Borgata: Rise of Empire: A History of the American Mafia

(Paperback)

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Description

The American mafia has long held powerful sway over our collective cultural imagination. But how many of us truly understand how a clandestine Sicilian criminal organisation came to exert its influence over nearly every level of American society

In BORGATA: RISE OF EMPIRE, former mafia member Louis Ferrante pulls back the curtain on the criminal organisation that transformed America. From the potent political cauldron of nineteenth-century Sicily to American cities such as New Orleans, New York and the gangster's paradise of Las Vegas, Ferrante traces the social, economic and political forces that powered the mafia's unstoppable rise. We follow the early mob as they provide alcohol to the American public during prohibition, aid U. S. Naval Intelligence during the Second World War, establish a gambling mecca in the Nevada desert - and unofficially take control of the island of Cuba.

Ferrante's vivid portrayal of early American mobsters - among them Lucky Luciano, Vito Genovese, Frank Costello and Meyer Lansky - fills in crucial gaps of mafia history to deliver the most comprehensive account yet of the world's most famous criminal fraternity.

This volume is the first in a groundbreaking new trilogy from a man who has seen it all from the inside. Ferrante's masterful account journeys from the group's inauspicious beginnings to the height of their power as the most influential organised criminal network in America.

Reviews

Highly entertaining * Wall Street Journal *
He may be a loss to the criminal fraternity, he is most certainly an asset to the literary world * ASPECTS OF HISTORY *
A fascinating inside look at the history of the Mafia . . . Ferrante's familiarity with Mafia customs gives flesh and immediacy to what could otherwise be a rote historical tome, but he doesn't draw his authority from affiliation alone: this is a well-researched history in its own right. True crime fans will be captivated * PUBLISHERS WEEKLY *
It's very rare when someone from Lou's world has the heart of a writer. Criminal experiences don't usually lead to great insights. Louis Ferrante is different - his talent for storytelling shines through -- Nicholas Pileggi, author of WISE GUY and CASINO
Building his case in concise, economical prose, Ferrante draws on an extensive knowledge of world events, mob lore and personal experience . . . a rousing memoir, meditation on world history and Mafia expos all in one * Kirkus Reviews on MOB RULES *
Being inside Ferrante's mind is an amazing experience -- Joel Stein * TIME *

Author Bio

LOUIS FERRANTE led a professional heist crew within the Gambino crime family and served nearly a decade in America's worst prisons after refusing to inform on his former associates. While in prison, he educated himself and studied law, science and history, ultimately becoming a writer. His last book, Mob Rules, was an international bestseller translated into twenty languages, and his Discovery Channel series, Inside the Gangsters' Code, earned him a Grierson Award nomination for Presenter of the Year.