The release of The Godfather in 1972 proved to be one of those rare moments when popular taste embraced a film nearly universally considered, then and now, to be an artistic masterpiece. While that should seem miraculous enough, The Godfather Legacy tells the story of how that miracle almost didn't happen, and of how Francis Ford Coppola had to fight for his film—and at times his job—every inch of the way. Now the movie is enshrined and almost impossible to imagine any other way, but Lebo's account makes it clear how risky a production The Godfather was. Try imagining the then-more-bankable Ernest Borgnine in place of the slumping Marlon Brando, and it becomes an entirely different film. How about a scene following the movie's chilling final shot? The Godfather Legacy is a good story, if a bit familiar: Lebo's book is written at the level of an authorized press release, and contains nothing all that revelatory to devotees. And, while it does cover all three films, The Godfather's two sequels are given substantially fewer pages than the original. There's a deeply insightful book to be written about the films, but this isn't it. However, to admirers of The Godfather, and especially to new fans, this is an informative, handsome souvenir that will look great shelved next to the recently re-released videotapes advertised on its final page.