Dongri to Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia Paperback – May 29, 2012

Dongri to Dubai is basically the story of rise of Dawood Ibrahim. But the book is not limited to Dawood only. It covers a period of over 6 decades and stretches back to pre independence time. It covers the two generations of smugglers/mafia/don of Mumbai. The first generation consisting of Haji Mastan, Karim Lala and Vardhan while the second generation covers the Pathans and Dawood. This book documents the difference between the two generations. While the older generation didn't believe in bloodshed and followed the laws of mafia, the second generation did exactly the opposite. The story nicely builds up the change in Mafia over two generations. If you want to understand the growth of Mafia in Mumbai then read this book. Towards the end, though it seems to get repetitive. Otherwise this book is fast paced and engrossing. Read this along with the book Queens of Mumbai written by the same author.

The book is a well researched and well written narrative of the rise of Dawood Ibrahim. The author has taken great care to give us the context of his rise as well. The editing too is tight with every chapter holding your attention. The story telling will feel crude at points but that is as much a by product of the subject. There are also many gaps after the 1993 blasts, about match fixing but its understandable that the feel of the first hand accounts you come across earlier in the book would be hard to come by later when the Don himself became more secretive.I'd have liked more on many of the other characters in the story but I guess that is for another book.

I grew up in Bombay in the 80's and spent considerable time reading (and sometimes witnessing) the exploits of the underworld and its impact on day-to-day lives in the city. It was quite fascinating reading of these "Dons" who were essentially a bunch of cunning, murderous thieves but even back then, the news reporters of the day were quite smitten by these individuals and (perhaps unintentionally) painted a picture of them being unsung heroes.In such a time, it was refreshing to read a highly objective and detailed analysis on gang wars and their roots in an article in the Illustrated Weekly of India by Amrita Shah. This was no regular article but rather a thesis on the origins of the various gangs, its leaders, their motivation, their reach and their current standing (the article was originally published in 1985). For its time, it was amazing how Ms. Shah was able to collate so much information and present it in such a readable form. It is clear this article was influential in Mr Zaidi's career as a crime reporter and he has acknowledged this at the end of his book.However I cannot say the same level of objectivity (or finesse) is found in this book. Don't get me wrong, this book is not mediocre by any stretch and Mr Zaidi's capabilities as a reporter and his courage are evident in his choice of subject matter and his vast knowledge on the subject. But the book tends to veer (perhaps unintentionally again) towards glorifying the head of the D-gang and all his supposed accomplishments. For instance, on more than one occasion Mr. Zaidi waxes eloquent on Dawood's superior intelligence and his strategic planning calling him a better businessman than the Ambani's and Tata's combined and smarter than many heads of state put together! He goes to great extent to illustrate this superior intelligence throughout the book thru some action or incident, some of which would appear as mundane tasks for a ganglord!Other faults I find with this book are-1) The book sometimes reads like a lengthy blog post and could benefit from useful tools like map, timelines, charts showing connections across various gangs etc.2) Lots of passages are repetitive as if to emphasize a point.3) The book appears to be all over the place with random chapters thrown in the middle that derail any attempt at structured analysis (the chapter on the starlet Mandakini is snicker worthy!!).4) Could have done with better proof reading to correct basic grammar and syntax errors.All that said, what I liked about the book are1) It offers interesting analysis and history on the various ganglords from Bombay and is presented in chronological order from the post-independence era up until the formation of "organized crime" in the 90's thru the rise of Dawood and his family and the breakout groups like the Chota Rajan gang.2) I was very impressed by its presentation of Bombay's police force and all its accomplishments in thwarting some of these crimes despite their limitations due to the bureaucracy, antiquated technology and a corrupt political system.3) Mr Zaidi is essentially a crime reporter and an astute one at that. His perspective on the crime situation and the political will (or lack of) to bring the criminals/terrorists to task are very insightful. It's amazing how India keeps blaming Pakistan for providing refuge to the likes of Dawood yet when he himself offered to surrender, we chickened out due to political pressure.All said, Mr Zaidi's book is an essential read for anyone interested in the subject matter of crime in Mumbai and has some familiarity with it to fully appreciate it. Despite some flaws in the narration style (as detailed above), this book is noteworthy for it's scope and the insight it offers. I would not be surprised to see more than one movie come out of this effort :)

I've never been much interested in anything mafioso. The fact that I haven't read the book or watched the movie The God Father speaks for itself.I started reading the book without any expectations just because Kindle was offering it free. Once I started reading, I got pulled into the world of plots, strategies, subterfuge and couldn't believe this was an actual account of reality. This is a rare example of glamorous non-fiction despite being dealing with a topic not usually associated with glamor.This books has inspired me to read any mafioso books I can lay my hands on. The next in line being "Mafia Queens of Mumbai".

Iam naive to crime reporting and the Journalism.. also I had no idea about Saudi.. With such a backdrop I read this book just because I loved the narration when i downloaded a sample of this book.. I at once bought this and read it.. Mr. Zaidi I loved reading it.. The book reflects your intense passion and dedication.. I cant.comment on chronicling and accuracy as am unaware.. But the effort and narrative style should be given a standing ovation.. Having said that I feel u were very biased and in total admiration of Dawood.. Dawood z basically an absconding criminal and more horrifying than a terrorist.. I felt, u should have exposed him and used harsher words rather being in total awe..Whatever, hats off to ur effort and style.. Yeh dil maangey more..

Recently heard about this book after I watched - Mumbai meri Jaan on prime .1. Authors research into each and every chapter is meticulous2. Chronology is arranged like a movie

The ebook has been 'unputdownable' - a fascinating read. Although it historically documents the growth of the different gangs and ganglords based on facts and police records - it reads like crime fiction and personally I really liked that. That's what made it so interesting. By the end of the book, you realize that it isn't just about some people and the crimes they've committed - there are larger interconnecting issues at stake - including financial and political. These shades of grey in Dongri to Dubai have been highlighted with complete objectivity and honesty.