John Dickie – författare

''If only we could all write as brilliantly on Italy and its food as John Dickie does. He may well know Italy and Italians better than they know themselves'' Stanley Tucci

The new edition of the much-loved classic, with a fresh chapter that brings the surprising and moreish tale of the Italian way of eating right up to the present.

Delizia! takes the reader on a revelatory historical journey through the flavours of the cities that shaped the Italian love for good eating. From the bustle of Medieval Milan, to the bombast of Fascist Rome; from the pleasure gardens of Renaissance Ferrara, to the putrid alleyways of nineteenth-century Naples. In rich slices of Italian life, Delizia! shows how violence and intrigue, as well as taste and creativity, went to make the world''s favourite cuisine. With its mix of vivid story-telling, ground-breaking research and shrewd analysis, John Dickie''s Delizia! is as appetising as the dishes it describes.

The Gold Dagger Award-winning history of the Sicilian mafia

In MAFIA REPUBLIC, John Dickie, Professor of Italian Studies at University College, London and author of the international bestsellers COSA NOSTRA and MAFIA BROTHERHOODS, shows how the Italian mafias have grown in power and become more and more interconnected, with terrifying consequences. In 1946, Italy became a democratic Republic, thereby entering the family of modern western nations. But deep within Italy there lurked a forgotten curse: three major criminal brotherhoods, whose methods had been honed over a century of experience. As Italy grew, so did the mafias. Sicily''s Cosa Nostra, the camorra from Naples, and the mysterious ''ndrangheta from Calabria stood ready to enter the wealthiest and bloodiest period of their long history.Italy made itself rich by making scooters, cars and handbags. The mafias carved out their own route to wealth through tobacco smuggling, construction, kidnapping and narcotics. And as criminal business grew exponentially, the mafias grew not just more powerful, but became more interconnected.By the 1980s, Southern Italy was on the edge of becoming a narco-state. The scene was set for a titanic confrontation between heroic representatives of the law, and mafiosi who could no longer tolerate any obstacle to their ambitions. This was a war for Italy''s future as a civilized country. At its peak in 1992-93, the ''ndrangheta was beheading people in the street, and the Sicilian mafia murdered its greatest enemies, investigating magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, before embarking on a major terrorist bombing campaign on the Italian mainland.Today, the long shadow of mafia history still hangs over a nation wracked by debt, political paralysis, and widespread corruption. While police put their lives on the line every day, one of Silvio Berlusconi''s ministers said that Italy had to ''learn to live with the mafia''; suspicions of mafia involvement still surround some of the country''s most powerful media moguls and politicians. The latest investigations show that its reach is astonishing: it controls much of Europe''s wholesale cocaine trade, and representatives from as far away as Germany, Canada and Australia come to Calabria to seek authorisation for their affairs. Just when it thought it had finally contained the mafia threat, Italy is now discovering that it harbours the most global criminal network of them all.

BLOOD BROTHERHOODS is the enthralling new history of Italian organised crime, by the author of the international bestseller COSA NOSTRA.

The Sicilian mafia, or Cosa Nostra, is far from being Italy''s only dangerous criminal fraternity. The south of the country hosts two other major mafias: the camorra, from Naples and its hinterland; and the ''ndrangheta, the mafia from the poor and isolated region of Calabria that has now risen to become the most powerful mob of all. Each of these brotherhoods has its own methods, its own dark rituals, its own style of ferocity and corruption.

Their early history is little known; indeed some of it has been entirely shrouded in myth and silence until now. BLOOD BROTHERHOODS is a book of breathtaking ambition, charting the birth and rise of all three of Italy''s mafias. It blends ground-breaking archival research, passionate narrative, and shrewd historical analysis to bring Italy''s unique ''criminal ecosystem'', and the three terrifying criminal brotherhoods that evolved within it, to life on the page.

The Italian-American mafia has its roots in a mysterious and powerful criminal network in Sicily. While the mythology of the mafia has been widely celebrated in American culture, the true origins of its rituals, laws, and methods have never actually been revealed. John Dickie uses startling new research to expose the secrets of the Sicilian mafia, providing a fascinating account that is more violent, frightening, and darkly comic than anything conceived in popular movies and novels. How did the Sicilian mafia begin? How did it achieve its powerful grip in Italy and America? How does it operate today? From the mafia''s origins in the 1860s to its current tense relationship with the Berlusconi government, Cosa Nostra takes us to the inner sanctum where few have dared to go before. This is an important work of history and a revelation for anyone who ever wondered what it means to be "made" in the mob.

''Convincingly researched and thoroughly entertaining'' - Wall Street JournalTHE TIMES BEST BOOKS OF 2020''This book shows that, despite rumours of demon dwarfs, piano-playing crocodiles and world domination, the real story of the Freemasons is one of male eccentricity.''''The Craft is a superb book that often reads like an adventure novel. It''s informative, fascinating and often very funny. The depth of research is awe-inspiring, but what really makes this book is the author''s visceral understanding of what constitutes a good story.'' - The Times Book of the Week''[John Dickie] takes on this sensational subject with a wry turn of phrase and the cool judgment of a fine historian... I enjoyed this book enormously. Dickie''s gaze is both wide and penetrating. He makes a persuasive case for masonry''s historic importance.'' - Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times

''The Craft is a shadow history of modernity. Though more sober than most lodge meetings, it is, like its subject, ingenious and frequently bizarre... The Craft is well-crafted and sensible, making good use of English archives which have only recently been opened.'' - Spectator***Insiders call it ''the Craft''.

To the rest of us, Freemasonry is mysterious and suspect. Yet its story is peopled by some of the most distinguished men of the last three centuries: Winston Churchill and Walt Disney; Wolfgang Mozart and Shaquille O''Neal; Benjamin Franklin and Buzz Aldrin; Rudyard Kipling and ''Buffalo Bill'' Cody; Duke Ellington and the Duke of Wellington.

Founded in London in 1717 as a set of character-forming ideals and a way of binding men in fellowship, Freemasonry proved so addictive that within two decades it had spread across the globe. Masonic influence became pervasive. Under George Washington, the Craft became a creed for the new American nation. Masonic networks held the British empire together. Under Napoleon, the Craft became a tool of authoritarianism and then a cover for revolutionary conspiracy. Both the Mormon Church and the Sicilian mafia owe their origins to Freemasonry.

The Masons were as feared as they were influential. In the eyes of the Catholic Church, Freemasonry has always been a den of devil-worshippers. For Hitler, Mussolini and Franco the Lodges spread the diseases of pacifism, socialism and Jewish influence, so had to be crushed.

Professor Dickie''s The Craft is a surprising and enthralling exploration of a movement that not only helped to forge modern society, but still has substantial contemporary influence. With 400,000 members in Britain, over a million in the USA, and around six million across the world, understanding the role of Freemasonry is as important now as it has ever been.