In the Company of Animals: A Study of Human-Animal Relationships

Book Description

In the Company of Animals is an original and very readable study of human attitudes to the natural world. It contrasts the way we love some animals while ruthlessly exploiting others; it provides a detailed and fascinating account of ways in which animal companionship can influence our health; and it provides a key to understanding the moral contradictions inherent in our treatment of animals and nature. Its scope encompasses history, anthropology, and animal and human psychology. Along the way, the author uncovers a fascinating trail of insights and myths about our relationship with the species with which we share the planet. James Serpell is the editor of The Domestic Dog: Its Evolution, Behavior and Interactions With People (CUP, 1995).

Customer Reviews:

The best introduction to human-animal studies.......2003-08-25

In the Company of Animals is the single best introduction to anthrozoology - the study of human-animal interactions. A woman once told me about her experience reading it. She said simply, "That book changed my life." Serpell is a both a powerful writer and a leading scholar in this field. The first half of In the Company of Animals is largely concerned with the who, what, and why of maintaining non-human animals as companions. In the breadth of his coverage, Serpell displays an impressive command of psychology, ethology, history, cultural anthropology, and behavioral medicine. A brief sampling of a few representative topics illustrates the span of Serpell's intellectual vision: the role of pets in sixteenth century witchcraft, the effects of watching aquarium fish on blood pressure, bestiality, social parasitism, and why dogs rather than pigs became companion animals. Serpell argues that individuals who keep pets have often been viewed with scorn, suspicion, and pity. At times, pet owners have been subjected to persecution and even death. Thus, this part of the book is essentially a defense of companion animals. Serpell reviews recent studies documenting the benefits of pets to human health, psychological well-being, and the amelioration of loneliness. He concludes that the company of animals serves to buffer their owners from the interpersonal isolation all too common in modern industrial societies.
The second half of In the Company of Animals focuses on the darker side of human-animal interactions. Serpell is particularly adept at describing paradoxes inherent if our interactions with other species. Among my favorites are the dual roles of puppies in Southeast Asian households (pets and dinner), Adolf Hitler's commitment to animal welfare, and the love people have for dogs coupled with an equally passionate loathing for their immediate progenitor, the wolf. Serpell, however, goes further than listing the foibles that characterize human-animal relationships. He develops an explanation, suggesting that these paradoxes ultimately reflect the evolutionary processes which have shaped the human mind.
Serpell believes that moral conflict that emerges in our relationships with animals stems from a tendency we inherited from our hunter-gatherer forbearers -- the penchant for meat. By nature we are exploiters of animals. But unlike tigers and wolves and boa constrictors, we are carnivores with a sense of guilt. As a result we have developed psychological mechanisms that allow us to maintain the "myth of human supremacy." He believes this is an illusion which developed as cultures shifted from hunter-gatherer economies to those based on the slaughter of domestic animals. This hypothesis provides a powerful perspective on the contradictions seen in human-animal relationships.
While readers may not agree with all of Serpell's ideas, they will find that In the Company of Animals is a beautifully written book that is rich in both facts and provocative ideas. It will appeal to both animal lovers and the scholars who study them.

