For years, the DeCavalcantes, the most powerful Mob family in Jersey, labored in the shadows of the more famous families in New York—the likes of the Gambinos and the Columbos. Dismissed by the big-city capos, the DeCavalcantes finally came into their own when they found their lives mirrored in the television hit, The Sopranos. Overnight it legitimized the made men of the Garden State. Now they were a familia to be reckoned with. Unfortunately with high profile came high risk. As member turned against member, as trusted friend turned terrified informant, the FBI put the brakes on the DeCavalcante’s explosive ride into infamy, hastening a fall from honor that would become as infamous as their notorious ascension into the annals of organized crime. Based on more than 1,000 hours of secretly recorded conversations, Made Men delivers for the first time, the unprecedented and completely uncensored behind-the-scenes truth of a historically clandestine world—of violent life and sudden death inside and outside the mob, told by the very men who made it.

"With the appearance of Homer's study, it is no longerpossible to base any serious work about organized crime on the superficialdebate over whether or not this set of activities is dominated by one or moreparticular ethnic groups," writes political scientist Michael A.Weinstein in his introduction. Homer removes the study of organizedcrime from the realm of sensationalism and ethnic chauvinism, and places it inthe context of contemporary American social structure. He reviews prevalentmyths and hypotheses about organized crime and critically analyzes them in theframework of contemporary organization theory. In this context, organized crimeis analyzed in its economic, political, ethnic, and social class dimensions. Thisbook will pose a dilemma for American citizens, Weinstein concludes: "Will wechoose to ease our consciences by pretending that organized crime is an anomalyin American society to be eliminated by punitive action against particulargroups, or will we recognize that criminal matrices functionally interlock withmany other aspects of everyday life? Only the latter recognition will permit usto make a free decision about how we will act with respect to organized crime." Listed among the outstanding books of 1974 by both AmericanScholar and Society, Guns and Garlic is a recommended selection of the NationalCriminal Justice Reference Center, a division of the Law Enforcement AssistanceAssociation of the United States Department of Justice.

In the town of Corleone, the pecking order is clear. Il Padrone, Don Tomasso Scalisce, is a leader of a different kind of power. While some respect the monarchy as it is, it is foreign to this paese, and Roma might as well be a world away as few venture beyond their small towns in the hills of inner Sicily. Throughout the next one hundred and twenty years, Sicilys feudal past connects with criminal elements while the harsh realities of life require its people to endure brutalities in order to survive and prosper. While the Italians work to preserve life, family, and fortunes, they must use all means possible to make it happen, including killing others who want to kill them. As life takes them from Sicily to other Italian cities, the Vatican, and eventually into modern American society, a diverse band of characters including leaders, celebrities, and lawless and nefarious Mafia thugs seeking money and power are linked through one of the most compelling human conditionsthe bloodline. In this epic historical novel, Italian families connected through a bloodline move through time while bravely attempting to overcome obstacles that test their character, courage, and determination to succeed.