BOOKS OF WAR 3 - SULFUR (Patreon)

A murder at a Christening exposes a vast secret society operating in the heart of "sulfur country" in Sicily. We discuss the importance of Sicily's sulfur industry to the industrial revolution and the stranglehold of the hated British on the sector. The ruthless exploitation of sulfur creates devastating economic and social conditions in Sicily, and gives the mafia another route into politics. Also of concern this episode is the role of symbolism to the mafia; we talk about the importance of a Godfather in mafia culture and how murder is used as a form of communication. Meanwhile, the Left takes power. They launch another brutal crackdown in Sicily and also reestablish the terms of the clandestine alliance between the mafia and the state.

Apologies for the delay with this one; it's a little shorter than a standard BoW episode because I had a last minute rethink and also had some personal issues to attend to (nothing too serious). Sulfur is an important part of the story but I also had to cut about 50 minutes from this installment because it was telling basically the same story as parts 1 and 2 but with sulfur instead of lemons. Did a massive rewrite and incorporated a little more politics, economics and culture into this one for added pepper.