Octopus: The Long Reach of the International Sicilian Mafia [Paperback]

Claire Sterling (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1991

A shocking expose of how the Sicilian Mafia uses financial influence and ruthless violence to control the international narcotics trade. "The most definitive work yet published on the transformation of the old bootlegging and gambling Mafia into a multinational conglomerate".--The Washington Times.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

At a 1957 gangland summit meeting in Palermo, American mobsters gave the drug franchise to the Sicilian Mafia, which now controls a multinational drug cartel and much of U.S. heroin and cocaine traffic. PW described this as "an important contribution to our understanding of world crime." Photos. Author tour.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone Books; Remainder Marked edition (February 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671734024
• ISBN-13: 978-0671734022
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #964,863 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent background on the rise of American Mafia., July 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Octopus: The Long Reach of the International Sicilian Mafia (Paperback)

This book should be regarded as a "textbook" of the rise of the American Mafia. Ms. Sterling has done an exhaustive research of the origins of the American Mafia from its roots in Sicily to its role in present day. The most memorable discovery in the book was the control the Sicilian Mafia had over its American "version". All in all, an extremely informative study of organized crime on an international scale.