at the lower end of the scale. Re-use of partial characters names and backgrounds from previous books distract from the story and overall it's a plodding tale lacking in excitement.It passes the time well enough, but you wouldn't really be too excited to read it purely for the sake of reading.
—Henri Moreaux
Could it be that, just prior to the invasion of Sicily in WWII, General Eisenhower authorized the release of Mafia boss, Lucky Luciano, from federal prison to participate in an undercover operation on the island? According to author Jack Higgins, he met Sicilians who claimed to be eyewitnesses of Luciano's presence in Sicily during the war. Hence this fictionalized account of what those adventures might have been like. This book is an enjoyable story about just such a adventure. Although it's not a must-read, I recommend it for a few hours of entertainment and some action as well.
—Mike
"Λάκυ Λουτσιάνο ο Σικελός", εκδόσεις Bell.Το πρώτο βιβλίο του Τζακ Χίγκινς που περνάει στη λίστα με τα διαβασμένα. Δεν ήταν ακριβώς έτσι όπως το περίμενα, με βάση αυτά που έχω ακούσει για τον Τζακ Χίγκινς, ο οποίος είναι από τους καλύτερους στο είδος του, κάτι που στο βιβλίο αυτό δεν φάνηκε και τόσο. Εντάξει, ενδιαφέρουσα ιστορία όπου γίνεται μπλέξιμο πραγματικών γεγονότων και φαντασίας, καλή γραφή, ενδιαφέροντες χαρακτήρες, μερικές δυνατές σκηνές και σχετικά καλό τέλος (αν και λίγο απότομο), αλλά δεν ήταν ούτε σφιχτοδεμένο θρίλερ με απρόβλεπτες καταστάσεις και ξαφνικά γυρίσματα, ούτε αγωνιούσα και τόσο για τους χαρακτήρες ή για το τι θα γινόταν στην συνέχεια. Ήταν απλά μια καλούτσικη ιστορία χωρίς κάτι το συγκλονιστικό ή κάτι τέλος πάντων που να με κάνει να ανατριχιάσω.
—George
