Ruthless, cruel and irresistibly cool, the Mafia has always captured the darker side of the imagination. But just what is the Mafia, how does it operate, and what can be done to combat it? In this dramatic and informative book, James Finckenauer debunks the Mafia mystique and explores the sinister reality lurking beneath the romanticised surface. Demonstrating that organized crime is a multi-faceted and complex phenomenon, he argues that it destabilises society on a global scale, perpetuating untold economic, physical, psychological, and societal damage through its control of criminal markets, violence and corruption. Providing vital insight into a hidden world, and exploring the hype surrounding the topic, Mafia and Organized Crime: A Beginner's Guide is indispensable for anyone intrigued by, or concerned about, this widely misunderstood phenomenon.