Word: feudal
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Fear has always been a palpable part of life at the top in the Mafia, an almost feudal society in which men rise by murder and treachery and can never feel secure. But these are days of even greater tension than usual. The crime organization is going through one of its most crucial internal struggles since Prohibition, when the fight for control led to the bloody Castellammarese War (named for the Sicilian town of Castellammare del Golfo, birthplace of many of the leading thugs). Only when the smoke cleared from that battle and a nationwide commission of Mafia dons...
...some hoodlums, the ultimate goal is to become a boss and enjoy "the feudal respect and tribute paid all dons by their soldiers. Says Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau: "Power is as important to these people as money...
...thing straight, and I think most people around here--with the exception of those feudal lords in the Population Center who ordered my car towed in the first place--would agree: Pat's Towing Service is a disgrace to mankind...
...real gift for story-telling. Within the contours of his historical narrative lurk all the denizens of the fantasy-world that became the home of the Irish aristocracy: the friendly politicians eager to hobnob with the new barons of industry, the neighboring WASP lords eager to secure a feudal alliance with the pillars of Catholicism and--always--the family priests, eager to anchor all that money and prestige to the firm rock of the Church. It's the stuff of which grand anecdotes are made, and Corry makes the most of his material. At the drop of a shilleleagh...
...Mobutu. A Belgian-trained soldier and former journalist, Mobutu has managed to unify a nation with a bloody history of chaos and tribal war. Parceling out privileged positions and sinecures to leaders of Zaïre's 200 ethnic groups, Mobutu in return demanded and got almost feudal loyalty. High-living and profligate, he tried to burnish his image as a 20th century chief by such flamboyant stunts as the "Rumble in the Jungle" between Heavy-weights Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in 1974, which lost the government $4.1 million...