The best introduction to human-animal studies.......2003-08-20

In the Company of Animals is the single best introduction to anthrozoology - the study of human-animal interactions. A woman once told me about her experience on reading it. She said simply, "That book changed my life." Serpell is a both a powerful writer and a leading scholar in this field. The first half of In the Company of Animals is largely concerned with the who, what, and why of maintaining non-human animals as companions. In the breadth of his coverage, Serpell displays an impressive command of psychology, ethology, history, cultural anthropology, and behavioral medicine. A brief sampling of a few representative topics illustrates the span of Serpell's intellectual vision: the role of pets in sixteenth century witchcraft, the effects of watching aquarium fish on blood pressure, bestiality, social parasitism, and why dogs rather than pigs became companion animals. Serpell argues that individuals who keep pets have often been viewed with scorn, suspicion, and pity. At times, pet owners have been subjected to persecution and even death. Thus, this part of the book is essentially a defense of companion animals. Serpell reviews recent studies documenting the benefits of pets to human health, psychological well-being, and the amelioration of loneliness. He concludes that the company of animals serves to buffer their owners from the interpersonal isolation all too common in modern industrial societies.
The second half of In the Company of Animals focuses on the darker side of human-animal interactions. Serpell is particularly adept at describing paradoxes inherent if our interactions with other species. Among my favorites are the dual roles of puppies in Southeast Asian households (pets and dinner), Adolf Hitler's commitment to animal welfare, and the love people have for dogs coupled with an equally passionate loathing for their immediate progenitor, the wolf. Serpell, however, goes further than listing the foibles that characterize human-animal relationships. He develops an explanation, suggesting that these paradoxes ultimately reflect the evolutionary processes which have shaped the human mind.
Serpell believes that moral conflict that emerges in our relationships with animals stems from a tendency we inherited from our hunter-gatherer forbearers -- the penchant for meat. By nature we are exploiters of animals. But unlike tigers and wolves and boa constrictors, we are carnivores with a sense of guilt. As a result we have developed psychological mechanisms that allow us to maintain the "myth of human supremacy." He believes this is an illusion which developed as cultures shifted from hunter-gatherer economies to those based on the slaughter of domestic animals. This hypothesis provides a powerful perspective on the contradictions seen in human-animal relationships.
While readers may not agree with all of Serpell's ideas, they will find that In the Company of Animals is a beautifully written book that is rich in both facts and provocative ideas. It will appeal to both animal lovers and the scholars who study them.

A Classic by a Highly Esteemed Scholar.......2003-04-02

As a professor of anthropology who teaches a course on Anthrozoology at Western Illinois University, I highly recommend In the Company of Animals. Anthrozoology (the scientific study of human-animal interaction) is a dynamic new area of study and Dr Serpell is one of the founders. This book is required reading for my course, and students love it! Serpell's work explores the phenomena of domestication and pet keeping, or companion animals (as we prefer to call them now), from a cross-cultural and evolutionary perspective that is highly anthropological. Shame on us! An Anthropologist should have written this book! I highly recommend this work.

Extremely disappointing........2000-09-02

Although claiming to be a study of human-animal relationships, this book offers an endless recital of man's inhumanity to man, to support the book's theme that man's history with animals has been even worse. Very poorly thought out and extremely long-winded, this book reads like an overblown Usenet message--"those other people are all so horrible, but we animal lovers are OK, aren't we?" Oddly, Serpell seems so rooted in the very "human supremacist" philosophy that he rails against, that he ends up reinforcing that very philosophy. Not enlightening at all; I feel like a pall has been cast over my relationships with both people and animals. You would learn far more by taking the money and time you might waste on this book, and spending them on your own dog or cat or whatever animal you please.

Human-Animal relationships explained!!.......1999-03-27

An excellent book exploring every possible angle of the human-animal bond. Why we love and need animals, what we do to them, and everything in between! Very well written and understandable. After reading many books on this subject, this was my favorite! Everyone who reads this book will have a greater understanding and love of animals. Animals are good for our health, physically and mentally. Serpell also makes us realize what the human race is doing to animals, such as testing on them or eating them!! This is a must read for any animal lover who is truly bonded to their pet or pets like I am!

In the Company of Animals: A Study of Human-Animal Relationship

Average customer rating:

In the Company of Animals: A Study of Human-Animal Relationship
James Serpell
Manufacturer: Blackwell Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Animal Rights | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Outdoors & Nature Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: 0631161856

Book Description

Finally, the ultimate book for Washington anglers! Detailed maps covering over 1200 miles of river!

Included for each river are the best seasons, species, available illustrated fishing methods (both fly and gear), best flies and best gear for individual rivers and species, fly hatches, knots, launches, parks, number of hookups per year, size of runs, parks, services, guides.

Customer Reviews:

Good but could be much better.......2007-04-27

This is a good primer on most of the MAJOR (read crowded) rivers in Oregon. It does not mention any of the hundreds of smaller great fishing rivers, any river tributaries or the Snake River (the second largest river in Oregon). This is a good general guide but most information in this guide is available from the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Forest Service in much more detail - and for free.

Details! Details!.......2006-02-17

Large scale maps. Very easy to follow. Shows all launching sites along most rivers and creeks. Even tells you what baits work best (Ha Ha)and where to use them. Also info on fly's and lures. Very interesting and helpful. Another "must have" if you fish in Oregon!

