First delivered as a lecture in 1900, Gaetano Mosca’s What is Mafia offers one of the earliest sociopolitical analyses of the phenomenon of Mafia. In a concise book Mosca examines the decentralized power structure of organized crime in Sicily at the turn of the century. Mosca explores the Mafia not merely as a criminal organization, but as a social and political phenomenon rooted in a distinct cultural ethos. This short but enduring text remains a vital lens through which to understand how organized crime embeds itself in the very fabric of society.

The first part of Wylfings Publishing’s upcoming Mosca series.