American Mafia

A History of Its Rise to Power

De: Thomas Reppetto

Narrado por: Paul Costanzo

Organized crime - the Italian American kind - has long been a source of popular entertainment and legend. Now Thomas Reppetto provides a balanced history of the Mafia's rise - from the 1880s to the post-World War II era - that is as exciting as it is authoritative.

Structuring his narrative around a series of case histories featuring such infamous characters as Lucky Luciano and Al Capone, Reppetto draws on a lifetime of field experience and access to unseen documents to show us a locally grown Mafia. It wasn't until the 1920s, thanks to Prohibition, that the Mafia assumed what we now consider its defining characteristics, especially its octopus-like tendency to infiltrate industry and government. At midcentury, the Kefauver Commission declared the Mafia synonymous with Union Siciliana; in the 1960s, the FBI finally admitted the Mafia's existence under the name La Cosa Nostra.

American Mafia is a fascinating look at America's most compelling criminal subculture from an author who is intimately acquainted with both sides of the street.

©2004 Thomas Reppetto (P)2017 Tantor

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Reppetto's book earns its place among the best...he brings fresh context to a familiar story worth retelling." ( The New York Times)

Full of new information

I’ve read a lot of books on the Cosa nostra, but this had a lot of things I had never heard before. It goes beyond the usual synopsis, and explains the influences behind the events that happened. One thing that particular interest is the first few chapters talk about the evolution of the Sicilian mafia, to provide an in-depth understanding of the influences behind the development of the American mafia. Along with “The Five Families” by Raab, this book is essential to understanding the development of the American phenomenon.

Mob at its best

Great listen and very informative. Keeps you on the edge of what you thought you knew