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Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia by John Dickie Pdf
The Italian-American mafia has its roots in a mysterious and powerful criminal network in Sicily. While the mythology of the mafia has been widely celebrated in American culture, the true origins of its rituals, laws, and methods have never actually been revealed. John Dickie uses startling new research to expose the secrets of the Sicilian mafia, providing a fascinating account that is more violent, frightening, and darkly comic than anything conceived in popular movies and novels. How did the Sicilian mafia begin? How did it achieve its powerful grip in Italy and America? How does it operate today? From the mafia's origins in the 1860s to its current tense relationship with the Berlusconi government, Cosa Nostra takes us to the inner sanctum where few have dared to go before. This is an important work of history and a revelation for anyone who ever wondered what it means to be "made" in the mob.
A New York Times Book Review Notable Book of the Year A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year From the author of M and A Death in Brazil comes Midnight in Sicily. South of mainland Italy lies the island of Sicily, home to an ancient culture that--with its stark landscapes, glorious coastlines, and extraordinary treasure troves of art and archeology--has seduced travelers for centuries. But at the heart of the island's rare beauty is a network of violence and corruption that reaches into every corner of Sicilian life: Cosa Nostra, the Mafia. Peter Robb lived in southern Italy for over fourteen years and recounts its sensuous pleasures, its literature, politics, art, and crimes.
Stunning photographs illuminate the bloody story of the first 150 years. This is the story of the Cosa Nostra: from its origins in Sicily in 1863, through the great wave of Italian immigration to America, to prohibition and the formation of the first mafia families, and to the harsh realities of fascism and the postwar years in Italy where the Cosa Nostra thrived. The image of the mafioso as a “man of honor”—good to the weak, above the laws of the state but subject to a precise code—was firmly rooted in the collective imagination until the 1980s when light was shed on the structure of the vast organization, its unsavory objectives, and the cold-blooded strategies behind its actions. Culled from thousands of archival images, more than 250 photographs and detailed captions tell the story not only of the criminals who have entered popular legend but also of the people who have been victims of the mafia: the judges, police officers, and private citizens who fought back.
Uncover the origin, development, and spread of the most famous criminal organization in the world. The Italian Mafia (Cosa nostra) and affiliated organizations changed and influenced the history of modern society from 1800 up to the present day and History of italian Mafia will talk about all aspects of this story. After an accurate and in-depth analysis in collaboration with professionals in this sector, the author decides to create this quick book with the object to spread an easy-to-read and objective vision of this world phenomenon. This book is the definitive guide to uncover and understand how, when, and why this organization have influenced our society from an economic, social and historical point of view. ✔ We are going to talk about all the most important aspects concerning the origin and history of this organization and how it conquest every corner of our society in a great part of the world. ✔ If you read this book, you're going to learn everything you need to know to understand this phenomenon. ✔ You will increase your historic culture and will learn useful and updated information and notions. Each of the topics listed in this book is treated professionally, every information is the result of accurate studies and analysis. The purpose of this book is to offer a vision of this delicate topic in the most objective way possible, without any kind of prejudice to ensure a work of excellent quality. Very simple reading recommended for everyone. Scroll to the top and get your copy today! Thanks and happy reading!
Challenging the Mafia Mystique by Rino Coluccello Pdf
The Sicilian Mafia, or Cosa Nostra, is one of the most intriguing criminal phenomena in the world. It is an unparalleled organised criminal grouping that over almost two centuries has been able not only to successfully permeate licit and illicit economy, politics and civil society, but also to influence and exercise authoritative power over both the underworld and the upper-world. This criminal phenomenon has been a captivating conundrum for scholars of different disciplines who have tried to explain with various paradigms the reasons behind the emergence and consolidation of the mafia. Challenging the Mafia Mystique provides an analysis of the changes the Sicilian mafia has undergone, from legitimisation to denunciation. Rino Coluccello highlights how, from the very emergence of the organised criminal groups in Sicily, a culture existed that was protective and tolerant of the mafia. He argues that the various conceptualisations of the mafia that dominated the public and scientific debate in the nineteenth and more than half of the twentieth century created a mystique, which legitimised the mafia and contributed to their success. This book will be of great interest to scholars and students of organised crime, Italian politics and Italian literature.
The ’Ndrangheta and Sacra Corona Unita by Nicoletta Serenata Pdf
This book covers two lesser known but important members of the Italian Mafia: the ’Ndrangheta and the Sacra Corona Unita. Italian criminal organizations, in particular Mafia, are one of the most commonly researched organized crime groups, usually focusing on the Sicilian Mafia, Cosa Nostra, or the Neapolitan Mafia, Camorra. However, Italy has other two other Mafias, one in Apulia, Sacra Corona Unita, and the other in Calabria, ’Ndrangheta. Although an extensive literature is available on Cosa Nostra and Camorra, less is known about the other two organizations, particularly their operations in the United States. Territory is one of the most important elements in the Mafia because the criminal organization operates its signoria territoriale, controlling every illegal activity in its sphere of action. This territorial power goes beyond the Italian boundaries reaching the United States of America and other non-European countries, with the mere aim of developing their drug/weapon deals and money laundering businesses. Mafia, therefore, is not a uniquely Italian phenomenon as it might appear, but a worldwide phenomenon, affecting many societies and economies. This unique volume is its interest into a field as yet completely provides new information about the ’Ndrangheta and Sacra Corona Unita written by an interdisciplinary group of Italian scholars. It covers organizational, hierarchic, and operative aspects: that is, the role that they have in politics, in their own families, in business relations in Italy and abroad. It also highlights the particular role that Cosa Nostra and Camorra had in their development. This work will be of interest to criminology researchers studying organized crime, corruption, money laundering and trafficking, as well as researchers from related fields, such as political science, economics, and international relations.
Mafia Republic: Italy's Criminal Curse. Cosa Nostra, 'Ndrangheta and Camorra from 1946 to the Present by John Dickie Pdf
In MAFIA REPUBLIC, John Dickie, Professor of Italian Studies at University College, London and author of the international bestsellers COSA NOSTRA and MAFIA BROTHERHOODS, shows how the Italian mafias have grown in power and become more and more interconnected, with terrifying consequences. In 1946, Italy became a democratic Republic, thereby entering the family of modern western nations. But deep within Italy there lurked a forgotten curse: three major criminal brotherhoods, whose methods had been honed over a century of experience. As Italy grew, so did the mafias. Sicily's Cosa Nostra, the camorra from Naples, and the mysterious 'ndrangheta from Calabria stood ready to enter the wealthiest and bloodiest period of their long history. Italy made itself rich by making scooters, cars and handbags. The mafias carved out their own route to wealth through tobacco smuggling, construction, kidnapping and narcotics. And as criminal business grew exponentially, the mafias grew not just more powerful, but became more interconnected. By the 1980s, Southern Italy was on the edge of becoming a narco-state. The scene was set for a titanic confrontation between heroic representatives of the law, and mafiosi who could no longer tolerate any obstacle to their ambitions. This was a war for Italy's future as a civilized country. At its peak in 1992-93, the 'ndrangheta was beheading people in the street, and the Sicilian mafia murdered its greatest enemies, investigating magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, before embarking on a major terrorist bombing campaign on the Italian mainland. Today, the long shadow of mafia history still hangs over a nation wracked by debt, political paralysis, and widespread corruption. While police put their lives on the line every day, one of Silvio Berlusconi's ministers said that Italy had to 'learn to live with the mafia'; suspicions of mafia involvement still surround some of the country's most powerful media moguls and politicians. The latest investigations show that its reach is astonishing: it controls much of Europe's wholesale cocaine trade, and representatives from as far away as Germany, Canada and Australia come to Calabria to seek authorisation for their affairs. Just when it thought it had finally contained the mafia threat, Italy is now discovering that it harbours the most global criminal network of them all.
