A history of the rise of the Mafia in the world of crime and in the mainstream American political and economic life Organized crime-the Italian American kind-has long been a source of popular entertainment and legend. Now, Thomas Reppetto provides a balanced history of the Mafia's...  more

A history of the rise of the Mafia in the world of crime and in the mainstream American political and economic life Organized crime-the Italian American kind-has long been a source of popular entertainment and legend. Now, Thomas Reppetto provides a balanced history of the Mafia's rise-from the 1880s to the post-WWII era-that is as exciting and readable as it is authoritative. Structuring his narrative around a series of case histories featuring such infamous characters as Lucky Luciano and Al Capone, Reppetto draws on a lifetime of field experience and access to unseen documents to show us a locally grown Mafia. The Italian American crime families were shaped by conditions in big cities, but it wasn't until the 1920s, thanks to prohibition, that the Mafia assumed what we now consider its defining characteristics, especially its octopus-like tendency to infiltrate industry and government. At mid-century the Kefauver Commission declared the Mafia synonymous with Union Siciliana; in the 1960s the FBI finally admitted the Mafia's existence under the name La Cosa Nostra. American Mafia is a fascinating look at America's most compelling criminal subculture from an author who is intimately acquainted with both sides of the street. John MacRae Books

In the decade following the end of World War I, the United States rose to its current seat as the leading world superpower matched by an emerging cultural dominance that would come to characterize the second half of the twentieth century. American Culture in the 1920s is an engaging account of...  more

In the decade following the end of World War I, the United States rose to its current seat as the leading world superpower matched by an emerging cultural dominance that would come to characterize the second half of the twentieth century. American Culture in the 1920s is an engaging account of the major cultural and intellectual trends that were pivotal to the decade's characterization as "the jazz age." Avoiding superficial representations of the era as the "roaring twenties" plagued by a "lost generation," the volume provides a full portrait that includes chapters on literature, music and performance, film and radio, visual art and design, and the unprecedented rise of leisure and consumption.

When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant...  more

When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children; and another with her plainspoken single neighbor, Jo. Despite her reservations, Katie slowly begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family. But even as Katie begins to fall in love, she struggles with the dark secret that still haunts and terrifies her . . . a past that set her on a fearful, shattering journey across the country, to the sheltered oasis of Southport. With Jo's empathic and stubborn support, Katie eventually realizes that she must choose between a life of transient safety and one of riskier rewards . . . and that in the darkest hour, love is the only true safe haven.