Description
Fighting the Mafia is his dramatic tale of witness and survival, of his effort to expose Mafia infiltration of the highest levels of Italy's national politics, and of the movement he helped build-in the schools and churches, and at the ballot box-to recapture Sicilian culture and inspire a renaissance of democracy.
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Orlando is mayor of Palermo, a former member of the Italian Parliament and the European Parliament, and the recipient of the Bayard Rustin Human Rights Award for 2000, awarded by the American Federation of Teachers. Born in 1947, he spent his boyhood days in Palermo, in an aristocratic family. Later, as a university law student in the city, he gradually became aware of the pervasiveness of the Mafia in Sicilian society. This knowledge led to a career as a social activist and politician. Orlando examines Sicily's "Thirty Years War," a period of heightened Mafia conflicts from the 1960s to 1990s, and his effort to expel the Maria from the highest levels of Italy's national politics. He describes his role in creating a movement in schools, churches, and through elections to restore Sicilian culture and renew democracy, which has realized success in recent years. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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