Best Map/Book of Oregon Ever!.......2004-12-15

This book from Amato publications is truly outstanding. It mixes great maps for over 30 Oregon Rivers, with current and historical information (returns, catch rates, etc.). It lets you know what the best seasons are, shows you the best methods to use, what species to target, boat launches, knots, fly's, hatches, guide contacts, public parks, etc. There is information for both the gear angler and the fly fisherman alike.

Average customer rating:

A great resource to enrich your children

Truly an Essential Guide for Learning About Children's Books

An Indispensable Reference

With over 100 new essays

The Essential Guide to Children's Books and Their Creators

Manufacturer: Mariner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Books & Reading | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Children's Literature Guides | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Consumer Guides | Reference | Subjects | Books
General | Bibliographies & Indexes | Publishing & Books | Reference | Subjects | Books
Literature | Bibliographies & Indexes | Publishing & Books | Reference | Subjects | Books
General | Reference | Subjects | Books
Look Inside Reference Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

From Cover to Cover: Evaluating and Reviewing Children's Books

100 Best Books for Children: A Parent's Guide to Making the Right Choices for Your Young Reader, Toddler to Preteen

The New York Times Parent's Guide to the Best Books for Children: 3rd Edition Revised and Updated (New York Times Parent's Guide to the Best Books for Children)

Critical Handbook of Children's Literature, A (8th Edition)

Valerie & Walter's Best Books for Children 2nd Ed: A Lively, Opinionated Guide (Valerie & Walter's Best Books for Children: A Lively,)

ASIN: 0618190821

Book Description

Upon publication, Anita Silvey's comprehensive survey of contemporary children's literature, Children's Books and Their Creators, garnered unanimous praise from librarians, educators, and specialists interested in the world of writing for children. Now The Essential Guide to Children's Books and Their Creators assembles the best of that volume in one handy, affordable reference, geared specifically to parents, educators, and students. This new volume introduces readers to the wealth of children's literature by focusing on the essentials the best books for children, the ones that inform, impress, and, most important, excite young readers. Updated to include newcomers such as J. K. Rowling and Lemony Snicket and to cover the very latest on publishing and educational trends, this edition features more than 475 entries on the best-loved children's authors and illustrators, numerous essays on social and historical issues, thirty personal glimpses into craft by well-known writers, illustrators, and critics, and invaluable reading lists by category. The Essential Guide to Children's Books and Their Creators summarizes the canon of contemporary children's literature, in a practical guide essential for anyone choosing a book for or working with children.

Customer Reviews:

A great resource to enrich your children.......2007-02-02

This children's books reference is so prized because the biography of the creators inspire me to look at how I can enrich my children now - in ways these creators personal experiences have developted from their own childhood. The creators biographies and interviews have inspired me to model them in my parental skills to be more open minded and creative as I guide and direct my children's ability to learn in all the areas of Language Arts, drawing and music. One can also learn which school institutions appear appealing to the career of these creators - a great resource to finding the possible colleges for the trades one possesses.

Truly an Essential Guide for Learning About Children's Books.......2004-01-09

I'm a children's book editor, and run a web site called "The Purple Crayon," where I review this book in detail. Here are some excerpts from that review:

The Essential Guide to Children's Books and Their Creators is a handy one-volume reference for anyone working in the field, and also both fun and informative to browse....

Set up like an encyclopedia, the Guide includes more than 475 entries and an index in 500 pages. It opens with a great "Basic Reading List" and then goes to the A-Z listing, which mostly consists of entries about specific authors and illustrators of children's books. Most are American, most are 20th century, but there are people from the 19th century and other countries (for example, George MacDonald, Carlo Collodi, Astrid Lindgren, Margaret Mahy). Some entries on living writers and illustrators are followed by a first-person statement, "Voices of the Creators."

I count 31 feature articles on other subjects, mostly types or genres of books. Examples: "African-American Children's Books," "Alphabet Books," "Series Books," "Middle Grade Fiction," and "Information Books."

I think few readers will quibble with the selections: the authors and illustrators who appear here belong here. Of course, I did find some personal favorites missing, as may just about anyone who has read many children's books....

