The World History of Organized Crime (2001– ) User Reviews

Very good documentary

[wrg6 · 8/10 · 5 April 2006]

I use these videos (there are five included) as tools for teaching organized crime. Students do not soon forget the episode on Russia with the guy who brokered a deal for a Russian submarine- a story loosely translated in Lord of War. It is also interesting to see organized crime in India and China- two places that many people do not think of regarding organized crime. To some degree the series is very conservative in that it focuses on specialization and hierarchy, but it definitely adds color to any textbook or article covering these areas. I found that each video does a very good job of presenting the basic historical elements necessary to understand the current state of the problem.

Very intriguing and well researched

[nymichael2002 · 3 November 2006]

I caught this mini-series on DVD recently and I was very pleased with the production and on how well researched it was. The mini-series is divided into five chapters: Sicily, Russia, Colombia, China and India. It delves into the history and origins of how organized crime started and how it flourished in the above countries and how it continues to affect their societies today. The only drawback was that since this mini-series was produced in 2001 there has been many events that have since changed. For example this was produced before September 11 and since then we all know how the world has changed. But if you're looking to see how the Mafia, the cocaine cartels, the Triads got their start this mini-series will do the job.