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The Mafia

A Cultural History
By Roberto M. Dainotto
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Mafia by Roberto M. Dainotto delves into the complex and multifaceted history of the Italian Mafia, exploring its origins, cultural significance, and the myths surrounding it. The book provides a deep dive into how the Mafia has influenced various aspects of life while examining the societal and moral dilemmas it presents. This comprehensive analysis reveals both the allure and the devastating impact of organised crime.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're fascinated by the history and cultural impact of organised crime. It offers an insightful exploration into the Italian mafia, delving into its origins, myths, and the reality behind the infamous criminal organisation. Perfect for those interested in crime and thrillers, it blends scholarly research with an engaging narrative.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

What makes Tony Soprano so likeable? Why would we rather leave the cannoli and take the gun? Do we truly want Scarface 's Tony Montana to succeed? Is Michael Corleone a misunderstood hero or a despicable villain?

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

What makes Tony Soprano so likeable? Why would we rather leave the cannoli and take the gun? Do we truly want Scarface's Tony Montana to succeed? Is Michael Corleone a misunderstood hero or a despicable villain?

In The Mafia: A Cultural History, now available in paperback, Roberto M. Dainotto traces the complex and fascinating development of the mafia: its rural beginnings in Western Sicily; its growth into what has been aptly described as a global multinational of crime; and its parallel evolution in music, print, and on the big screen. The book probes the tension between the real mafia—its brutal and often violent reality—and how we imagine it to be: a mythical assembly of codes of honour, family values, and chivalric masochism. Rather than dismissing such mafia stereotypes as untrue, Dainotto sets out to understand what needs and desires, material and psychic longings, are satisfied by our mafia fantasies.

Exploring the rich array of films, books, television, music, and even video games portraying and inspired by the mafia, this book offers not only a social, economic, and political history of the mafia but a new way of understanding our enduring fascination with what lurks behind the sinister omerta of the family business.

Dainotto's The Mafia: A Cultural History offers something unique in the somewhat overcrowded category of books about the Mafia and its pop culture representations: a Sicilian intellectual's historically informed yet personal perspective on the enduring appeal of organised crime stories. - PopMatters

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The Mafia by Roberto M. Dainotto offers a distinctive take within the crowded field of Mafia literature. The book provides a unique blend of historical insight and personal perspective from a Sicilian viewpoint, exploring the sustained allure of Mafia narratives in popular culture.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781780239934

Publisher: Reaktion Books

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 10 September 2018

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Reaktion Books

Illustration: 25 illustrations

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 138.0mm

Height: 216.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 240

Collections

Biography & Memoir Crime & Thriller Education & Reference Fiction History & Archaeology History & Military Roberto M. Dainotto True Crime

About the Author

Born in Sicily, Roberto M. Dainotto is Professor of Romance Studies and of Literature at Duke University, North Carolina, and author of Europe (in Theory) (2007).

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