Organized crime is everywhere, hidden in plain sight. The stories of this world have been mythologized by Hollywood. But reality can be even stranger and more exciting than fiction.

From the golden age of the American mafia (La Cosa Nostra) to today’s cocaine empires and from the dark ties between organized crime and terrorism to the twilight of the Yakuza.

In this series, Mark Shaw, director of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, delves into nonfiction books about organized crime and the illicit economy with the authors themselves. He asks questions about their backgrounds and research, as well as the challenges of writing about this dark world.