Gomorrah : a personal journey into the violent international empire of Naples' organized crime system

A Major Bestseller In Italy, This Is A Heroic Young Man's Impassioned Account Of The Decline Of Naples Under The Rule Of The Camorra, An Organized Crime Network With A Large International Reach And Stakes In Construction, High Fashion, Illicit Drugs, And Toxic-waste Disposal. Known By Insiders As The System, The Camorra Affects Cities And Villages Along The Neapolitan Coast, And Is The Deciding Factor In Why Campania, For Instance, Has The Highest Murder Rate In All Of Europe And Why Cancer Levels There Have Skyrocketed In Recent Years. Author Saviano, Who Saw His First Murder At Age 14, Worked Under Cover To Investigate The Camorra's Control Of Chinese Factories Contracted To Manufacture Fashion Goods, Legally And Illegally, For Distribution Around The World, And Relates How The Abusive Handling Of Toxic Waste Is Causing Devastating Pollution Not Only For Naples But Also China And Somalia.--from Publisher Description. The Port -- Angelina Jolie -- The System -- The Secondigliano War -- Women -- Kalashnikov -- Cement -- Don Peppino Diana -- Hollywood -- Aberdeen, Mondragone -- Land Of Fires. Roberto Saviano ; Translated From The Italian By Virginia Jewiss. Originally Published In 2006 By Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.a., Italy, As Gomorra--t.p. Verso.

A groundbreaking major bestseller in Italy, Gomorrah is Roberto Saviano's gripping nonfiction account of the decline of Naples under the rule of the Camorra, an organized crime network with a large international reach and stakes in construction, high fashion, illicit drugs, and toxic-waste disposal. Known by insiders as "the System," the Camorra affects cities and villages along the Neapolitan coast, and is the deciding factor in why Campania, for instance, has the highest murder rate in all of Europe and whycancer levels there have skyrocketed in recent years.

Saviano tells of huge cargoes of Chinese goods that are shipped to Naples and then quickly distributed unchecked across Europe. He investigates the Camorra's control of thousands of Chinese factories contracted to manufacture fashion goods, legally and illegally, for distribution around the world, and relates the chilling details of how the abusive handling of toxic waste is causing devastating pollution not only for Naples but also China and Somalia. In pursuit of his subject, Saviano worked as an assistant at a Chinese textile manufacturer, a waiter at a Camorra wedding, and on a construction site. A native of the region, he recalls seeing his first murder at the age of fourteen, and how his own father, a doctor, suffered a brutal beating for trying to aid an eighteen-year-old victim who had been left for dead in the street.

Gomorrah is a bold and important work of investigative writing that holds global significance, one heroic young man's impassioned story of a place under the rule of a murderous organization.

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year A groundbreaking, unprecedented bestseller in Italy, Roberto Saviano's insider account traces the decline of the city of Naples under the rule of the Camorra, an organized crime network more powerful and violent than the Mafia. The Camorra is an elaborate, international system dealing in drugs, high fashion, construction, and toxic waste, and its influence has entirely transformed life in Campania, the province surrounding Naples. Since seeing his first murder victim, at thirteen, Roberto Saviano has watched the changes in his home city. For Gomorrah , he disappeared into the Camorra and witnessed at close range its audacious, sophisticated, and far-reaching corruption that has paralyzed his home city and introduced the world to a new breed of organized crime. A groundbreaking, unprecedented bestseller in Italy, Roberto Saviano's insider account traces the decline of the city of Naples under the rule of the Camorra, an organized crime network more powerful and violent than the Mafia. The Camorra is an elaborate, international system dealing in drugs, high fashion, construction, and toxic waste, and its influence has entirely transformed life in Campania, the province surrounding Naples. Since seeing his first murder victim, at thirteen, Roberto Saviano has watched the changes in his home city. For Gomorrah, he disappeared into the Camorra and witnessed up close the drug cartel's audacious, sophisticated, and far-reaching corruption that has paralyzed his home city and introduced the world to a new breed of organized crime An account of the decline of Naples under the rule of the Camorra describes how this organized crime network has gained control of the Neapolitan region in such areas as construction, high fashion, illegal drug trafficking, and toxic waste disposal 'Gomorrah' is both a bold and engrossing piece of investigative writing and one heroic young man's impassioned story of a place under the rule of a murderous organisation.