The Sicilian Mafia: A Comprehensive History of Cosa Nostra

AmigodelLibro: Great read

United States on Dec 01, 2023

TejasTejas: Looks interesting. Not finished yet, but book is in deep. If you are interested in Sicilian mafia then must start from this one.

India on Oct 21, 2023

Jen S: This is a must read for anyone interested in Sicilian life through the eyes of the Mafia. Dickie writes with such authority and strength about the history of Cosa Nostra and its formative role in the history of Sicily. Shocking, disturbing but unputdowble.

Australia on Jun 06, 2023

bookee: Great reading

Canada on Dec 16, 2022

CB: A well-written and researched book about the Sicilian Mafia. A must-read to know the facts about this secret society.

United States on Nov 03, 2021

Amazon Customer: Well written and not over sensationalised. I don't know if there is an updated version of this but it would be the better choice to have the author's view on how some pending cases turned out. This is important because as you will quickly find out, one of the main tactics of the mafia is to influence judges, police and politicians so as not to face the consequences of their action. The book cites many examples of long court procedures where decisions get overturned.

Having said that, the origins of the mafia is well covered and they are not from the prohibition era as many would suspect.

United Kingdom on Oct 18, 2020

Sarugumo: This book offers up a fascinating history of the Cosa Nostra and its roots in Sicily.

This starts right back from the first mention of the Mafia in historical documents and moves through the ages as it grew, faced backlash, persecution from Mussolini, it's inter-wars, the high profile court cases against it and it's more recent restructuring to redefine it's role and survival.

This is quite scholarly in places, but rarely feels too heavy. It is well researched and whilst it touches upon some of the violence, it is never gratuitous or sensationalist.

This was an interesting read and I have already purchased the authors next book on the Mafia of northern Italy and hopefully it will be as informative and enlightening to read. Worth a try.

United Kingdom on Oct 04, 2019

Mario Casella: The book is excellent. Historically accurate, as far as I know, with, at times, subtle sarcastic remarks that
ease the tension that naturally comes from such topic.
Again the Kindle Edition sadly departs from the printed
edition:
- pictures/photographs are missing
- page numbers do not exist hence references from other sources are difficult to locate within.

I think Amazon should review better Kindle products rather than relying on the Editor to do so.
After all Kindle is Amazon creation. If legally cannot be controlled, for whatever reason, create, at least, an
Amazon Kindle Quality Index, or a Kindle Deviation Index (deviation from printed edition of course).
As it stands now, one is better off buying the printed version and use a PDF or, even better, PDF/OCR
scanned copy for tablet reading.

United States on Feb 18, 2018

James Dalessandro: John Dickie's book on the history of the Sicilian Mafia is a landmark in investigative and historical journalism. The uncovering of the inner workings of an organization that, for obvious reasons, kept few or no written records is in itself a Herculean effort. There is nothing like it in the annals of journalism. It is far and away the most comprehensive portrait of organized crime ever written, but in addition to Mr. Dickie's brilliant and exhaustive research, his insights and writing style elevate the work to highest levels of journalism. The book opens with an extraordinary dissection of the assassination of the crusading Sicilian Magistrate, Giovanni Falcone, whose murder galvanized the Italian people, and the Pope himself, to finally stand up against the Mafia's two centuries of outrages. Then Mr. Dickie explains how Massenet's extraordinary opera, Cavalleria Rusticana -- used in both Raging Bull and The Godfather III -- helped created the myth of Sicilian Mafiosi as "Men of Honor", an aberrant term if ever there was one. A flawless, unflinching masterpiece of investigation and composition. Bravo, Mr. Dickie. James Dalessandro, author of "1906"

United States on Dec 04, 2008

Thomas Hunt: John Dickie's Cosa Nostra tracks the Mafia underworld back to Italian unification efforts in the 19th Century. It explores the growing influence of the Sicilian criminal element and its flight overseas in the 1920s to escape Fascism.

Dickie notes the reestablishment of Mafia authority in Sicily following the Second World War and describes intergang friction on that island from the 1960s to the present day.

Dickie's work is the latest to illustrate England's fascination with the Sicilian Mafia. Though the book's jacket claims it is the "first English language history of the Cosa Nostra," readers of James Fentress's "Rebels and Mafiosi" (which certainly seemed to be in English when I read it a few years ago) will experience some deja vu.

The book appears to have been very well researched. The subject matter might be a bit too heavy for the casual reader, and Dickie does not help matters with his academic writing style. If you are fond of short sentences and are fearful of semicolons, this one's probably not for you.

The book contains a helpful bibliography, a good index, sixteen pages of photographs and a few maps.

United States on Jan 30, 2007