Roberto Saviano: Gomorrah: Italy's Other Mafia

This is a very powerful non-fiction book written by vigilante journalist, Roberto Saviano. Saviano grew up in Secondigliano, a rundown of 10,000 inhabitants on the fringe of Naples, Italy, of which close to a quarter of its residents are incarcerated for mafia and camorra related activities and the rest have simply been abandoned to their fate. It is also the trading centre through which about 80% of Europe’s cocaine is filtered through, packaged, distributed, marketed, cut, and sold on. The subject of the book – the Camorra is a mafia-like criminal organisation, or secret society, originating in the region of Campania and the city of Naples in Italy. It finances itself through drug trafficking, extortion, protection and racketeering and its activities have led to high levels of homicide in the areas in which it operates. It is the oldest organized criminal organization in Italy.