In a new volume on the inner workings of the Sicilian mob, Longrigg (Mafia Women
), a British authority on the Mafia, examines the rise and fall of Bernardo Provenzano, a lowly thug who assumed the post of boss of bosses of the Cosa Nostra. A former enforcer to the Liggio gang, he survived some of the most violent power plays among factions of the Sicilian Mafia, transforming himself from a killer into an effective manipulator of corrupt politicians before the state court banned him from any type of influence over the lawmakers in 1970. The bulk of the book concerns Don Provenzano’s unchecked control of major criminal activities for more than 43 years, even while in hiding from the authorities and after his arrest by the special antivice police, as he modernized gangland operations to meet high-tech demands. Arrested in 2006 at age 73, the Sicilian Godfather, Longrigg found, still ruled with an iron hand from behind bars, his shrewdness and resourcefulness intact. This biography of Provenzano rates as one of the most informed, revealing chronicles of a modern gangster ever. (Mar.)