When we think of the Italian Mafia, we think of Marlon Brando, Tony Soprano, and the Corleones iconic actors and characters who give shady dealings a mythical pop presence. Yet these sensational depictions take us only so far. The true story of the Mafia reveals both an organization and mindset dedicated to the preservation of tradition. It is no accident that the rise of the Mafia coincided with the unification of Italy and the influx of immigrants into America. The Mafia means more than a horse head under the sheets it functions as an alternative to the state, providing its own social and political justice. Combining a nuanced history with a unique counternarrative concerning stereotypes of the immigrant, Salvatore Lupo, a leading historian of modern Italy and a major authority on its criminal history, has written the definitive account of the Sicilian Mafia from 1860 to the present. Consulting rare archival sources, he traces the web of associations, both illicit and legitimate, that have defined Cosa Nostra during its various incarnations. He focuses on several crucial periods of transition: the Italian unification of 1860 to 1861, the murder of noted politician Notarbartolo, fascist repression of the Mafia, the Allied invasion of 1943, social conflicts after each world war, and the major murders and trials of the 1980s. Lupo identifies the internal cultural codes that define the Mafia and places these codes within the context of social groups and communities. He also challenges the belief that the Mafia has grown more ruthless in recent decades. Rather than representing a shift from "honorable" crime to immoral drug trafficking and violence, Lupo argues the terroristic activities of the modern Mafia signify a new desire for visibility and a distinct break from the state. Where these pursuits will take the family adds a fascinating coda to Lupo's work.
In 1992 Italy was convulsed by two brazen Mafia assassinations of high-ranking officials. The latest "excellent cadavers" were Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, the Sicilian magistrates who had been the Cosa Nostra's most implacable enemies. Yet in the aftermath of the murders, hundreds of "men of honor" were arrested and the government that ad protected them for nearly half a century was at last driven from office. This is the story that Stille tells with such insight and immediacy in Excellent Cadavers. Combining a profound understanding of his doomed heroes with and unprecedented look into the Mafia's stringent codes and murderous rivalries, he gives us a book that has the power of a great work of history and the suspense of a true thriller. "Riveting...a well-paced and highly informative account stocked with well-drawn characters."--Philadelphia Inquirer "Masterful...[Stille] delivers a stiletto-sharp portrait of the bloodthirsty Sicilian mafia."--Business Week
Makes sense of mafias as organizations, via a pioneering comparative analysis of seven mafia groups from around the world. This collative study of historical accounts, official data, investigative sources, and interviews will aid students and scholars of sociology, organizational studies and criminology to better understand how mafias work.
Stereotypical representations of the Mezzogiorno are a persistent feature of Italian culture at all levels. John Dickie analyzes these stereotypes in the post Unification period, when the Mezzogiornio was widely seen as barbaric, violent or irrational, an "Africa" on the European continent.
Insiders call it the Craft. Discover the fascinating true story of one of the most influential and misunderstood secret brotherhoods in modern society. Founded in London in 1717 as a way of binding men in fellowship, Freemasonry proved so addictive that within two decades it had spread across the globe. Masonic influence became pervasive. Under George Washington, the Craft became a creed for the new American nation. Masonic networks held the British empire together. Under Napoleon, the Craft became a tool of authoritarianism and then a cover for revolutionary conspiracy. Both the Mormon Church and the Sicilian mafia owe their origins to Freemasonry. Yet the Masons were as feared as they were influential. In the eyes of the Catholic Church, Freemasonry has always been a den of devil-worshippers. For Hitler, Mussolini and Franco, the Lodges spread the diseases of pacifism, socialism and Jewish influence, so had to be crushed. Freemasonry's story yokes together Winston Churchill and Walt Disney; Wolfgang Mozart and Shaquille O'Neal; Benjamin Franklin and Buzz Aldrin; Rudyard Kipling and 'Buffalo Bill' Cody; Duke Ellington and the Duke of Wellington. John Dickie's The Craft is an enthralling exploration of a the world's most famous and misunderstood secret brotherhood, a movement that not only helped to forge modern society, but has substantial contemporary influence, with 400,000 members in Britain, over a million in the USA, and around six million across the world.
