| ISBN |
9780008222116 (paperback) |
| 9780008222109 (hardback) |
| Author |
Perry, Alex author. |
| Title |
The good mothers : the true story of the women who took on the world's most powerful mafia / Alex Perry. |
| Publisher/Date |
London : William Collins, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2018. |
| ©2018 |
| Pagination etc. |
xi, 308 pages, 8 pages of unnumbered plates : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm. |
| Bibliography, etc. note |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Summary Note |
You are born in it or marry in. Loyalty is absolute - bloodshed revered. You go to prison, your grave, or kill your relatives before betraying The Family. The 'Ndrangheta is the most powerful, stealthy organised crime network in Italy and worldwide, upheld by the omerta [silence] code. This is the story of the women who broke the silence. Founded more than 150 years ago by old shepherding families and orange farmers in the toe of southern Italy, the Calabrian Mafia is one of the richest and most ruthless organised crime syndicates in the world, running 70% of cocaine and heroin in Europe. The Calabrians make so much money - an estimated $72 billion a year, equivalent to 3% of Italian GDP - that hiding it requires industrial-scale laundering. Those efforts ensure the Calabrians are in all our lives. We live in their buildings, work in their companies, shop in their stores, eat in their restaurants and elect political parties they fund. A prominent organisation, most Italians have never heard of The 'Ndrangheta, a crime organisation founded by 140 Calabrese families in the 19th century. Its make up hasn't changed since: you are either born in, or you marry in. Loyalty is absolute. Bloodshed is revered. Girls are married off in arranged clan alliances as soon as they turn 13, and then largely confined to the home. Beatings are routine. A woman who is unfaithful - even to a dead husband - can expect her sons, brothers or father to kill her, before dissolving her body in acid to erase the family's shame. This gripping book by foreign correspondent Alex Perry chronicles the story of Sicilian-born state prosecutor Alessandra Cerreti and her fight to take down a billion-dollar crime business by collaborating with Mafia wives in exchange of immunity for them and their children. The stakes could not be higher. Cerreti is fighting to save a nation. The Mafiosi are fighting for their existence. The women are fighting for their lives. Not all will survive. |
| Subject |
Mafia -- Italy -- Biography |
| Mafia -- Italy -- History |
| Organized crime -- Italy |
| Shelf Location |
364.106 PERR |
