Overview

"A riveting history of the Mafia from 1860s Sicily to 1960s America--as narrated by a former heist expert and Gambino family mobster. The culmination Louis Ferrante's exhaustive research delving deep into Sicily's socio-economic-political roots, Borgata: Rise of Empire will finally reveal exactly how and why this infamous secret society formed inside Sicilian culture. Ferrante then engages in the art of storytelling by carefully selecting stories about the mafia in Sicily that allow him to follow the main characters to America, where most arrive as fugitives from Italian justice. Across the Atlantic, the storyline picks up in places like New York and New Orleans, where the clannish Sicilians quickly realize the importance of diversity as they forge new alliances with other recently arrived ethnic groups as the borgata becomes the premier organized criminal network in the country. After planting their flags in cities across America, the adolescent American mafia realizes how to corrupt America's police and political establishment, and they become experts at bribing public officials, allowing them to extend their tentacles into every level of American society. In this first volume, Ferrante traces the mafia's phenomenal ""rise of empire"" through larger-than-life characters such as Lucky Luciano, Vito Genovese, Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Seigel, Albert Anastasia, and other legendary mobsters as they provide alcohol to the American public during Prohibition, penetrate industrial labor unions, practically take over the island of Cuba and, with extraordinary vision, create the gambling mecca of Las Vegas."

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9781639366019

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Reviews

"""Borgata is a detailed work that covers major events in American mafia history. The author produces some highly entertaining insights thanks to his background."" --The Wall Street Journal ""Former mobster Ferrante supplies a fascinating inside look at the history of the Mafia. Ferrante's familiarity with Mafia customs gives flesh and immediacy to what could otherwise be a rote historical tome, but he doesn't draw his authority from affiliation alone: this is a well-researched history in its own right. True crime fans will be captivated."" --Publishers Weekly ""Drawing on his experience as an ex-mobster, Ferrante peppers his stories with enlightening morsels about the conditions that facilitated the rise and impunity of organized criminals.""--Kirkus Reviews ""Mob Rules is a collection of lessons that can be gleaned from the long and colourful history of the Mob and applied to the legal business world.""-- ""CTV Canada"" ""Ferrante draws on an extensive knowledge of world events, mob lore, and personal experience to deliver an engrossing effort that reads like a rousing memoir, meditation on world history and mafia expos� all in one.""-- ""Kirkus Reviews"" ""Ferrante shares cogent advice. A colorful and surprisingly practical business primer."" - Publishers Weekly ""One of the wisest and wittiest collections of reflections on life and business ever penned by a wiseguy.""-- ""Fort Worth Star-Telegram"" ""Pours out spicy tales of Mob lore to make its management points, an approach most execs couldn't refuse. Mob Rules lays out the ways the rules of the Mafia can be applied in pursuit of straight-world success, injecting historical parallels and real-life anecdotes along the way.""-- ""New York Post"" ""The Mafia Management Guru."" - BusinessWeek ""Leadership lessons from the mob. Ferrante's book is worth the read...colorful tales of mob life.""-- ""Forbes"" ""Wiseguy's Wisdom. Worthwhile, sometimes humorous tips on how to succeed in business."" - New York Daily News ""He never got an M.B.A. but ex-mobster Louis Ferrante learned enough about business on the street.""--Crain's New York Business Praise for Louis Ferrante's Mob Rules:"

"""Finally, Lou brings all of the Mafia's wisdom and business acumen together in Mob Rules and shows readers how they can apply the mob's best practices to their own businesses.""--Rita Gigante, daughter fo the late mob boss Vincent ""The Chin"" Gigante ""Mob Rules is a collection of lessons that can be gleaned from the long and colourful history of the Mob and applied to the legal business world.""-- ""CTV Canada"" ""Ferrante draws on an extensive knowledge of world events, mob lore, and personal experience to deliver an engrossing effort that reads like a rousing memoir, meditation on world history and mafia exposé all in one.""-- ""Kirkus Reviews"" ""Ferrante shares cogent advice. A colorful and surprisingly practical business primer."" - Publishers Weekly ""One of the wisest and wittiest collections of reflections on life and business ever penned by a wiseguy.""-- ""Fort Worth Star-Telegram"" ""It's very rare when someone from Lou's world has the heart of a writer. Criminal experiences don't usually lead to great insights. Louis Ferrante is different--his talent for storytelling shines through in Mob Rules.""--Nicholas Pileggi, author of Wiseguy and Casino ""Louis Ferrante is a wise guy in every possible sense of the word. His wisdom is extraordinary and his writing style immaculate."" - David Black, screenwriter and producer for Law & Order ""I knew John Gotti better than anyone, and if he were alive today, Mob Rules would be his favorite book.""--George ""Fat George"" DiBello, caretaker of John Gotti's South Queens social club during the don's reign ""Pours out spicy tales of Mob lore to make its management points, an approach most execs couldn't refuse. Mob Rules lays out the ways the rules of the Mafia can be applied in pursuit of straight-world success, injecting historical parallels and real-life anecdotes along the way.""-- ""New York Post"" ""The Mafia Management Guru."" - BusinessWeek ""Leadership lessons from the mob. Ferrante's book is worth the read...colorful tales of mob life.""-- ""Forbes"" ""Wiseguy's Wisdom. Worthwhile, sometimes humorous tips on how to succeed in business."" - New York Daily News ""He never got an M.B.A. but ex-mobster Louis Ferrante learned enough about business on the street.""--Crain's New York Business Praise for Louis Ferrante's Mob Rules:"

Author Information

Louis Ferrante, author of Borgata: Rise of Empire, the first in a definitive three-part history of the American mafia, is a former Mafia associate and heist expert who served eight years in prison after refusing to incriminate his fellow Gambino family members. Mob Rules was an international bestseller and his Discovery Channel Series, Inside the Gangsters Code, earned him a Grierson Award nomination. Louis lives in Florida.

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