On the whole, though, this is an excellent and compact reference. You'll find well-written and informative essays on the artists and writers you look up, and random browsing is amply rewarded. If you aren't familiar with American children's literature, this is a good place to start to learn. If you already know the field, you'll still find things you don't know.

(This book is derived from the longer and more expensive Children's Books and Their Creators (1995), which Anita Silvey edited while she was still editor-in-chief of the Horn Book magazine. This edition includes a selection of entries from that book, plus 100 new entries to bring it up to date.)

An Indispensable Reference.......2002-12-01

This is a fabulous resource for anyone interested in children's books. It includes 475 biographical/critical entries on current and classic writers and illustrators as well as essays on topics such as chapter books, poetry, fantasy, and book design. A special "Voices of the Creators" feature presents thirty personal essays from writers such as Katherine Paterson, Kevin Henkes, and Lois Lowry. There's also a useful graded booklist. Highly recommended for parents, writers, readers, and school and public librarians.

With over 100 new essays.......2002-10-08

Essential Guide To Children's Books And Their Creators is a recommended pick for any parent or teacher who wants a comprehensive survey of contemporary children's literature. A single volume of recommendations covers the best books and authors for children - the ones which are tested as making the most impression on kids. Over 100 new essays include newcomers from Harry Potter to Lemony Snicket, along with the latest publishing trends for kids.

The Essential Guide To Children's Books and Their Creators

Average customer rating:

The Essential Guide To Children's Books and Their Creators
Anita Silvey
Manufacturer: Mariner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N78OMG

Book Description

The Italian-American mafia has its roots in a mysterious and powerful criminal network in Sicily. While the mythology of the mafia has been widely celebrated in American culture, the true origins of its rituals, laws, and methods have never actually been revealed. John Dickie uses startling new research to expose the secrets of the Sicilian mafia, providing a fascinating account that is more violent, frightening, and darkly comic than anything conceived in popular movies and novels. How did the Sicilian mafia begin? How did it achieve its powerful grip in Italy and America? How does it operate today? From the mafia's origins in the 1860s to its current tense relationship with the Berlusconi government, Cosa Nostra takes us to the inner sanctum where few have dared to go before. This is an important work of history and a revelation for anyone who ever wondered what it means to be "made" in the mob.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent history of a little known world.......2007-04-28

Compellingly drawn from original sources, this history reads almost like an insider's confession. Dickie tears away the cobwebs in Western mythology regarding the Sicilian mafia's history to present a credible, well-researched and well-presented picture of this secret but formidable player in Italian and subsequently American economics.

Films like "The Godfather" and others are the primary source of information for many American readers. While being a devoted history in its own right, this book occasionally draws parallels between the Coppola film to separate truth from fiction and probability from implausibility. Perhaps the only problem I had with the book was the heroic conclusion that after so many decades of almost untouched power, a recent series of judicial and political setbacks for the Sicilian mafia in 21st-century Italy might have effectively and permanently disabled the mob there.

Unrreal, surreal... anything but real.......2007-01-22

I became fascinated with Italy and its history when I was studying italian. Then I became fascinated with secret societies when I was reading about the death/murder if Pope John Paul I and its links with masonic lodges. So the next logical step was to read about the mafia.

I am a couple of chapters away of finishing, but I am fascinated with this book. The author does a great job keeping you hooked on the book from page to page. Sometimes it feels as if you were reading a novel instead of real-life events. Once you take a look on this book, it makes "The Godfather" look like a fairy tale. As far as I am concerned, it depicts an accurate account of the mafia and its 'men of honour'.

A superb book of Revisionist History .......2006-06-30

The author has written a compelling, well researched and substantial account of the history of the Sicilian Mafia. The bibliography is very impressive as Mr. Dickie has read widely and deeply to produce this book with careful attention to details of persons and events.

He argues that the Sicilian Mafia did not originate centuries ago as an Honored Society but contends that its genesis was a criminal organization during the troubled period of 1860 to 1876. Sicily during this period became part of the nation of Italy after decades of rule from Naples as part of the Bourbon Kingdom. During these chaotic years the organization that we know today as the Mafia took shape, organized and began to proper. However its genesis was a complex affair and the author is able to unravel the puzzle and produce a very readable and fascinating account from its beginnings to the present day.

