Product Description

the best book on the Mafia in Sicily - its origins, its code of honour, its secrecy and its brutality. A chilling insight. - reveals how Mafia violence and corruption crept even into every aspect of Sicilian society, including the police and the church - and how this was only possible with the help of the American army, who gave the Mafia, by then all but destroyed by the Fascist government, the kiss of life when they occupied the island in 1943 - the perfect companion for any traveller to Sicily, and a gripping armchair read

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18924 in Books
• Published on: 2003-08-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Review
"Deft, witty and totally compelling" Time Out

Eric Newby, Observer
The Mafia observed by one of the great travel writers of our time.

Good Book Guide
This brilliant dissection of the Mafia, past and present, combines history, sociology, suspense, horror, and superb travel writing.

Customer Reviews

The Mafia is not just The Godfather
The Mafia's origins in Sicily are detailed in this 1963 book written in the wake of the very first high-profile Mafia trials in Italy.
Informative, matter-of-fact, and chilling in its forensic detail, I recommend this book highly, and I look forward with great anticipation to reading Mr Lewis' other books.

This is the one
This is actually one of the books on the Mafia you SHOULD get. The main strong point being it's ability to explain the background of the mafia. It's also well written, this is good "story telling".

If you get this you should complement it with "Excellent Cadavers" by Alexander Stille. Together they give you enough information to navigate further. Both of them deal with the Sicilian mafia, but concentrate on different periods.

The Honoured Society: The Scilian Mafia Observed
If your interested in the Mafia this is a very interesting book, or just the history of Italy, this book is facinating, well written with amazing historical facts. Great Book