A Complete History of the Mafia by JO DURDEN SMITH (2007) Hardcover

I agree with J. Guild's review: I expected a superficial treatment, probably a lot of legend and myth, a la "Playboy's History of Organized Crime," "Bloodletters and Badmen," etc. When I saw the cover, I was even more convinced this would lean toward lame; it was visually attractive and seemed to promise too much in such a thin--and small compared to PBHoOC and BB&BM. I am amazed at how this thing is concise, in-depth, and interesting all at once. I paid 7.98 for an almost like-new copy. Makes a great coffee table book.

Great book for its price! It comes with a lot of pictures. I love it.

I like this book, but I don't love it. It's described as "a complete history" of the Mafia. However, it really isn't. It's very superficial when it comes to the American side of the Mafia. John Gotti, for example, isn't mentioned all that often. Philadelphia mobster turned informant Phil Leonetti, who is quite possibly just as significant on this side of the Atlantic as Tommaso Buscetta is on the other side, is mentioned entirely in passing. The actions against the Five Families, Nicky Scarfo in Philadelphia, the Philly-New York Mob War, etc. are all significant parts of the puzzle that are completely missing.All that being said (and I hope you are still reading the review to get to the positives), what it does really well is cover the international scope of La Cosa Nostra. For its length (205 pages) and glossy presentation (lots of pretty pictures of everyone involved), it might be the best English language presentation of the Italian side of the Mafia. It's a quick, but informative read that covers the French Connection, the Sicilian power struggles, the corruption in the Italian government, and the individuals who fought to bring them down. You really get a sense of how important Sicily was and still is to the Mafia as a whole. However, if your goal is to learn about the American mob, there are probably better books out there.

A Complete History of the Mafia? Hardly, it hould have been called the Cliff Notes of the Mafia. What a disappointing treatment of such a rich topic.Format and length: This book is one step above a pop-up book. ACHOTM weights in at a mere 203 total pages, several pages are two page enlargerd photographs. Every storyline pages page has a three inch margin. Almost every page contains most stock AP pictures that, more often than not, are disconnected from the page text. In total, a book that can be read in an hour or two.Content: a topic as complex as the Mafia deserves and requires at least some modicum of Research. The author's reseach appears to have consisted of reading a summary of Associated Press releases from the last 100 years supplemented by viewing the Godfather, Goodfellas, and other pop culture treatment of the Mafia. Amazingly enough, this tome contains neither footnotes, references nor a bibliography.The author takes the reader through a very superficial history of the Mafia and provides a thin treatment of most well-known Mafia related personas such as Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, et al. The author betrays his lack of knowledge by leaving out any mention of: 1) Early Mafia history including the Sicilian Vespers (1282), Medieval Sicily and other events leading up to the Italian Unification (1860s); 2) the American Mafia outside of the New York and Chicago crime families; [there is no mention of the Mafia families in Youngstown/Cleveland, Kansas City, Miami etc.); 3) significant Mafia personas such as Jimmy "The Weasel" Fratianno - the 1st made American Mafiosi to turn states witness; Tony Spilotro (the basis of Joe Pesci's character in Casino); Henry Hill (Ray Liotta in Goodfellas); and 4) too many other events to mention in a book review.My recommendation to the Reader: read the Wikipedia.org Mafia entries in lieu of this book if you are really interested in the Mafia.

I have read several books about the Mafia and was always amazed at how they controlled their activities.I almost passed on this book,thinking that it was just another superficial treatment of the Mafia.Here on Amazon,there are several listed by Jo Durden-Smith.The one I have is a soft cover ,published by Arcturus in 2006.It has the cover illustration as shown on the French Edition.There is also a 2003 Edition,but I am quite sure they are all the same.It has 208 pages,profusely illustrated and all the photographs are B&W. It is an excellent book for anyone who wants to really understand how and where the Mafia originated and how it developed over the years.It is much more of a history of the Mafia than many other "Mafia" books which tend to be more about the actual shootings with violent photographs ,and much more concentrated on Mafia operations in America. This book is particularly informative about the roots of the Mafia in Sicily,its close association and involvement in Politics,the Church,and expansion into America with the immigration of Sicilian immigrants ,both legal and illegal. It is also particularly informative of many of the involvements of the Government ,working hand in hand with the Mafia, particularly during the war and in combating both Communists,and Fascists in Europe and America. There is nothing in the book about the author;but a search shows that John Anthony (Jo) Durden-Smith has excellent credentials ,having many years experience in documentary film making in both Europe and America,specializing in current affairs,politics and criminal cases.He moved to New York in the 70's and turned to writing.Born in England in 1941,he died early from a stroke at the age of 65. Knowing more about the author,it is not surprising ,that with all his experience,that this is such a good and complete history of the Mafia and constructed and written in a way that makes something ,which by its long and secretive history;much more easily understood.