For many people, the term 'mafia' connotes a vast and powerful organization originating exclusively in southern Italy. In this bracing new history, however, renowned Italian historian Salvatore Lupo argues that a realistic understanding of the mafia phenomenon must avoid two seemingly opposed and persistent depictions: one of a single octopus extending its tentacles from Sicily to envelop the world, the other of thousands of small, localized groups operating in relative isolation. Instead, the mafia is best understood within the context of a network of overlapping business, municipal, and...