Roberto Saviano Books

By the author of Gomorrah, a gripping novel set in the organized crime world of the children's gangs of Naples - the sequel to Saviano's first novel, The Piranhas.

For the first time since the publication of his internationally bestselling novel, Gomorrah, Roberto Saviano shares his early-life experience with the violence of the Neapolitan Mafia and how exposing them irrevocably changed his life.

International bestselling author Roberto Saviano explores the inner workings of the world of drugs and dirty money - its rules and armies - and the true depth of its reach. From Mexican cartels to Milanese financiers, Guatemalan mercenaries to Ukrainian warlords, Calabrian traffickers to the traders in Wall Street and London who wash the money clean, this is an unforgettable story that goes around the globe and through every level of society to show the extent to which the drug trade affects us all.

"This is a deeply personal and candid portrait of Italy today- a place of trafficking and toxic waste, where votes can be bought and sold, where organized crime ravages both north and south - yet also where many courageous individuals defy the system, and millions work tirelessly for a better future."

Since publishing his searing expose of their criminal activities, the author has received so many death threats from the Camorra that he has been assigned police protection. In pursuit of his subject, Saviano worked as an assistant at a Chinese textile manufacturer and on the construction site, both controlled by "the System".

From the author of the #1 international bestseller Gomorrah comes an electrifying investigation into the international cocaine trade, revealing its hidden role in the global economy. Among narco-traffickers, "zero zero zero" signifies the purest grade of cocaine, and this work explores the inner workings of the trade—its rules, armies, and far-reaching impact. Gomorrah, Saviano's explosive account of the Neapolitan mob, led to his living under police protection for over eight years due to its explosive revelations. During this time, he has gained insights from law enforcement agencies worldwide, broadening his perspective on the drug trade as a global corporate entity. This synthesis of literary narrative and geopolitical analysis unveils the complex money-laundering operations that enable the drug trade, often with the complicity of major banks. Saviano tracks the power shift in the cocaine trade from Colombia to Mexico, detailing how Latin American cartels have formed alliances with Italian crime syndicates, Russians, and Africans. He reveals the increasing sophistication of these entities as they diversify while also highlighting the escalating violence in their quest for power. Saviano’s work connects disparate phenomena into a single epic narrative, offering a gripping and unfiltered examination of a dark force in our economy.

The first novel, already an international bestseller, by the author of Gomorrah, set in the organized crime world of the children's gangs of Naples.

Roberto Saviano is best known for his work on the Italian mafia, but Beauty and the Inferno also tackles universal themes with great insight and humanity, with urgency, and often with anger. This important collection includes essays on the legacy of the earthquake at L'Aquila, a town at risk of becoming overrun by mafia; on boxing as an escape route; on the life of the legendary South African jazz singer, Miriam Makeba; on an encounter with Salman Rushdie, and a tribute to Frank Miller, author of the graphic novel 300; on Michael Herr's Dispatches. One essay reflects on the aftermath of the publication of his book and subsequent film, Gomorrah, and how his life has been conditioned by the mafia's death threats, and the final essay in the collection celebrates the life of the Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

Un racconto sul coraggio e la fragilità di un uomo che ha cambiato il mondo. Saviano narra la vita di Giovanni Falcone, il più grande cacciatore di mafia, e il suo impatto sulla storia italiana ed europea. Attraverso il suo sacrificio, il libro esplora come la corruzione possa essere combattuta con il coraggio civico.

Nel primo libro in cui l’autore dialoga con la fotografia come testimonianza della realtà, Roberto Saviano seleziona e commenta immagini, intervista quattro grandi fotografi e analizza il loro lavoro e quello di altri attori nel campo. Con fotografie di Martina Bacigalupo, Olmo Calvo, Lorenzo Meloni, Paolo Pellegrin, Giulio Piscitelli, Alessandro Penso, Moises Saman, Massimo Sestini e Carlos Spottorno, il libro esplora la difficile realtà dei migranti. Saviano evidenzia come, in mare aperto, un’onda possa rovesciare un’imbarcazione e come sia complesso raccontare la verità, poiché smontare le menzogne richiede testimonianza. La raccolta di fotografie dei più grandi autori internazionali si intreccia con il racconto di Saviano, che analizza casi significativi pubblicati sulla stampa, come quelli di Alan, Josefa e il caso Diciotti. Si indaga da dove partano i migranti e perché fuggano dall’Africa, affrontando le disumane condizioni nei centri di detenzione in Libia. Le ONG, definite “taxi del mare”, svolgono un ruolo cruciale nel soccorso, mentre Saviano dà voce agli operatori di Medici Senza Frontiere. Il libro include anche una conversazione con l'infermiera Irene Paola Martino. La voce di Saviano guida il lettore attraverso questo percorso visivo e umano, dedicato a Alessandro Leogrande.