Cosa Nostra

A History of the Sicilian Mafia

By: John Dickie

Narrated by: Tom Lawrence

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 feels 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.

©2004 John Dickie (P)2022 Tantor

quite good

very informative and interesting. chàpters were a nice length for listening and the narrators pronunciation of names was fantastic.

Lots of detail

But a bit dry. I have to admit, though, that I didn’t research the book as I should have. So it’s mea culpa that it’s not what I expected. If you are looking for a book with plenty of history of Costra Nostra, this is it.

Required reading for any mafia buff.

This was a fascinating history from beginning to end. Highly recommend. Well researched and put together.

Simple telling of the unknown story of the Sicilian mafia

The mafia is deep in secrets. Amazing this book manages to tell a good simple story about how it emerged during the birth of Italy up until 2003 the year of the book’s publication. It must be some deep research and sources as most the information is in Sicilian and Italian and the author manages to connect American mafia with the island without it turning into an American story.

A documentary

Revealing detail about the group beginning and current status. Well written, though I rather spaced some of it out. Political criminals and corruption exposed.