Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia

Great read

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"

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.

The book is excellent. Historically accurate, as far as I know, with, at times, subtle sarcastic remarks thatease the tension that naturally comes from such topic.Again the Kindle Edition sadly departs from the printededition:- 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, anAmazon 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.

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

Dickie has put in a great deal of research and the book is a useful introduction to the Sicilian Mafia. Unfortunately, he is a poor writer. He goes on and on without any sense of proportion about important and unimportant, loads the text with his own value judgments, and is over the top in crediting himself with an originality that simply is not there. He has many irritating tics, such as translating (sometimes misleadingly) Italian nicknames. He is also rather too prone to dismiss the US government's complicity in reestablishing the Mafia after WW II. With all these faults of style and judgment, the book is still worth reading for anyone who takes an interest in the subject. Perhaps if the author ever matures as a writer, he will tackle these theme again in a more effective and coherent manner.

Amazing detail and knowledge of Sicilian mentality for a non-Italian let alone non-Sicilian. Especially liked the back-stories on the characters and events. As a Sicilian-American, I recognise some of the customs and character traits he so beautifully describes. Must read for me.

If you wish to know something in a sober way about what Michael 'the Pope' Greco and Joe "Bananas" Bonnano were up to, how the mafia and the Christian Democrats in Italy greased each others wheels for decades, who almost destroyed the mafia (the fascists) and of course which type of Alfa Romero was the mafiosi car bomb of choice in the 1960s - almost always an Alfa Romero Giulietta - then this is the book for you. One distraction: while much of the book is clearly based on the oral testimony of Tommaso Buscetta, a pentiti or mafia defector near the end of his days, the author repeatedly reminds us that his testimony is not entirely reliable, an annoying and patronising ) sleight of hand.

This book provides just the right level of detail to a story that sweeps many decades—not an easy task. By providing over-arching themes, the reader follows the successes and tragedies in the fight against a true social cancer. A compelling read.

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

Comprato in inglese per esercitarmi con la lingua, di Dickie avevo già letto il bellissimo Mafia Republic, si conferma anche con quest'ottimo lavoro autore incisivo e grande conoscitore della realtà italiana (in particolare della storia e gli sviluppi della criminalità organizzata nel nostro paese)

Este libro da todos los detalles sobre La Cosa Nostra. De a ratos se te hace un poco demasiado denso o largo, pero vale la pena. También es un buen regalo, para curiosos del tema.

Excellent ouvrage d'un vrai spécialiste sur le sujet. A compléter avec certains de ses autres livres. Dickie s'est réellement plongé dans le sujet.