Looking at the characteristics, resources, and strategies of organized crime from around the world and the social, political, and economic context in which they function, Organized Crime provides a fascinating and in-depth account of the criminal underworld and its inhabitants. From Al Capone and Pablo Escobar to the lesser-known Russian, Chinese, and Southeast-Asian crime figures, this is an insider's guide to each organization's origins, codes of conduct, and control of illegal markets-and the law-enforcement agencies and justice systems around the world that try to stop them.