One of the most fascinating figures to emerge from the book was the very competent and efficient Ermanno Sangiorgi who was Chief of Police of Palermo at the turn of the 20th century. He conducted criminal investigations made raids and arrests and was able to lay the ground for prosecution of Mafia figures. He produced a very comprehensive report on the Sicilian Mafia with details of criminal family structures, individual profiles, Mafia initiation rituals, codes of behavior as well as it business methods and operations. Despite his best efforts the Mafia survived his attempt to shut it down, however with more support from the government and certain officials he would certainly have seriously weakened it but probably not shut it down. Sadly all the good work Sangiorgi did was filed away and forgotten about and a valuable chance to seriously weaken the Mafia was lost.

The author is able to peel away the layers of myth and mist that surround the history of the Sicilian Mafia and reveal an organization that is very adaptable and sophisticated. There is much information about it workings in the affairs of government and private industry as well as its international relationships

Educational.......2005-06-11

My first mafia book. They way i see it, it provides the readers with a solid picture on what the Mafia is about.It is educational based on collective facts. Back to the basics i would call it. Sikelia as the mother land deserves much attention in the literature and this book is definitely going for that. The locus of attention is in situations from an old era but evidently their effect is manifest in various ways today. Good stuff

must-read for maffia buffs.......2005-04-25

I hold a healthy fascination on the maffia and its politics. This book gives an in-depth description of how the Sicilian maffia was entangled into Sicilian and Italian daily life. One can feel the frustration of the lone heroes who made an attempt to defy the Cosa Nostra and its contemptful modus operandi.

John Dickie did a good job presenting all the various anecdotes into one large account of the maffia's history: from the gruesome details of the maffia's "business model" to the strenuous crusade against this organisation by a few individuals.

However the book shows the same shortcoming that seems to hunt more historical accounts: the lack of comprehensive maps, relationship diagrams and timelines. A lot of names and events are described and will later on in the book be referred back to. It would be a great feature to be able to refer back to a summary, an outline, as a memory refreshment during the course of the book. Helping the reader to maintain a clear overview and understanding of the total account is the difference between a 3 and a 4 star rating.

Regardless of the rating, this book is a must-read for any maffia buff in this world.

Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia

Average customer rating:

An excellent and easily read history
Mafia 101

Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia
John Dickie
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

20th Century | World | History | Subjects | Books

True Crime | True Accounts | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Organized Crime | True Accounts | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1403970424
Release Date: 2005-09-29

Book Description

Hailed in Italy as the best book ever written about the mafia in any language, Cosa Nostra is a fascinating, violent, and darkly comic account that reads like fiction and takes us deep into the inner sanctum of this secret society where few have dared to tread.In this gripping history of the Sicilian mafia, John Dickie uses startling new research to reveal the inner workings of this secret society with a murderous record. He explains how the mafia began, how it responds to threats and challenges, and introduces us to the real-life characters that inspired the American imagination for generations, making the mafia an international, larger than life cultural phenomenon. Dickie's dazzling cast of characters includes Antonio Giammona, the first "boss of bosses'; New York cop Joe Petrosino, who underestimated the Sicilian mafia and paid for it with his life; and Bernard "the Tractor" Provenzano, the current boss of bosses who has been hiding in Sicily since 1963.

Customer Reviews:

An excellent and easily read history.......2006-11-26

The praise given by critics and reviewers when this book was first published in 2004 are easily understood and justified when reading it in paperback format. While many earlier books have largely relied on a review of recent Sicilian history and events post WWII (Norman Lewis, Claire Sterling) or focussing on a very specific area (such as Alex Stille's "Excellent Cadavers" on the story of investigating magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino), this is the first real recent effort I know of in English to write a full history of the Sicilian Mafia under its correct name of Cosa Nostra.

This is faciltated by the recent outpouring of Italian writings based on the vast amount of new information and evidence now available and which Dickie fully acknowledges in his book. In addition Dickie has also researched a number of historical sources and reports which have been largely ignored by previous English language writers.

What really places this book above the rest is:

Dickie has proven much better at covering the 19th century foundation of Cosa Nostra (and its earlier roots in Sicilian society) and then tracking this organisation's development of being a very tightly controlled killing machine exterminating any competition through the 20th century to date - the fact that nearly half of the book is devoted to the period before the end of WWII reflects this approach.

