Beauty and the Inferno

'He is always erudite, prickly and trenchant' Catholic Herald. (Catholic Herald)

'a sad book in many ways because it illustrates the price that can be paid for courageous writing' Guardian. (Guardian)

'A man determined to describe the world exactly as he finds it, and in words calculated to rouse the passion of his readers ... Like the greatest of Italian writers, Dante Alighieri, he is above all a moralist who despise those who take no sides in the great struggles of our time' Matthew Hoffman, Independent. (Independent)

'When he tackles the crime lords of southern Italy that his voice soars in a crescendo of outrage ... After reading this, we should all be howling. Somebody might, eventually, hear us' Irish Times. (Irish Times)

'At once deeply disturbing and illuminating ... a litany of hope' Alan Taylor, Scottish Sunday Herald. (Scottish Sunday Herald)

'Frank, impassioned and frustrated - these essays from the reporter who lives under threat of death for speaking out against the Italian Mafia put acquiescing bystanders to shame' Sunday Telegraph. (Sunday Telegraph)

'A celebration of bravery and an expression of rage against corruption and cowardice' Caroline Moorehead, T.L.S. (TLS)

'It is good to be reminded of the raw bravery of the Savianos of this world and to salute them for the sacrifices they have made in their challenges to power' Duncan Campbell, Guardian. (Guardian)

Roberto Saviano is best known for his work on the Italian mafia, but Beauty and the Inferno, winner of the European Book Award 2010, also tackles universal themes with great insight and humanity, with urgency, and often with anger. This important collection includes essays across a remarkably wide field of interests, celebrating personal heroes as diverse as Frank Miller and Lionel Messi. However as with the bestselling Gomorrah, his fearless and unflinching condemnation of the mafia takes centre stage. Implicit in Saviano's tributes to writers, musicians, sportsmen and journalists is the message that there is an alternative to living in corruption and fear. Beauty and the Inferno is a searing polemic that encompasses Saviano's vision of life and of art, of the good to be found in humanity and the evil inherent in power. His commitment to truth resonates from every page.