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tiffany86's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.75
usernamemustbeunique's review against another edition
5.0
I picked this up at a train station bookstore because I needed something to read while traveling. This book gave me more than I was expecting. It’s a rather interesting read that is written in a way that tugs its reader along without being exploitative. I am not particularly interested in the subject matter but still enjoyed it enough to finish it and recommend it to friends. If you are into this topic, I’d say it’s a must read. If you aren’t, it’s still a worthwhile change of pace. I liked this so much that I picked up the author’s book on Italian cuisine, which is also worth a read.
branev's review against another edition
5.0
When I started reading "Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia" I wanted to get a general understanding of the ways and history of Cosa Nostra and the Italian mafia as a whole. Having finished the book, I could not imagine finding a better starting point to do this.
John Dickey goes to great depths in his analysis in order to provide a research-based, rich and still very down-to-Earth description of the Sicilian mafia history (from its inception in the late 19th century till its struggles during the early 21st). He balances time spent in reviewing cause-and-effect of the actions of the men of honor (as mafiosi call themselves) with analysis of the political and social environment at the time. This provides a good overview of the epoch and how the mafia becomes a factor recognized through whole country and abroad.
For those interested in the effect of Cosa Nostra in US, the author also touches on the origin and raise of the mafia there. He draws a parallel between their beliefs and "business" enterprises and those of their relatives in Europe. This opens a whole new big door for additional reading (you can already guess that I plan to educate myself further on the topic).
I highly recommend this book to those interested in this part of history. I would be happy to hear your thoughts on how it reads for those who are already familiar with other non-fiction books on the topic, too.
John Dickey goes to great depths in his analysis in order to provide a research-based, rich and still very down-to-Earth description of the Sicilian mafia history (from its inception in the late 19th century till its struggles during the early 21st). He balances time spent in reviewing cause-and-effect of the actions of the men of honor (as mafiosi call themselves) with analysis of the political and social environment at the time. This provides a good overview of the epoch and how the mafia becomes a factor recognized through whole country and abroad.
For those interested in the effect of Cosa Nostra in US, the author also touches on the origin and raise of the mafia there. He draws a parallel between their beliefs and "business" enterprises and those of their relatives in Europe. This opens a whole new big door for additional reading (you can already guess that I plan to educate myself further on the topic).
I highly recommend this book to those interested in this part of history. I would be happy to hear your thoughts on how it reads for those who are already familiar with other non-fiction books on the topic, too.
absentjean's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Informative, thorough, and a pleasure to read.
daisygunner's review against another edition
4.0
Very interesting, and not fantastical like many true crime books. Heavily based in fact and evidence which is educational but at times dry - essentially reads as a series of essays.