The Business of Crime: Italians and Syndicate Crime in the United States [Paperback]

Humbert S. Nelli (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0226571327 | ISBN-13: 978-0226571324 | Publication Date: April 15, 1981 | Edition: 1

"Dr. Nelli . . . describes the kinds of crime that prevailed in Italian immigrant enclaves in America; like most American crime, then as now, Italian crime was one aspect of the so-called culture of urban poverty—boys graduated from street gangs to criminal gangs. None of these gangs were very big until Prohibition brought the Great Leap Forward, to a level that Dr. Nelli calls 'entrepreneurial crime.' His fine account makes sense of many murderous incidents, differentiates among places, and sketches individuals and the talents (Torrio's brains, Capone's brutality) that enabled them to rise in the underworld."—New Yorker

"A definitive history of organized crime in America."—American Historical Review

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Humbert S. Nelli is professor of history at the University of Kentucky.

Product Details

• Paperback: 328 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; 1 edition (April 15, 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226571327
• ISBN-13: 978-0226571324
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,365,231 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Italian Mob History Book, July 18, 2008

By 

Trent Rock (Goleta, CA (The 805)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Business of Crime: Italians and Syndicate Crime in the United States (Paperback)

I had to read this for a college class I took called The History of Urban Crime..This is a good book to get the general overview about the Italian Mafia...Black Hand gang was kind of a form of terrorism back then...."He is a friend of ours"...Hhehehehe....I like cover picture also...There are better, more thorough mob history books out there..But this would be a good one to start with

4.0 out of 5 stars The Birth of Italian Organized Crime, July 26, 2010

By 

Lionel S. Taylor "history buff" (Covington, GA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Business of Crime: Italians and Syndicate Crime in the United States (Paperback)

This book is an overview of the history of organized crime in the Italian community and gives the reader a good overview of the development of and the major players in the Mafia. While in parts it can seem like an endless list of names and crimes it does a good job of tracking the different illegal enterprises. As it turns out organized crime was not as organized as hollywood and the press would have you believe and there was qhite a bit of regional variation in what ventures were undertaken and how free the mob was to do what it pleased. Not surprisingly in most places where the Italian American community was not the dominant white ethnic group it had to work with crooked politicians, police and even other ethnic games especially the Irish and Jews. Overall this is a good overview of the Mob and for the most part does a good job of giving an account of the Mob lifestyle without glorifying it.