Product Description

COSA NOSTRA is the compelling story of the Sicilian mafia, the world’s most famous, most secretive and most misunderstood criminal fraternity.

The mafia has been given many names since it was founded one hundred and forty years ago: the Sect, the Brotherhood, the Honoured Society, and now Cosa Nostra. Yet as times have changed, the mafia’s subtle and bloody methods have remained the same. Now, for the first time, COSA NOSTRA reconstructs the complete history of the Sicilian mafia from its origins to the present day, from the lemon groves and sulphur mines of Sicily, to the streets of Manhattan.

COSA NOSTRA is a definitive history, rich in atmosphere, and with the narrative pace of the best detective fiction, and has been updated to make it the most vital contemporary account of the mafia ever published.

The mob genre has finally grown up.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20667 in Books
• Published on: 2007-03-08
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 528 pages

Review
'I couldn't put it down.' --John Guy, Sunday Times

'Monumental and gripping' --Andrew Marr, BBC Start the Week

'Riveting' --Sunday Telegraph

Review
'I couldn't put it down. His archival sleuthing is yoked to his powerful, often coruscating storytelling to create a chilling account of the mafia's sinister, horrific reality.' (John Guy, The Sunday Times )

'Riveting' (Sunday Telegraph )

'A readable, highly informative, admirably systematic account of how the Mafia attained its hold.' (Times Literary Supplement )

'Highly readable...compelling. The narrative is entertaining and, at times, as chilling as the darkest crime fiction. At its best, it combines compelling horror with clear, rational analysis of the moral and political failings, which, even today, give the mafia a seat at many top tables in Italian society.' (Glasgow Herald )

'Lucid...grimly readable.' (Daily Telegraph )

'The first truly definitive English-language study of this myth-laden subject, and it is a pleasure to read...his book is notable for shrewd judgements couched in language that is vibrantly memorable. His acquaintance with the island and his immersion in the wider modern Italian culture allows him to convey the noxious atmosphere of corruption with flair.' (Sunday Times )

'Monumental and gripping' (Andrew Marr, BBC Start the Week )

'Combines scholarship with a rip-roaring read' (Sunday Herald )

'Well-written...his findings are supported by careful research and copious documentation. Racy...contains some powerful stories, scenes and surprises.' (Irish Times )

Daily Telegraph
'Lucid...grimly readable.'

Customer Reviews

this book is great, capisci.
by far the most interesting book I have read in ages, everything you wanted to know about the Mafia. And as everyone says, 'LEMONS!'?!?

A fascinating history
The development of the mafia in Sicily over the last 150 years is described in detail in this absorbing book.
The challenge of writing about a secret, criminal fraternity is obvious. How can you be sure of the accuaracy of your sources and to what extent have popular perceptions of the Mafia been distorted by the media industry that has fuelled its reputation and its mystique? Dickie never fails to acknowledge the difficulty of such a task and never falls into the trap of allowing his writing to become melodramatic or unrealistic. This means that his tale has the air of authority of journalistic prose and brings to life the conditions in which the Mafia arose by focusing on the social and economic events that encouraged its development.
This means that the book is of interest not just to historians but to anyone who has an interest in Italian culture and society. Dickie makes clear his admiration for those who have fought against violence and corruption and whose integrity has prompted the recent courtcases against mafia leaders.The book is well written and provides both an interesting introduction to a controversial subject and a brave rebuttal of Hollywood's tendency to glamourise crime.

It all started with Lemons !!!
Well I never.........but it really did, way back in the 1800's in Sicily.

I had no idea what to expect, and took to the task of reading what was described by a fellow Anglo-Italian as "the finest read concerning the Cosa Nostra" with great gusto.

Being written by an academic, (and not being one myself) it meant that there was always going to be some heavy going content, and the middle phase is indeed that. Great, but you do have to have your wits about you to take it in and it is all relative to the latter events and the developing threads. Dickie clearly knows his stuff and his supporting research is meticulous.

Covers everything, and everyone, from the startings back in the 1800's right up to modern day, including excellent quality detail on the Maxi trials and the assasinations of those brave Mafia-busting Judges, Falcone and Borsellino.

It even covers the export of Cosa Nostra to the USA and exposes the quite different methods and "management styles", albeit their "business interests" are very much aligned.

I read this alongside Donnie Brasco and it was quite amazing how much more I was able to relate to what he actually went through for those years and the magnitude of his achievements.