[1][2] Written by biographer Tom Santopietro, the book demonstrates how The Godfather was a turning point in American cultural consciousness.

With its emphasis on proud ethnicity, The Godfather changed not just the way Italian-Americans saw themselves, but how Americans of all backgrounds viewed their individual and national self-identities, their possibilities, and attendant disappointments.

The films make up the shell of The Godfather Effect, but it's the connections with family that give it a center as sweet as cannoli cream.

"[4] The New York Journal of Books found that Santopietro "capably weaves together the memoirist elements, the history, and the analyses of the formal and thematic aspects of the films.

[6] An acclaimed biographer,[7] Santopietro wrote in-depth studies of several Hollywood icons, each of whom reflected and defined the American cultural landscape.