Puzo's source for the Godfather (not a flame)

[Peter Giordano]

In his preface to a new edition of THE FORTUNATE PILGRIM Mario
Puzo says that he began writing the novel THE GODFATHER almost
immediately after finishing FP and it took him 4 years to write it - He
also says that the inspiration for The Godfather was a character in FP -
Some chronology: FP was published in 1964 - That means he finished
THE GODFATHER  in 1968

What does this have to do with TRP?  My thesis is that if somebody makes
claims about an association with a specific author which can not be verified
then it is reasonable to investigate the claims by that person which can be
verified - If a person says that Mario was "inspired by, influcenced by,
borrowed
an idea from, etc." and this turns out to be false then it is reasonable to
assume
that other claims that person might make are also false

I will not draw and conclusions from my work on Puzo so far except to say that
the evidence indicates that Puzo's inspirations were his own experiences -
I still
have some other materials to collect

This is not meant as a flame or an insult or a vendeta (sp) - I think that
it is a useful
contribution to Pynchon scholarship - If the veracity of some specific
claims can
be demonstrated then other claims become more valuable

Peter Giordano
Williams College
Williamstown, MA