Nicaso, A: Made Men Mafia Culture and the Power of Symbols, Rituals, and Myth

If you are interested in criminal organizations, particularly the Mafia, this book is a must read. Nicaso and Danesi explain in elaborate detail how the use of rituals binds members and allows criminal organizations to persist through time despite the best efforts of law enforcement. -- Howard Abadinsky, Ph.D., St. John's University Just when you thought there was nothing new to say about the Mafia comes Antonio Nicaso's and Marcel Danesi's Made Men. The authors debunk many of the long-help perceptions of the Mafia myth using a novel approach to deconstruct the Mafia mystique. Made Men is chockfull of insightful observations that help to show that the symbols, rituals, and myths that organized crime groups such as the Mafia (as well as the Yakuza, Triads and Russian mobsters) use to ensure their continuity are little more than self-serving justifications for their criminal and amoral actions. -- Mitchel P. Roth, Ph.D., professor of Criminal Justice Sam Houston State University; author of Organized Crime and Global Organized Crime