Diego Gambetta - Codes Of The Underworld

Diego Gambetta, sociologist and one of the authority on the subject of Sicilian Mafia, who moved to United States to teach at Princeton University, since in his homeland he would probably get killed or fired, tells us in this great book how criminals, who by their very nature are accustomed to dumping and cheating each other, form trust in each other. Well, as he explains, they always find a way, or they get things done. Either by using violence as capital, or money, or dependence on others, or incompetence, this book covers numerous examples all around the globe, from American-Italian mafia, to Russian mafia, to Yakuzas, and even to some obscure places. One interesting thing he wrote appealed to me, when he wrote about Russian prisons and behaviour of inmates. One Russian prisoner said : We don't need to watch American gangster movies. We have that right here. And one other anecdote is very funny, even if it isn't true : some Italian mafiosi claimed they have nine bars of uranium and are willing to sell them. Of course, Italian police overheard this, and at the meeting place, when the exchange was about to happen, mafiosi didn't brought nothing. Then, one yakuza tells : if you have even half the brain, you wouldn't join yakuzas at all. Much of the book is centered about famous undercover agent, Joe Pistone, who infiltrated Boston mafia, and by researching this he developed theory of signalling. For example, someone could put a paper with skull before your door, and other examples. Then there is part about mimicry, how successful it is, and in what circumstances. One part is dedicated to life in prison, why inmates are forced to fight and is very insightful. Second part is about meaning of tattoos and scars on one's body, then there are insightful chapter about meaning of nicknames. Lastly there are chapters about how art imitates low life and vice versa how low life imitates art. One part that struck me is Gambetta claim that most, if not all mafiosi, or shall I put it, pentitos, meaning mafiosi who are in prisons, tell what they know to the police. Book is also chokeful of examples from crime fiction and therefore for lovers of crime fiction this should be an interesting read.