Men of Dishonor: Inside the Sicilian Mafia : An Account of Antonino Calderone - Hardcover

Calderone, Antonino; Arlacchi, Pino

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 068804574X ISBN 13: 9780688045746

Publisher: William Morrow & Co, 1993

Synopsis

The startling 1992 confessions of Antonino Calderone, a boss in the Sicilian Mafia, provide a behind-the-scenes look at la Cosa Nostra that reveals the Mafia's history, organization, and worldwide influence. 35,000 first printing. $25,000 ad/promo.

About this title

Language Notes:

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Italian

From Kirkus Reviews:

First-person confessions by Antonino Calderone of his years in the Sicilian underworld, as recorded by Arlacchi (Sociology/Univ. of Florence; The Mafia Business, 1986). Calderone began as a lowly ``soldier'' in Cosa Nostra (the inner elite of the Sicilian mafia), ``made'' by his uncle and other gangsters. The initiation ceremony he describes is stunning in its flamboyant machismo: bloodletting onto an image of the Virgin, followed by an oath of allegiance to mob regulations that run the gamut from protecting other ``men of honor'' and their families (woe to the mafioso who sleeps with another's wife: ``that man must die'') to refusing money earned from prostitution (``it's an unclean activity''). Money, surprisingly, was scarce- -Calderone describes mafia wives too poor to buy train tickets to visit their husbands in jail--until the jackpot of illegal drugs was struck in the 1970's. Mayhem, by contrast, was abundant, with Calderone's buddies shooting, stabbing, garrotting, and bombing one another like crazy while he worked his way up to be boss of Catania. Lest we get the wrong idea, he reminds us that these men of honor are not ``common criminals''; in fact, ``Mafiosi aren't irresponsible people.'' Civic projects included an attempted coup d'etat against the federal government in 1970 and Calderone's personal participation in seven murders (``What did I feel on those occasions? Nothing. My soul wasn't there''). Now reportedly repentant, Calderone lives abroad under a witness protection program. Loads of inside trivia (consiglieri are never lawyers; mafia wives are never told about the business because ``sooner or later they'll talk''). Basically, a monstrous peek at life inside a snake pit. (Sixteen pages of b&w photographs--not seen) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: William Morrow & Co
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 068804574X
• ISBN 13: 9780688045746
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 285