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Mafia: A Global History
Few forces have shaped our world as powerfully – or as secretly – as mafias.
Groups such as La Cosa Nostra, the Medellín Cartel, New York’s Five Families, the Japanese yakuza and Russian vory are notorious, endlessly covered in news stories and popular media. Yet when official histories are written, their role in shaping nations, economies and societies is rarely acknowledged.
In A Global History, Ryan Gingeras draws on more than a decade of research to uncover this suppressed underworld history. Crossing centuries and continents, he introduces legendary figures – Al Capone, Pablo Escobar, Du Yuesheng – and explores the conditions, cultures and locales that gave birth to modern Sicily, Marseille, New York, Colombia, Tokyo. As he reconstructs the rise of a gang or the life of a gangster, he also charts the expanding power of states and the increasingly international reach of trade, crime and law enforcement. After all, governments define what is a crime and who is a criminal, and their agents create the strategies used to limit or defend against their threat.
Beginning with bandits and ending with today’s ‘mafia states’ – and the alarming blurring of lines between gangsters, corporations and political leaders – this sweeping narrative traces the evolution of organised crime in response to industrialisation, globalisation and technological change. By charting the origins, consolidation and transformation of mafias, Gingeras reveals not only where contemporary gangsters come from, but how they became central to our imagination and why they are the uncredited architects of the modern world.
Groups such as La Cosa Nostra, the Medellín Cartel, New York’s Five Families, the Japanese yakuza and Russian vory are notorious, endlessly covered in news stories and popular media. Yet when official histories are written, their role in shaping nations, economies and societies is rarely acknowledged.
In A Global History, Ryan Gingeras draws on more than a decade of research to uncover this suppressed underworld history. Crossing centuries and continents, he introduces legendary figures – Al Capone, Pablo Escobar, Du Yuesheng – and explores the conditions, cultures and locales that gave birth to modern Sicily, Marseille, New York, Colombia, Tokyo. As he reconstructs the rise of a gang or the life of a gangster, he also charts the expanding power of states and the increasingly international reach of trade, crime and law enforcement. After all, governments define what is a crime and who is a criminal, and their agents create the strategies used to limit or defend against their threat.
Beginning with bandits and ending with today’s ‘mafia states’ – and the alarming blurring of lines between gangsters, corporations and political leaders – this sweeping narrative traces the evolution of organised crime in response to industrialisation, globalisation and technological change. By charting the origins, consolidation and transformation of mafias, Gingeras reveals not only where contemporary gangsters come from, but how they became central to our imagination and why they are the uncredited architects of the modern world.
432 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 12, 2026
About the author
Ryan Gingeras
14 books24 followersRyan Gingeras was raised in San Diego, California. After receiving his B.A. in History at the University of California, San Diego, he went on to complete his M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of Toronto. He is currently Associate Professor, Associate Chair for Instruction, and the Chair of the Doctoral Committee at the Naval Postgraduate School.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 13, 2026
I mean, he isn't lying when he says it's a global history. While I found it fascinating, I also felt like it didn't dive as deeply as it could because he was trying to cover so much. If it had been multiple books based on regions or years, maybe that would have helped? Maybe it's just a me problem.
March 19, 2026
A fascinating history looking at power, orthodoxy and the monopolisation of violence.
Ryan Gingeras takes a global view to the concept of ‘mafia’. The term itself gets a much wider definition you might expect, so it comes to include bandits of the Ottoman Empire, progenitors and practitioners of the Triad, Indian gamblers and English gangs. Gingeras takes the view that any organised activity that uses violence and operates separately to state authority could be considered a “mafia”. This is a brilliant analysis to look through the history of power with and makes for an exceptionally good history book.
Not to downplay the rest of the book too much, but the first 2 chapters are far and away the best. Chapter 6 comes close too, clearly making up the core of what Gingeras is most familiar with. Chapters 1 and 2 focus on laying out Gingeras’ framework, and explaining the method behind the violence of a mafia. It’s all interesting work, and Gingeras shows off his detailed understanding of Ottoman imperial power in his analysis of the infamous Ali Pasha.
It’s a good history book, with some great chapters but my biggest issue is that the chapters could easily be chopped up. Whilst each for an overarching theme, all of them are simply way too long. For example where a whole chapter is devoted to the decline and transformation of the “mafia” Gingeras could’ve separated these into two distinct chapter in themselves. Because the analysis is fascinating but it far too quickly gets murky by moving too quickly between different transformations of non-state violence depending on which state Gingeras is talking about. This is a common issue in the book but it’s particularly highlighted when discussing how the end of the Cold War and 911 has thrown a spanner in the works.
On the whole though, this is a fresh historical analysis with plenty to say and an interesting subject. Worth checking out for any history nerd or fan of The Godfather.
Ryan Gingeras takes a global view to the concept of ‘mafia’. The term itself gets a much wider definition you might expect, so it comes to include bandits of the Ottoman Empire, progenitors and practitioners of the Triad, Indian gamblers and English gangs. Gingeras takes the view that any organised activity that uses violence and operates separately to state authority could be considered a “mafia”. This is a brilliant analysis to look through the history of power with and makes for an exceptionally good history book.
Not to downplay the rest of the book too much, but the first 2 chapters are far and away the best. Chapter 6 comes close too, clearly making up the core of what Gingeras is most familiar with. Chapters 1 and 2 focus on laying out Gingeras’ framework, and explaining the method behind the violence of a mafia. It’s all interesting work, and Gingeras shows off his detailed understanding of Ottoman imperial power in his analysis of the infamous Ali Pasha.
It’s a good history book, with some great chapters but my biggest issue is that the chapters could easily be chopped up. Whilst each for an overarching theme, all of them are simply way too long. For example where a whole chapter is devoted to the decline and transformation of the “mafia” Gingeras could’ve separated these into two distinct chapter in themselves. Because the analysis is fascinating but it far too quickly gets murky by moving too quickly between different transformations of non-state violence depending on which state Gingeras is talking about. This is a common issue in the book but it’s particularly highlighted when discussing how the end of the Cold War and 911 has thrown a spanner in the works.
On the whole though, this is a fresh historical analysis with plenty to say and an interesting subject. Worth checking out for any history nerd or fan of The Godfather.
May 15, 2026
The books lacks of depth, trying to tell the whole story of humankind in few pages. was stuck for a month
December 7, 2025
Mafia is a global history of organized crime. From very early bandits to today's organized criminals, it covers a lot of history. It was highly researched to get all the information that was included. The term Mafia was originally applied to the Sicilian Mafia. The term Mafia expanded to encompass other organizations of world wide criminal groups. The movie "The Godfather" and other movies open up people's imagination about the Mafia. Al Capone, Pablo Escobar, Miguel Félix Gallard and South American cartels are also covered. It also gets into the East European Mafias. The book covers everything .If you want to know the long read of organized crime this is the book for you. I would like to thank Simon & Schuster for a free advanced copy to read.
April 30, 2026
There is a lot of interesting information in this book, but the presentation is lacking. When people say they don't like non-fiction this is a prime example of why. I did do the audio version of this book and there was many times I just could not maintain focus. I think Gingeras tried to conquer too much - lack of stories to maintain interest. Also a broad brush - for instance I have grown up in a certain area that is known to have the Mafia. He mentioned this state in the book but failed to say if it was the more of the northern or southern part of the state. Nothing was mentioned about it again.
How did this book find me? A new book with a subject I find interesting.
How did this book find me? A new book with a subject I find interesting.
March 29, 2026
started off like it could be interesting and most of it was. but the further in time it goes what it ignores is fairly apparent...no mention of operation gladio, the contras, or much analysis in how the US uses cartels to undermine the Left globally. But it has all the time in the world to speculate on Hugo Chavez's possible connection to cartels. Sure, leftwing groups do get into the drug trade, but if your not gonna discuss organized crime in the context of how the United States legalized opium cultivation after it invaded Afghanistan then what are you really doing
May 2, 2026
Zeer boeiende en leuke leeservaring, geen vijf sterren, maar 4 omdat ik het soms een beetje te gejaagd vind, en er soms dieper mag gegaan worden op sommige mensen of organizaties.
Maar zeker interessant en goed onderbouwd.
Maar zeker interessant en goed onderbouwd.
March 12, 2026
3.5 stars
April 10, 2026
GANG GANG
April 20, 2026
Somehow, Gingeras’s disjointed narrative made this boring.
April 12, 2026
Prostitution and drugs are two main revenue for a lot of mafia and mafia adjacent organizations. The book covers a bit of history of mafia groups (they have various names and mafia is a good generic term).
Narrator was good, listened at 2.5 speed.
Narrator was good, listened at 2.5 speed.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews