John Dickie

Das wahre Gesicht der Mafia jenseits des "Paten"Mythos. Korruption, Erpressung und kaltblütiger Mord das ist die blutige Wahrheit hinter dem Mythos Mafia. Sie ist die bekannteste und berüchtigste kriminelle Organisation der Welt, das Synonym für organisierte Kriminalität, eine gewalttätige und verschworene Geheimgesellschaft. Ihr Ehrenkodex beruht auf der omert?, der Schweigepflicht. Doch längst geht es bei der Mafia nicht mehr allein um Drogenhandel und Glücksspiel, sondern das Geld wird mit legalen Wirtschaftssektoren in enger Zusammenarbeit mit Politikern und staatlichen Funktionsträgern gemacht. Inzwischen bekämpft die Mafia den Staat nicht mehr, sondern geht in ihm auf. Wenn Sie glauben, alles über die Mafia zu wissen, dann lesen Sie dieses Buch!

Evnen til å drepe og komme unna med det er den sicilianske mafiaens grufulle styrke, og det som har gitt den så stor makt. Brorskapet er kjent for de fleste gjennom filmer som "Gudfaren", og forestillingene er preget av myter og romantikk. John Dickies fascinerende fortelling avdekker mafiaens opprinnelse og skiller fakta fra myter. Forfatteren iscenesetter på en levende måte hendelser i mafiaens historie. Et glitrende eksempel på at virkeligheten av og til overgår fiksjonen! "Uansett tema er dette blant de mest gjennomarbeidede dokumentarbøkene du finner på markedet i høst. Og når den samtidig er like spennede og intelligent som en Sopranos-episode, er det rett og slett vanskelig å komme på en eneste innvending mot å skaffe seg denne lille genistreken av fortellende formidling," skrev Ane Farsethås i Dagens Næringsliv om den innbundne utgaven.

Recognised as 'The first truly definitive English-language study of this myth-laden subject and a pleasure to read' (Sunday Times) COSA NOSTRA is the compelling story of the Sicilian mafia, the world's most famous, most secretive and most misunderstood criminal fraternity. The mafia has been given many names since it was founded one hundred and forty years ago: the Sect, the Brotherhood, the Honoured Society, and now Cosa Nostra. Yet as times have changed, the mafia's subtle and bloody methods have remained the same. Now, for the first time, COSA NOSTRA reconstructs the complete history of the Sicilian mafia from its origins to the present day, from the lemon groves and sulphur mines of Sicily, to the streets of Manhattan. Described by Andrew Marr as 'Monumental and gripping' COSA NOSTRA is a history rich in atmosphere with the narrative pace of the best detective fiction, and hailed in Italy as the best book ever written about the mafia.

In an era when many other familiar pillars of society have disappeared in Britain, one valiant figure has survived: the traveller's best friend, the British Consul. Till now there has been no comprehensive account of how the Consul evolved from the fifteenth century as a mercantile officer smoothing the way for British traders in foreign ports up to the twenty-first-century role in the frontline against terrorists or helping the victims of natural disasters. This book describes the transformation of the Consul from the pioneering days of serving with trading houses such as the Muscovy Company, the Levant Company and the East India Company to the challenges arising in the modern era as the result of the package holiday revolution, the global travel of football supporters, the violence of international protest rallies, and the mishaps of over-adventurous backpackers. The inside story is published for the first time of the ordeal of British diplomats when Mao Tse-tung's Red Guards attacked and burned the British Legation in Beijing in 1967, an event that recalled the Boxers' siege of the Legation in 1900. The author reveals how the Consuls coped with the traumatic experience of British citizens being taken hostage and used as human shields by Saddam Hussein of Iraq in 1990, and being rescued from the Chechen rebels' siege of a Moscow theatre in 2002. The book will be welcomed not only in the academic and diplomatic world because of the access it provides to archive material and the author's great fund of experience in the field, but also to the traveller who may, or may not yet, have needed the services of the British Consul. John Dickie writes with acerbic wit, and illuminates many entertaining and little-known aspects of an under-explored subject.

Traces the story of the Mafia in Sicily, drawing on new research to profile the organization as a secret society whose influence is based on murder, offering vivid reconstructions of the people whose lives it has marked, and sharing insight into how it operates and retains power. Reprint.

Producers and Consumers in EU E-Commerce Law argues that the European Union is failing adequately to protect consumers' critical interests in the area of e-commerce. The book compares the Union's close protection of producers' critical interests in e-commerce, considered in terms of authorship and of 'domain-identity', with its faltering steps towards protection of consumers' corresponding interests, considered in terms of fair trading, privacy and (on behalf of children) morality. The book assesses the threats posed to those interests, the extent to which self-help can and does neutralise those threats and, as regards any gaps left, the extent to which the Union has stepped into the breach. The argument is important given that surveys show low levels of consumer confidence in European cross-border e-commerce, a motor of integration par excellence.

Not since Anthony Eden launched the Suez War in 1956 has Britain's foreign policy provoked such intense controversy. Every Government statement throughout the recent Iraq crisis has highlighted the strains of Prime Minister Tony Blair in taking a reluctant country into war. Walking a diplomatic tightrope, he has sought to balance his transatlantic loyalties as a steadfast ally of the United States with his electoral pledge of strengthening Britain's position "at the heart of Europe". Each decision was destined to have a serious impact not just in the Labour Party but among ordinary British voters prepared as never before to parade their views in the streets. The Prime Minister also had to recognise the momentous repercussions his decisions could have on the credibility of the UN, the unity of Europe, the effectiveness of NATO and the cohesion of the Commonwealth. How are these British foreign policy decisions taken? How do British diplomacy and decision-making actually work? For generations the Foreign Office operated as an elitist, secretive institution resisting intrusion and change. Now, with this book, the doors have been opened on the quiet revolution which has transformed the Foreign Office. John Dickie's penetrating journey through the corridors of power reveals for the first time how the new mandarins are tested, selected, trained and promoted in Britain's Diplomatic Service.

This book outlines and analyses the legislative activity of the Union in an area which is currently experiencing exponential growth in terms of both commercial activity and legal significance. The scope of the book is current,pending and proposed Internet-related law on contracts, copyright, data protection, commercial communications, financial services, electronic cash and electronic signatures. John Dickie argues that the Union is in the process of displacing Member State autonomy in the regulation of the Internet. Within that frame, it is argued that there is a lack of focus on the individual in the electronic marketplace and a lack of co-ordination between relevant legislative instruments. This book will be of interest to all those engaged with Union and Internet law, including lawyers, policy-makers and academics.