Mafioso: A history of the Mafia from its origins to the present day (A Delta book)

Is there really a mafia? Dispelling popular myths about the Mafia that have sprung up around such figures as Lucky Luciano and Joe Valachi, Gaia Servadio presents the most complete, insightful portrait of the Mafia yet to be published. Servadio traces the evolution of today's Mafia from Sicily's earliest days of domination by foreign conquerers. The Sicilian people, in response to this oppression, banded together in a brotherhood dedicated to honor, loyalty, and mutural proteciotn. How, then, have we come of identify the Mafia with extortion and violence? Gaia Servadio offers a fascinating answer to this question in a study of the big business, and big government, MAFIOSO looks at the names and the families, narcotics, prostitution, and the realities behind the myths. MAFIOSO is a rare instance of a crack journalist having succesfully penetrated a complex, mysterious society whose very byword is silence. One of the most encompassing and most perceptive analyssis of the Mafia printed today.