Off the Back of a Truck: Unofficial Contraband for the Sopranos Fan

(Hardback)

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Description

Unleash your inner Soprano and relive all your favorite moments with this companion guide to the award-winning television series The Sopranos.

We all know and love The Sopranos, one of the most important television dramas to ever hit the small screen, having run for six seasons on HBO. The story of the Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano balancing his family life with his role as the leader of a criminal organization pioneered decades of genre-bending peak TV.

Now, Off the Back of a Truck takes you one step further into the world of Tony Soprano and his families, offering an Italian potluck of fresh and fun takes that any true fan can get lost in for hours.

Off the Back of a Truck includes:
-New looks at everyones favorite episodes, scenes, and characters
-All 92 deaths analyzed, evaluated, and ranked
-An investigation of true crimes behind the families schemes
-An exploration of movies and shows that inspired The Sopranos
-Reflections on the use of music, food, and fashion from writers who are also huge fans
-A provocative conversation about what happens in the controversial ending

This book takes you on a journey through the six seasons you have watched time and time againbut it's organized so you can dip in at any time, at any place. Roam around as though youre in Tonys backyard for a BBQ...

Reviews

According to radio and TV producer Braccia, this grab bag of ephemera about HBOsSopranosisnt a guide, its a party. That description is largely correct, given that the book does not march from season one to six, but jumps all over in its eagerness to study aspects of the shows 86 episodes. He discusses the socioeconomics of the series (referring to the characters as the Italian-American Mafias B-team at the turn of the millennium), the history of director and producer David Chases career (he wrote forThe Rockford Files), and the shows influences (Chase drew from David Lynch to write the shows dream episodes). The writing of Braccia and a couple contributorschef Eddie McNamaras passionate defense of Italian American red sauce cooking is a gem (Food is my favorite character onThe Sopranos, he writes)are vibrant and astute enough to avoid full fanboy gushing. . . . At its best, this book slices and dices Sopranos lore with humor, insight, and unabashed devotion.Publishers Weekly
I'm wrapping up mySopranosrewatch. Sadly, all good things must come to an end. Luckily, when it comes toThe Sopranos, there's plenty of ways to extend my passion. I'm immersed in Nick Braccia'sOff the Back of a Truck: Unofficial Contraband for the Sopranos Fan, which offers all the listicles, hard-hitting essays, and fun trivia any devotee could desire, and more.Liz French, Library Journal
"More delicious than a slice of gabagool and ten times funnier than a screening of Cleaver, Off the Back of a Truck is an absolute must-read for any Sopranos super-fan. Insightful, witty, and astoundingly detailed, Nick Braccia's guide to the life and maybe-death of Tony Soprano is the next best thing to a trip to the Bada Bing."Barry Hertz, Film Editor at The Globe and Mail
A dynamic assemblage of dead-on insights and observations aboutThe Sopranos. For fans, this is better than a bowl of Artie Buccos ziti. In the introduction, Braccia gives readers permission to bounce around, which is refreshing. It would be easy to label this collection as fanboy material, but the writingBraccias [contributor] friends include professors, psychiatrists, film and TV writers, and filmmakersis incisive in its dissections of the shows elements. Wrapping up with a morgues worth of the storys victims and the contributors favorite episodes, the book organically ends with a group conversation about the shows most infamous episode, Made in America. Cut to black. An entertaining and engaging virtual watch party for a show that changed TV forever.Kirkus

Author Bio

Nick Braccia is a Cannes Lions and Cliowinning writer, director, and producer. In 2018, he cocreated and coexecutive produced the horror podcastVideo Palacefor AMC Networks streaming service Shudder. While working at the marketing agency Campfire, he helped to develop immersive, narrative experiences for TV shows likeOutcast,Sense8,Watchmen,The Man in the High Castle,Westworld, andThe Purge. Braccia is a member of the Producers Guild of America and lives in Manhattan with his partner, Amanda, and daughter, Evie Blue.