The Honoured Society: The Sicilian Mafia Observed - Softcover

Lewis, Norman

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0907871488 ISBN 13: 9780907871484

Publisher: Eland Publishing, 2003

Synopsis

Norman Lewis is felt by many to be England's finest living travel writer. He has written a dozen travel books and many novels. Here he brilliantly dissects the Mafia, past and present, combining history, sociology, suspense, horror, and superb travel writing. Originally published in 1964, Lewis describes how, after Mussolini came close to destroying the Mafia, the U.S. Army returned them to power in 1944. Henceforth, they infiltrated every aspect of Sicilian life, corrupting landowners, the police, the judiciary, and even the church. In one of the most astonishing chapters, Lewis tells the story of how an eighty-year old priest led his monks on escapades of murder and extortion, frequently using the confessional box for transmitting threats. Lewis exposes its origins, its code of honor, its secrecy, and its brutality. The Honoured Society is the perfect companion for any traveler to Sicily, and a gripping armchair read.

About this title

About the Author:

Norman Lewis is England's finest, living travel writer. He has written a dozen travel books, including such masterpieces as Naples'44, Golden Earth and A Dragon Apparent. He has also written thirteen novels. Lewis regards his life's major achievement to be the reaction to an article written by him entitled Genocide in Brazil, published in 1968. This led to a change in Brazilian law relating to the treatment of Indians, and to the formation of Survival International, which campaigns for the rights of indigenous peoples.

Review:

"It's pre-Godfather, but still the best book ever written on the Mafia, soaked in terribilita and reported by a master."

About this edition

• Publisher: Eland Publishing
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0907871488
• ISBN 13: 9780907871484
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272