Description
In 1960s Sicily, the Mafia were everywhere - and never seen. In the small town of Cinisi their power was unspoken, and absolute: 'it's in the air that you breathe' as the locals used to say. One man however, dared to speak out. Like many Sicilians, Peppino Impastato was born in to a family with strong Mafia affiliations. When he decided to oppose the Mafia, his father, a close friend of the local 'capo', threw him out of the house. In this compelling book, based on exclusive interviews with the protaganists, Tom Behan takes us inside the town Peppino dubbed 'Mafiopoli', and tells a story the rest of the world has never heard before: a tale of courage and resistance in the very heartland of Mafia power. Peppino launched a radio show which savagely pilloried the Mafia and their allies. It set the town ablaze. A subversive grassroots movement developed, eager to take on the forces of corruption and privilege. Peppino stood for election to the Cinisi Council. What happened to him is the gripping story of this book.
Like many Sicilians, Peppino Impastato was born in to a family with strong Mafia affiliations. When he decided to oppose the Mafia, his father, a close friend of the local 'capo', threw him out of the house. This work takes us inside the town Peppino dubbed 'Mafiopoli', and tells a tale of courage and resistance in the heartland of Mafia power.
About the Author
Tom Behan, who died in August 2010 aged 53, was an expert on Italian organised crime. He was a lecturer in Italian at the University of Kent at Canterbury, and wrote numerous books, including 'See Naples and Die: The Camorra and Organised Crime' (I.B.Tauris).
Reviews
'Cosa Nostra has been keeping its head down; all the more reason to keep it in the public eye. For many tourists who visit Sicily each year, the Mafia is simply folklore, part of local colour to accompany the Greek ruins, plates of pasta and bottles of nero d'avola. In his book Defiance, Tom Behan looks beyond the folklore to describe the ugly, violent and insidious nature of the Sicilian Mafia and the courage needed to challenge it. Few have that courage. Peppino Impastato, a young leftwing activist who lived in Cinisi near Palermo, was one who did and Behan tells the story of his efforts in the 1970s, and of his fate at the hands of Cosa Nostra in 1978' - David Lane, 'Berlusconi's Shadow: Crime, Justice and the Pursuit of Power'; 'Dr Pourshariati's book proposes a reinterpretation of the structure of the Sasanian Empire and of the power struggle that followed the end of the Byzantine-Persian War of 602-628. The author argues that throughout most of its history the Sasanian state was a confederative structure, in which the north and east (the old Parthian territories of Media and Khurasan) were highly autonomous both politically and culturally. It was Khusraw II's (590-628) disastrous effort to centralize the state that led to its collapse and to the Arab Conquests. Dr Pourshariati also argues for a significant redating of critical moments in the Arab conquests in Iraq. Taken as a whole, Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire is original, innovative, bold, and generally persuasive.' - Stephen Humphreys, Professor of Islamic and Middle Eastern History, University of California, Santa Barbara
Book Information
ISBN 9781845115142
Author Tom Behan
Format Hardback
Page Count 224
Imprint I.B. Tauris
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Like many Sicilians, Peppino Impastato was born in to a family with strong Mafia affiliations. When he decided to oppose the Mafia, his father, a close friend of the local 'capo', threw him out of the house. This work takes us inside the town Peppino dubbed 'Mafiopoli', and tells a tale of courage and resistance in the heartland of Mafia power.
About the Author
Tom Behan, who died in August 2010 aged 53, was an expert on Italian organised crime. He was a lecturer in Italian at the University of Kent at Canterbury, and wrote numerous books, including 'See Naples and Die: The Camorra and Organised Crime' (I.B.Tauris).
Reviews
'Cosa Nostra has been keeping its head down; all the more reason to keep it in the public eye. For many tourists who visit Sicily each year, the Mafia is simply folklore, part of local colour to accompany the Greek ruins, plates of pasta and bottles of nero d'avola. In his book Defiance, Tom Behan looks beyond the folklore to describe the ugly, violent and insidious nature of the Sicilian Mafia and the courage needed to challenge it. Few have that courage. Peppino Impastato, a young leftwing activist who lived in Cinisi near Palermo, was one who did and Behan tells the story of his efforts in the 1970s, and of his fate at the hands of Cosa Nostra in 1978' - David Lane, 'Berlusconi's Shadow: Crime, Justice and the Pursuit of Power'; 'Dr Pourshariati's book proposes a reinterpretation of the structure of the Sasanian Empire and of the power struggle that followed the end of the Byzantine-Persian War of 602-628. The author argues that throughout most of its history the Sasanian state was a confederative structure, in which the north and east (the old Parthian territories of Media and Khurasan) were highly autonomous both politically and culturally. It was Khusraw II's (590-628) disastrous effort to centralize the state that led to its collapse and to the Arab Conquests. Dr Pourshariati also argues for a significant redating of critical moments in the Arab conquests in Iraq. Taken as a whole, Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire is original, innovative, bold, and generally persuasive.' - Stephen Humphreys, Professor of Islamic and Middle Eastern History, University of California, Santa Barbara
Book Information
ISBN 9781845115142
Author Tom Behan
Format Hardback
Page Count 224
Imprint I.B. Tauris
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
