Bøger af John Dickie

COSA NOSTRA is the compelling story of the Sicilian mafia, the world's most famous, most secretive and most misunderstood criminal fraternity. The mafia has been given many names since it was founded one hundred and forty years ago: the Sect, the Brotherhood, the Honoured Society, and now Cosa Nostra. Yet as times have changed, the mafia's subtle and bloody methods have remained the same. Now, for the first time, COSA NOSTRA reconstructs the complete history of the Sicilian mafia from its origins to the present day, from the lemon groves and sulphur mines of Sicily, to the streets of Manhattan. COSA NOSTRA is a definitive history, rich in atmosphere, and with the narrative pace of the best detective fiction, and has been updated to make it the most vital contemporary account of the mafia ever published.The mob genre has finally grown up.

Professor John Dickie's riveting new history of Freemasonry - an organization as mysterious as it is influential.

In MAFIA REPUBLIC, John Dickie, Professor of Italian Studies at University College, London and author of the international bestsellers COSA NOSTRA and MAFIA BROTHERHOODS, shows how the Italian mafias have grown in power and become more and more interconnected, with terrifying consequences. In 1946, Italy became a democratic Republic, thereby entering the family of modern western nations. But deep within Italy there lurked a forgotten curse: three major criminal brotherhoods, whose methods had been honed over a century of experience. As Italy grew, so did the mafias. Sicily's Cosa Nostra, the camorra from Naples, and the mysterious 'ndrangheta from Calabria stood ready to enter the wealthiest and bloodiest period of their long history.Italy made itself rich by making scooters, cars and handbags. The mafias carved out their own route to wealth through tobacco smuggling, construction, kidnapping and narcotics. And as criminal business grew exponentially, the mafias grew not just more powerful, but became more interconnected.By the 1980s, Southern Italy was on the edge of becoming a narco-state. The scene was set for a titanic confrontation between heroic representatives of the law, and mafiosi who could no longer tolerate any obstacle to their ambitions. This was a war for Italy's future as a civilized country. At its peak in 1992-93, the 'ndrangheta was beheading people in the street, and the Sicilian mafia murdered its greatest enemies, investigating magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, before embarking on a major terrorist bombing campaign on the Italian mainland.Today, the long shadow of mafia history still hangs over a nation wracked by debt, political paralysis, and widespread corruption. While police put their lives on the line every day, one of Silvio Berlusconi's ministers said that Italy had to 'learn to live with the mafia'; suspicions of mafia involvement still surround some of the country's most powerful media moguls and politicians. The latest investigations show that its reach is astonishing: it controls much of Europe's wholesale cocaine trade, and representatives from as far away as Germany, Canada and Australia come to Calabria to seek authorisation for their affairs. Just when it thought it had finally contained the mafia threat, Italy is now discovering that it harbours the most global criminal network of them all.The Financial Times described John Dickie's MAFIA BROTHERHOODS as 'Powered by the sort of muscular prose that one associates with great detective fiction' and in MAFIA REPUBLIC John Dickie again marries outstanding scholarship with compelling storytelling.

The author of the bestselling COSA NOSTRA explores the previously underexposed mafias of Southern Italy.

An army is in retreat through the devastation of a land ripped apart by war. Along roads, in ditches, upon fields, the corpses pile higher. Regiments cease to exist overnight. Men build fires, falling forward into the flames where they broil. The hospital wards are overwhelmed by infection. Provisions become scarce. As they pass the empty blackened ruins of hovels, the abused natives ambush them and the soldiers carve their own epitaphs into wood in anticipation of their murder. But as the angel of death reaches out to Neverne, he defies her and marches on, determined to reach the Corundir harbour where a fleet awaits the survivors. Only then will he surrender to her, once he has emerged triumphant from the ruins of the world and saved the one woman he has always loved.

"Have you ever wanted to die? Have you ever ventured right to the brink only to pull back at the last minute? Well, Ovenheads Incorporated is that friendly pat on the back that tips you over the edge." Meet Ovenheads Inc. They kill people. "You're telling me that everybody dies. And I'm telling you that I can't. You can flash forward a trillion years and as many more besides and I'll write you a postcard cos I've watched the universe darken but me, I'm hanging in there." Meet December. She's immortal and she wants to die. "Death isn't a comfort, it's not a relief or a release. It's a cold, cruel, mad, sad, stupid habit to get into and we should know better, we should do better." Meet Will. He's her chosen executioner. And he wants to live forever. ... You can see where this is going, right? She's an angel with a death wish, he's the man with a gun, she wants to die and he doesn't want to kill her. Cue drama! Cue intrigue! Cue witty banter about life, love, and death, mix in some steamy sex, throw in a little profundity and a LOT of profanity, stir in a missing week, add some giant fluffy bunnies in sombreros, and build to the dramatic climax of a rather nice picnic and you have: (in a solemn voice) The Angel of the Abattoir (toir, toir, toir). And the man with the gun, don't forget him.

Mafia. Camorra. 'Ndrangheta. La mafia siciliana, la Cosa Nostra, no es la única sociedad criminal peligrosa de italia.El país alberga otras dos mafias importantes: la camorra napolitana y, en la pobre y aislada región de Calabria, la misteriosa 'Ndrangheta, que se ha convertido en la más poderosa de la actualidad.Desde que aparecieron, las tres mafias han corrompido las instituciones italianas, recortado las opciones vitales de sus conciudadanos, eludido la justicia y establecido su rentable intermediación como alternativa a los tribunales.Pero cada una de estas hermandades tiene sus propios métodos, sus rituales salvajes, su brutalidad característica. La sombra del crimen organizado oscurece todo un país consumido por la deuda, la parálisis política y la corrupción rampante.La 'Ndrangheta controla la mayoría del tráfico mayorista de cocaína, y, según algunos cálculos, hasta el 3 % del PIB de Italia. John Dickie es una autoridad internacional en la historia del crimen organizado, y en este libro combina la investigación en archivos con una narración apasionante y un lúcido análisis para explicar un ecosistema criminal único, y obtener la obra definitiva sobre la mafia en toda su extensión.ENGLISH DESCRIPTIONHailed 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.

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.

By the author of the international bestseller Cosa Nostra, this enthralling epic history is the first to document the entire world of organized crime in Italy from its origins to the present.

Perfect for fans of La Cucina and Stanley Tucci's Taste, a vivid and passionate celebration of Italian food that explores its rich history and how it became the world's favorite cuisine.In this "revelatory history of gourmet Italy from antiquity to today" (Publishers Weekly), the fascinating story of how one vast country comprised of uniquely distinct regions came to produce some of the most delicious and beloved foods of all time is expertly revealed. If you want to understand Italian food, it's important to recognize one central insight: Italian food is city food. It's not coincidental that so many Italian foods and dishes are named after cities: bistecca alla fiorentina, prosciutto di Parma, pizza napoletana. Italy has the world's longest unbroken tradition of urban living, and food has played an integral role in that tradition. Delizia! explores this dynamic history by focusing on one great food per city per era, beginning, of course, with the introduction of pasta by Muslims to Sicily in the Middle Ages. Each chapter relates a key moment in a single city's gastronomic past and, together, these slices of life build into a single narrative that spans the centuries and evokes the look, the atmosphere, and the taste of past and present. Celebratory and compelling, Delizia! proves that "if we are what we eat, who wouldn't want to be Italian" (The Times, London).

This book outlines and analyses the legislative activity of the Union in terms of Internet and Electronic Commerce Law.

This book argues that the European Union is failing adequately to protect consumers critical interests in the area of e-commerce.