This gripping study of the modern Mafia, by former associate Louis Ferrante, provides a unique insider's account of this globally famous organisation. Ferrante's privileged knowledge details every aspect of Mafia life within the critical period 1985-2005, making this history unparalleled in its conception. Ferrante acquaints the reader with the Mafia's formative years - its origins in Sicily and how the social, cultural and economic turbulence contributed to the unique culture in which Sicilians relied on themselves, rather than the government, for justice. The book follows Italian immigrants as they arrive on American soil, exploring how they sought independence from Sicilian control but retained their Old-World code of honour, silence and vendetta. The arrival on the scene of some cunning and ambitious New York mobsters allows Ferrante to explore how the structure of their new underworld empires shaped the American Mafia. The downfall of these Founding Fathers precedes the appearance of the Mafia dons who took up their thrones during Ferrante's involvement. The twenty-year period from 1985-2005, marked by significant and violent deaths, is the meat of this book, but the book analyses the Mafia since 2005, and predicts where the organisation is heading. The Mafia remains one of the largest organised crime groups in America, with operations all over the world, and Ferrante's exploration of this more recent and relevant Mafia - a contemporary of The Sopranos - is an important contribution to the history of true crime in the modern era.

The author's involvement in the history he is writing adds more spice for this rich drama.