Codes of the Underworld by Diego Gambetta
How do criminals communicate with each other? This book shows that as villains balance the lure of criminal reward against the fear of dire punishment, they are inspired to unexpected feats of subtlety and ingenuity in communication. It deciphers how criminals signal to each other in a lawless universe.
Criminals can't advertise their products on QVC, yet the mafia and the yakuza have prospered longer than most Fortune 500 companiesIn Codes of the Underworld, sociologist Diego Gambetta examines how criminals communicate without being caught, how they build trust in a world where everyone is crooked... odes of the Underworld is colourful and engrossing: it could appeal to policymakers, academics, laymen or, God forbid, criminals looking to improve their game. Spectator [A]n absolutely fascinating look at the unique problems criminals face when trying to communicate with one another... Fans of crime fiction will love this. ham Lawton, NewScientist.com's CultureLab blog 'A wiseguy sees things if there are wiseguy things to see,' wrote Joe Pistone, the FBI agent better known as Donnie Brasco--the name under which he managed to infiltrate the mob. But what are the wiseguy things to see? And how is a wiseguy to know he isn't dealing with the likes of Joe Pistone? Such questions are among those that fascinate Diego Gambetta. Professor Gambetta, an Italian sociologist based at Oxford University, has managed to wrap himself in the language of economics as capably as Pistone wrapped himself in the language of organised crime. Gambetta is an authority on the Sicilian mafia, but deploys the tools of an economist to understand them and other criminals. -- Tim Harford Financial Times Criminals are in constant fear of being duped, says Diego Gambetta, even as they are busy duping others. Yet hoodlums often seek a literal partner in crime. This, he notes, creates a need for both identification and verification of trust in what is generally an untrustworthy milieu. Lacking a miscreants' yellow page, the question becomes, well, how to find an honest crook? Such concerns pervade Codes of the Underworld, a new book by Gambetta, a professor of sociology at the University of Oxford. -- Nina Ayoub Chronicle of Higher Education [T]he best applied book on signaling theory to date. -- Tyler Cowen Marginal Revolution In Codes of the Underworld, the Oxford sociologist Diego Gambetta uses colorful stories and a minimum of jargon in his quest to analyze how people advertise when their business happens to be illegal... Gambettta sets out to illuminate the world inhabited by these face-tattooed, duel-scarred, razor-brandishing inmates. The result is a book that explains the hidden logic of their behavior in language intelligible to those of us who make it a point to seer clear of both well-armed dictators and well-decorated Mafiosi. -- Katherine Mangu-Ward Reason [A]n absolutely fascinating look at the unique problems criminals face when trying to communicate with one another--how, for example, do you advertise for a partner in crime, or win trust in an inherently untrustworthy world?--and the ingenious ways they solve them... Fans of crime fiction will love this. -- Graham Lawton NewScientist.com's CultureLab blog [I]lluminating. The Age
Diego Gambetta is Official Fellow of Nuffield College and professor of sociology at the University of Oxford. He is the author of "The Sicilian Mafia: The Business of Private Protection" and editor of "Making Sense of Suicide Missions".
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780691119373 |
| ISBN 10 | 0691119376 |
| Title | Codes of the Underworld |
| Author | Diego Gambetta |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Princeton University Press |
| Year published | 2009-08-16 |
| Number of pages | 368 |
| Prizes | Winner of PROSE Awards: Sociology & Social Work 2009 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |