Historical

Organized crime is perhaps the most fascinating phenomenon of our time. From Al Capone, who boldly claimed his bootlegging activities were a public service, to the flamboyant Teflon Don, the criminals of the underworld have garnered headlines and captured our imagination with their violent and extravagant lifestyles. Nigel Cawthorne provides an absorbing introduction to the mob’s most influential personalities – their lives, loves and terrible crimes. Featuring shocking photographs of these gang members, Mafia offers shocking insight into the role of the mob in Sicily and America. For anyone who wants to know the truth about organized crime and understand the violent forces that have shaped it over the last century, this book is an indispensable guide. Cases include Don Vito Cascio Ferro, the New York mobster who lured Joe Petrosino to his death in Palermo to John Gotti, ‘the Teflon don’ and Bernardo ‘The Tractor’ Provenzano, who hid out in a farmhouse for 43 years. Eight-page plate section of photographs True crime is an enduring subject and this variety will tempt both existing fans and new ones

• Publisher: ‎ Arcturus Publishing Ltd; Illustrated edition (15 October 2012)
• Language: ‎ English
• Paperback: ‎ 384 pages
• ISBN-10: ‎ 1848588372
• ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1848588370

‘It was a grisly sight. The zeal and fervor with which the karsevaks were taking part in the demolition job sent a chill down our spines. Those who had no tools to use were scratching away like madmen with their fingernails on the domes. A few young men tied a noose around the domes and were trying to pull them down. ’When the CPI(M)-led Left Front was swept to power in 1977, Suman was twenty years old. His upbringing in an educated middle-class family, his brief brush with politics during his student days at the Presidency College and his friendship with people, many of whom would later play important roles in politics, enabled Suman to critically watch the world around him change irrevocably. By the time the Left Front firmly dug its political heels in Bengal through its second thumping victory in the 1983 Assembly polls, Suman had taken his first step into journalism. As a journalist, Suman’s USP has always been his insistence to be at the spot where news breaks, notwithstanding his official position. He was among the first handful of journalists to be in Kabul, just before the fall of the Soviet-propped regime, he was the first Indian journalist to arrive in Moscow (that too without a valid passport!) as the Soviet regime withered away, he was in Islamabad to cover the Rajiv Gandhi–Benazir Bhutto agreement, he was in the United States covering P.V. Narasimha Rao’s historic visit to that country, which finally set the seal marking the beginning of India’s economic reforms, he covered the demolition of the Babri mosque, he has covered every major Lok Sabha and Bidhan Sabha polls since 1983, across India. Suman had and still has close personal relations some of the leading figures of Indian politics, including, Pranab Mukherjee (who was his father’s student), JyotiBasu, Priyaranjan Dasmunsi, Mamata Banerjee and Anil Biswas, the architect of the CPI(M)’s stranglehold over Bengal. In his story are personal insights into all these events and personalities.

• ASIN: ‎ 8129150468
• Publisher: ‎ Rupa Publications India (20 January 2017)
• Language: ‎ English
• Paperback: ‎ 293 pages
• ISBN-10: ‎ 9788129150462
• ISBN-13: ‎ 978-8129150462

This unique book with its captivating narrative and breathtaking images, both old and new, captures the spirit of an important era in the history of the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal. Spanning three centuries from the 19th to the 21st, The Ranas of Nepal chronicles the story of the Ranas inextricable link with the history of Nepal; it follows the role that the clan played in the theatre of sub-continental politics and records their enduring imprint right up to the present day. The violent beginnings of the regime in the mid-19th century saw Jung Bahadur Rana climb to the pinnacle of power and lay the foundation of the Rana oligarchy. At the turn of the century, Maharaja Chandra Shumshere’s uninterrupted 29-year period of rule was one of consolidation and stability, when Nepal remained an island of peace and sovereignty even as the world and the subcontinent witnessed times of war and political turmoil. With the changing geo-political situation in the mid-20th century, as the British left the Indian subcontinent, the curtain also came down on 104 years of Rana rule in Nepal. In the middle section of the book, the reader will discover the essence of Rana culture and lifestyles: their unique religious traditions and customs, their costumes and jewelry, cuisine and architecture, rich weaves of heritage that carry their history into the present. The final section of the book dwells on the role the Ranas continue to play in the destiny of modern Nepal. Building upon their inheritance, today members of this family hold key positions in the spheres of industry, culture, politics and public life. Lavishly illustrated with photographs and paintings from the Rana family collections and written by members of the Rana family, this is truly an inside story of this fascinating clan.

• Publisher: ‎ Timeless Books (1 January 2003)
• Language: ‎ English
• Hardcover: ‎ 272 pages
• ISBN-10: ‎ 8189497596
• ISBN-13: ‎ 978-8189497590