Puzo is often considered to have been a serious, artistic writer before he "went commercial" with the publication of The Godfather. Readers can judge this for themselves by reading his 1955 novel The Dark Arena, which was reissued by Ballantine Books in 1999.

Among Puzo's other novels, The Sicilian comes closest in tone and subject matter to The Godfather. It opens when Michael Corleone is exiled in Italy. Before returning home, the Godfather asks him to find legendary bandit Salvatore Guiliano and bring him back to America. The book tells the story of Guiliano, who is based on an actual person. Published in 1984, it was reissued by Ballantine in 2001.

One of the few academic studies of The Godfather is Christian K. Messenger's Citing the Don: Mario Puzo and the Meanings of an American Popular Classic. It was published by State University of...