'The sweeping narrative follows the evolution of the criminal underworld across the globe'
Press Association 'Gingeras's riveting book delves into the murky origins effects and legacies
of the most terrifying figures in the history of crime' The i 'Gingeras writes well and joins
the historical dots' Telegraph Few forces have shaped our world as powerfully - or as secretly
- as mafias. Groups such as La Cosa Nostra the Medellín Cartel New York's Five Families the
Japanese yakuza and Russian vory are notorious endlessly covered in news stories and popular
media. Yet when official histories are written their role in shaping nations economies and
societies is rarely acknowledged. In Mafia: A Global History Ryan Gingeras draws on more than
a decade of research to uncover this suppressed underworld history. Crossing centuries and
continents he introduces legendary figures - Al Capone Pablo Escobar Du Yuesheng - and
explores the conditions cultures and locales that gave birth to modern mafias: Sicily
Marseille New York Colombia Tokyo. As he reconstructs the rise of a gang or the life of a
gangster he also charts the expanding power of states and the increasingly international reach
of trade crime and law enforcement. After all governments define what is a crime and who is a
criminal and their agents create the strategies used to limit or defend against their threat.
Beginning with bandits and ending with today's 'mafia states' - and the alarming blurring of
lines between gangsters corporations and political leaders - this sweeping narrative traces
the evolution of organised crime in response to industrialisation globalisation and
technological change. By charting the origins consolidation and transformation of mafias
Gingeras reveals not only where contemporary gangsters come from but how they became central
to our imagination and why they are the uncredited architects of the modern world.
