"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.

About the Author

John Dickie is both an academic cultural historian and an advertising copywriter and researcher for some major international companies. He is Senior Lecturer in Italian at UCL and has written articles and books on many aspects of Italian history. In 2005 he was awarded the title Commendatore dell'Ordine della Stella di Solidarieta' Italiana.

Reviews

Journalist Dickie (Italian studies, University Coll., London) has written a fascinating history of the Mafia in Sicily from the 1860s through the early 21st century. Having emerged in and around Palermo during the troubled 1860s with the attempt to incorporate the island into the new Italian state, the Mafia gained increasing control over local government using threats and murder; by the 1870s, Sicilian politicians versed in the system had entered the central government. Mussolini moved to destroy the influences of the bosses during the 1920s and 1930s, but many escaped by emigrating to the United States, helping to build the American Mafia, which in turn helped reestablish the Mafia in Sicily at the end of World War II. Public outcry finally led to a crackdown during the 1990s. Drawing on interviews as well as secondary sources like newspaper articles, Dickie portrays the Mafia as containing elements of an illegal business, a sworn secret society, and a shadow state operating within the larger nation-state. This solid, scholarly contribution is broader and more accessible than Henner Hess's Mafia and Mafiosi: Origins, Power and Myth or Jane and Peter Schneide's Reversible Destiny: Mafia, Antimafia and the Struggle for Palermo. Recommended for all libraries.-Stephen L. Hupp, West Virginia Univ. Lib., Parkersburg Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

'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