The Godfather.

PUZO, Mario [Francis Ford Coppola.

Item Number: 147048

New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969.

First edition of Puzo’s definitive novel of the Mafia underworld, signed by Mario Puzo, director Francis Ford Coppola and actor Robert Duvall. Octavo, original half black cloth. Boldly signed by Mario Puzo on the title page, signed by Francis Ford Coppola and inscribed by Academy Award-winning actor Duvall, “James Best Wishes Bob Duvall” on the half-title page. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket, ownership stamp to the front free endpaper. Jacket art by S. Neil Fujita. Rare and desirable.

A searing novel of the Mafia underworld, The Godfather introduced readers to the first family of American crime fiction, the Corleones, and the powerful legacy of tradition, blood, and honor that was passed on from father to son. "A voyeur's dream, a skillful fantasy of violent personal power" (New York Times). It was made into the 1972 film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and produced by Albert S. Ruddy, starring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino. It was the highest-grossing film of 1972 and was for a time the highest-grossing film ever made. It won the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor (Brando) and Best Adapted Screenplay (for Puzo and Coppola). Its seven other Oscar nominations included Pacino, James Caan, and Robert Duvall for Best Supporting Actor and Coppola for Best Director. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest films in world cinema and one of the most influential, especially in the gangster genre. It was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 1990, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and is ranked the second-greatest film in American cinema (behind Citizen Kane) by the American Film Institute. It was followed by sequels The Godfather Part II (1974) and The Godfather Part III (1990).