Reversible destiny : mafia, antimafia, and the struggle for Palermo / Jane C. Schneider [and] Peter T. Schneider.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Schneider, Jane, 1938-

Contributor:

Schneider, Peter T., 1933-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mafia--Italy--Palermo--History.

Mafia.

Palermo (Italy)--History.

Palermo (Italy).

Palermo (Italy)--Politics and government.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (357 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, c2003.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Reversible Destiny traces the history of the Sicilian mafia to its nineteenth-century roots and examines its late twentieth-century involvement in urban real estate and construction as well as drugs. Based on research in the regional capital of Palermo, this book suggests lessons regarding secretive organized crime: its capacity to reproduce a subculture of violence through time, its acquisition of a dense connective web of political and financial protectors during the Cold War era, and the sad reality that repressing it easily risks harming vulnerable people and communities. Charting the efforts of both the judiciary and a citizen's social movement to reverse the mafia's economic, political, and cultural power, the authors establish a framework for understanding both the difficulties and the accomplishments of Sicily's multifaceted antimafia efforts.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Maps

Chapter 1. The Palermo Crucible

Chapter 2. The Genesis of the Mafia

Chapter 3. The Mafia and the Cold War

Chapter 4. The Cultural Production of Violence

Chapter 5. Seeking Causes, Casting Blame

Chapter 6. Mysteries and Poisons

Chapter 7. The Antimafia Movement

Chapter 8. Backlash and Renewal

Chapter 9. Civil Society Groundwork

Chapter 10. Recuperating the Built Environment

Chapter 11. "Cultural Re-education"

Chapter 12. Reversible Destiny

Notes

References

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786612356995

9780520929494

0520929497

9781282356993

1282356992

9781597348706

1597348708

OCLC:

475930525