He has avoided the trap of spending too much time on the US Mafia with its more public image and history, instead only referring to it as it actually impacts and helps our understanding of the Sicilian society's history.

Finally he has done a much fuller job than many prior books in tracking the Cosa Nostra linkage through Sicilian politics with Italian political history since Italian unification in late 19th century and especially since WWII, with the rise of Christian Democrats party who dominated Italian politics, especially under Andreotti. He makes a very strong case that without such political links and Rome's constant vacillation, Cosa Nostra would never have become as endemic and protected from the forces of law and order.

One ends the book feeling that the whole tragedy while not at an end is certainly moving into a model seen in many other countries, where criminal or terrorist elements have realised their best chances of survival are lower profile protection and corruption activities plus control of drugs, kidnapping and prostitution rather than seeking to always be in the public eye. This development as the book explains was almost wholly down to an almost public civil war started and executed by Leggio and Rinna with numerous public killings between 1970 and 1982. The murdering of a number of high profile police and anti-Mafia lawyers and politicians, ultimately created the environment where Falcone and Borsellino were able to achieve the maxi-trials in 1986 which used pentiti (defectors) such as Tomasso Buscetta. This led to many (but not all) leading Cosa Nostra old style heads being jailed for long terms under better enforced new Italian laws and those persons failing to date to obtain their freedom by political corruption in Rome, even after the murders by Cosa Nostra of Falcone and Borsellino.

The book is likely to be the classic text of the area for some time given all these strengths and with the organisation becoming more circumspect.

Mafia 101.......2005-12-30

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.

Average customer rating:

Incredible Insight into the Sicilian Underworld

Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia
John Dickie
Manufacturer: Hodder & Stoughton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Criminology | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

True Crime | True Accounts | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0340824344

Customer Reviews:

Incredible Insight into the Sicilian Underworld.......2004-08-12

This well-researched and fascinating book covers the history of the Sicilian Mafia from it origins in the 1860's until the present day. The author, John Dickie, obviously spent a lot of time researching an organization, which actually goes out of its way to remove all traces of its existence. The book exposes a lot of myths and corrects some common misconceptions about the Mafia, e.g. the Mafia started not in a poverty stricken area but actually in a prospering lemon-export region of Sicily. And thankfully the author presents two maps, one of western Sicily and one of Italy, right at the beginning so the reader can easily follow the geographical references throughout the text.

The text is separated into chronological segments in which the Mafia's rise is set into historical and political context. The author exposes how the Mafia operates - extorting storefront businesses, infiltrating wealthy commercial enterprises, buying politicians/judges/policemen, smuggling goods, and of course murdering. The author sets right a very important misconception, i.e. the Mafia only kill each other. That is wrong. The Mafia will threaten/intimidate/kill ANYONE (including honest citizens, women, and even small children) who stands in their way. Organized crime and the terrorism it creates, as the author points out again and again, can only thrive at the connivance of protecting officialdom (at times even including the US gov't) and the usual apathy of the citizenry.

The book introduces us to the Mafia's major figures throughout its history, such as Baron Turrisi Colonna, Cola Gentile, the Greco Family, Don Calo Vizzini, Salvatore Guiliano, Tomasso Buscetta, Lucciano Leggio, Toto Riina, Bernardo 'the Tractor' Provenzano, and many more. It also introduces us to the really courageous men (and women) who actively fought it, such as Dr. Galati, Ermanno Sangiori, Emmanuele Notarbartolo, Cesare Mori, Judge Giovanni Falcone, Peppino Impastato, Guiseppa di Sano, and many more.

The book ends discussing the possible links between one of Prime Minister Berlusconi's lieutenants and the Mafia. From what I can understand from the book, the Mafia is truly scared when it loses its political backing. This happened a couple times throughout its history, and it was devastating for the Mafia, i.e. during Mussolini's reign and in the late 80's and early 90's. The Mafia can be defeated, but everyone has to make a stand - zero tolerance. This even happened in the Mafia's heartland in Palermo, producing real results.

This was a great book! I highly recommend it.

Average customer rating:

Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia
John Dickie
Manufacturer: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OEAFF2

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books