*Includes pictures *Includes a bibliography for further reading The word "mafia," Sicilian in origin, is synonymous with Italy, but Italy is home to several different mafias, with three being particularly notorious. While the Cosa Nostra of western Sicily is the most infamous, other powerful groups include the ferocious 'Ndrangheta of Calabria and the Camorra, the third-largest mafia, which is active in Naples and the Campania region. A "mafia" is loosely defined as a criminal organization that is interested in social, economic and political power, combining elements of a traditional secret society with those of a business, but further levels of nuance are necessary in order to understand these groups. In a general sense, this is because each mafia creates a myth about the development of the organization, which becomes like an unquestionable truth. In essence, part of what makes its members so completely loyal to it is also what makes outsiders so utterly afraid of it. The 'Ndrangheta (pronounced an-drang-et-ah) is a close neighbor of the Cosa Nostra and currently considered the most powerful (and difficult to spell) criminal organization in Italy. The 'Ndrangheta is centered around Calabria, the most southwestern region of Italy, almost touching the Sicilian city of Messina. Though it began as far back as the late 19th century, it was not until the 1950s that the 'Ndrangheta started to spread its tentacles throughout Italy and then across the entire globe, forming an empire that now ranges from Australia and Turkey to Chile to Canada. The fact that the 'Ndrangheta is overshadowed by the Sicilian Cosa Nostra, as well as by the Neapolitan mafia, the Camorra, allowed it to grow and develop outside of the public eye. For years, people actually considered the Calabrian mafia to be part of the Cosa Nostra as a mere appendage, rather than its own entity. This false belief was perpetuated by the high-profile Sicilian pentito, Tommaso Buscetta, and it was not until the beginning of the 21st century that the 'Ndrangheta came into the public eye due to two dramatic killings, the assassination of a politician and the "Duisburg massacre" in a small German village. Nonetheless, the 'Ndrangheta is actually the second oldest mafia in Italy, and, despite its origins in Calabria, the poorest region of Italy, it is the wealthiest of Italy's illegal criminal organizations. Given that people have always been less familiar with this organization, studies on the 'Ndrangheta have also lagged behind work done on the Camorra and the Cosa Nostra. The government took an early interest in the Camorra and Cosa Nostra, creating a paper trail that does not exist for the 'Ndrangheta, and the region of Calabria suffered numerous earthquakes that destroyed what little archival evidence there was available. Of course, the 'Ndrangheta places a premium on secrecy, and thus far it has only had an extremely low number of traitors who were able to testify to the organization's inner workings. Finally, the fact that the 'Ndrangheta is essentially a plural organization makes it very hard to delineate the parameters of what constitutes an 'Ndrangheta cell and what is simply gang activity. 'Ndrangheta: The History of Italy's Most Powerful Organized Crime Syndicate examines how one of the world's strongest mobs formed, its inner workings, and the events that made it feared around the globe. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the 'Ndrangheta like never before.
This exploration of the full diversity of the Italian Antimafia draws on primary sources and interviews to provide the first complete analysis of social, political and grassroots efforts since 1992. This fascinating study looks at Antimafia initiatives within the context of international initiatives against organized crime.
The Boss of Bosses by Attilio Bolzoni,Giuseppe D'Avanzo Pdf
This is the true story of Totò Riina, the Cosa Nostra boss who rose from nothing to become the most powerful man in Sicily. The picture emerges of a bloodthirsty, power-hungry monster who, despite his lowly beginnings, is able to outmanoeuvre the other Mafia chiefs and take control of the organisation. However, the story is not just that of Riina, but also of Sicily itself. D'Avanzo and Bolzoni have transformed a complex series of events spanning several decades into a gripping narrative. In prison for 18 years now, Totò Riina still remains the dictator of the Cosa Nostra. This book tells the haunting and disturbing tale, with thorough investigation and testimony of the Sicilian Corleone.