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Loading... King of the Mountains: The Remarkable Story of Giuseppe Musolino, Italy's Most Famous Outlawby Dan Possumato
None No current Talk conversations about this book. 11   anna_in_pdx | Aug 24, 2012 |  no reviews | add a review
In 1897 the young Italian peasant Giuseppe Musolino was falsely convicted of a crime and sentenced to 21 years at hard labor. He soon escaped, and began hunting those who had played a role in his false conviction, extracting an ominous and lethal revenge, killing as many as 25 people. For three years he eluded a massive manhunt conducted by hundreds of police and even a full regiment of the Italian army. He soon became a hero to the common people of southern Italy, who risked imprisonment themselves to hide, protect, and sustain him. When he was finally captured his trial had to be moved to a location 600 miles north because the government believed no jury in the south would convict him. At the time of the trial The New York Times wrote that he was "the most remarkable being that has ever stood behind the bars of Italian justice." This is the first and only book in English to report the incredible story of Italy's famous Il Brigante." No library descriptions found. |
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Wikipedia in English
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A few years ago I had the fortune to have a weird, temporary job traveling the state of Oregon to teach county staff how to use a new vital records program the state was implementing. My partner in crime was the author of this work. He is a great storyteller from Pittsburgh who entertained me for hours in the car as we drove from county seat to county seat, telling me wonderful and interesting tales about his experiences as an Army administrator living overseas and on bases in the US, as well as his upbringing, his experience playing Irish music, and this story about this distant relation of his who was a notorious outlaw in turn of century Italy.
Dan did a lot of research on this last story, about Giuseppe Musolino, and wrote a book about it! It is available as an e-book, and is very entertaining. It's a short read but fascinating. This Musolino was a pretty grim character, who basically was like a Hatfield or McCoy using an American reference, and was on a vendetta against various people who he maintained had framed him for a murder. He led the police of Italy a merry chase after escaping from prison for the original crime and killing many more people who had helped send him there or had done something he resented during his time as a fugitive. He became something of a folk hero for his flamboyance. His story and his eventual trial after recapture were covered by the international press.
Dan writes entertainingly and well, footnotes and endnotes document all of his sources, and he includes photos and drawings from the period.
All in all, a fun read by someone who I have always maintained is a natural born storyteller. Well done, Mr. Possumato. (