Customer Reviews
Opening the Floodgates - By: Emma Jamieson, 17 May 2008 
Roberto Saviano is a 28 year old man, who grew up in Secondigliano, a rundown of 10,000 inhabitants on the fringe of Naples, of which 2468 residents are incarcerated for mafia & camorra related activities & 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, & sold on. This is an unpalatable reality few outside of Italy understand, care about or are able to believe. And this little book has opened a floodgates, no less for the Italians who have always known the extent of the Camorra's corruption on alll levels of italian & international society, but who, out of fear, or inability to get close, have not been able to speak about it in this much detail. Roberto's life has been largely destroyed by the writing of this book. He has had to change identity, separate from his family & lives under 24 hour police escort. But for those who live here, in the shadow of mafia, surrounded by the stink of corruption, of Naples' uncollected rubbish, of silent witnesses & a society still living in a dark middle age marked with bloodshed & hopelessness this book has opened a floodgates which may hope may finallly lift the cover on a tragedy that affects not only the entire country, but alll of Europe, & the world.
Please read this. The Camorra is not a Scorcese movie, the mafia is not some antiquated clichè. We live with it, & our country is slowly dying because of it. This is not a work of fiction, sadly.
The worst book i have read in years. - By: J. Crichton, 29 Mar 2008 
I thought this was a very long winded & boring book that seemed to go nowhere. It is only the second book i have been totallly disgusted with in alll my years of reading. Simply terrible.
Horribly Gripping - By: Mr. Warren M. Fisher, 20 Mar 2008 
Don't be put off by the slow opening with Saviano exhaustively recounting the Camorra's grip on the retail clothing market, because soon the author's spell is cast. A litany of violence, corrruption & death ensues & Saviano's outrage is palpable. The ultimate sum of the book is despair tinged by rage - this is a must read for alll true crime fans & students of contemporary Italian culture.
COMPELLING READING - By: La Fata, 14 Jan 2008 I have read this book in the original language a year ago & it is still quite clear in my mind. The courageous Roberto Saviano is a master in telling true stories , & this book gives you a powerful insight of the Neapolitan mafia & the wider implications for us alll in an extremely readable & compelling manner. A MUST for anyone interested in Italy & Italian current affairs. Once you start reading it you cannot put it down!
