hensive account of a type of criminalitynthat, in its rationality and structure,nstands in marked contrast to ordinaryn”street crime.” With roots in bothnAmerican and southern Italian culture,norganized crime developed in the moralnclimate created by the robber barons ofnthe late 19th century. These “captainsnof industry” became folk heroes by theirnascent from rags to riches, and manynused their money for philanthropicnends. But many were willing to use anynmeans, fair or foul, to achieve theirnpower and wealth. Many of the hallmarksnof later organized crime —nextortion, violence, bribery of politicalnofficials—were commonplace activitiesnwith the robber barons.nIn the decades following the CivilnWar, thousands of immigrants swarmedninto our large cities and helped to buildnthe urban political machines. The numerousnstreet gangs of the period engagednin many legitimate political activities;nthey also used intimidation andnviolence to secure votes for their patron,nthe ward boss. In exchange for votes,nthe ward boss protected a wide range ofnillegal activities. Immigrants fromnsouthern Italy were already part of OldnWorld organizations (the Mafia beingnthe most infamous example) that werensecretive, strongly hierarchical, andnviolent.nIt is tempting to speculate on whatnmight have happened to organizedncrime had there been no Prohibition.nWould it have dwindled as the urbannmachines declined and as the variousnethnic groups became assimilated? Wenwill never know. Prohibition did littlento advance “traditional” morality, but itndid create unprecedented opportunitiesnfor organized crime in the UnitednStates. Before Prohibition, gang activitynwas largely under the control of wardnbosses. The huge profits of the speakeasiesnbrought gangsters to the top of thenheap. With the repeal of Prohibition,norganized crime contracted and regrouped.nIts hardy practitioners survivednthe crisis and are still very muchnwith us.nAbadinsky discusses several reasonsnfor the long prevalence of organizedncrime. For one thing, the propensity ofnAmerican lawmakers to outlaw a varietynof popular products and activities hasncreated a natural and lucrative settingnfor criminal activity. Abadinsky alsonobserves that the ” ‘American way ofnlife’ places undue stress on economicnsuccess, while its means of achievementnare not readily available to large segmentsnof our population.” Organizedncrime provides a quick way up thensocial ladder for the poor: Consider thenGreat Gatsby. Cultural characteristicsnof some ethnic groups have also fosterednorganized crime. Jews were once prominentnin organized crime, but the emphasisnin Jewish culture on educationalnattainment soon opened a differentnmeans of social and economic ascent.nBecause Italian families had nevernplaced the same value on education,nmany Italian young men continued tonmove into organized crime, while theirnJewish counterparts were becomingnconsultants, psychiatrists, and yuppies.nIn making his policy recommendations,nAbadinsky urges vigorous law enforcementncoupled with an acute awarenessnof the historical backgrounds of thosengroups that still control this murderousnunderworld.nChristopher Muldor is a writer andncriminologist in Philadelphia.nThe Celts ofnthe Westnby Andrew ShaughnessynThe Lords of the Isles: The ClannDonald and the Early Kingdom ofnthe Scots by Ronald Williams, London;nChatto & Windus, The HogarthnPress; $19.95.nThe ancient story of early Scotland willnnot be fully told until much more studynhas been completed, The face of thenland literally is pockmarked with thenremains of settlements and dwellings—nmany unexcavated—raised in an age sonremote from our own, we scarcely knownthe names of the races that inhabitednthem. Riddles there are in abundance;nanswers to these riddles may not bendiscovered until future archaeologistsnsupply them. Perhaps some of the ancientnenigmas never will be satisfactorilynexplained. Into this seemingly unfruitfulnfield ventures Ronald Williams;nand the result. The Lords of the Isles,nproves to be a work of unusual interestnand insight.nWilliams begins his study with thenfounding in A.D. 500 of the Celticnkingdom of Dalriada (an area of landncorresponding roughly to the westernnparts of present-day Argyllshire) by anforce of Irish Scoffi. It was from thenleader of this host which establishednitself in Dalriada, one Fergus Mac Ere,nthat the chiefs of the Clan Donaldnclaimed their descent. For nearly anthousand years the Lords of the Isles (asnthey liked to style themselves) held swaynover a great sweep of territory in the farnnnnorthwest of Scotland, ruling for thenmost part as potentates quite independentnof the Scottish crown. Not untilnlate in the 15th century was the powernof the Lordship broken and its vast andnscattered island patrimony forfeited tonthe crown. It is the story of the vicissitudesnof the ancient Lordship thatnRonald Williams tells with much spiritnin his book.nA good portion of the early chaptersnis devoted to the activities of St. Columba,nwho arrived in Dalriada in 561 tonbegin his mission of preaching the gospelsnto the Picts. In this endeavor henseems to have enjoyed a fair measure ofnsuccess, since Pictish attacks againstnDalriada appear to have ceased shortlynthereafter. From the island of lona—nperhaps the most hallowed spot onnScottish soil and reputedly the burialnplace of not fewer than 48 Scottishnkings—Columba established the CelticnChristian Church in Scotland. It wasnfrom here that his missionaries set forthnupon their work of evangelizing.nIn later chapters, Williams details thenbloody events surrounding the arrival innthe Hebrides—about A.D. 790—ofnthe Vikings in their sleek longships.nFrom that time until the Battle of Clontarfnnear Dublin in 1014, when thenIrish hero Brian Boru effectively diminishednthe might of the HebrideannNorse, the Vikings established a reignnof terror along the western seaboard ofnScotland. Amid the general confusionnof the Viking ascendancy, the directnline of descent among the chiefs ofnClan Donald became very uncertain,nthough later genealogists claimed tonhave traced it. At all events, about thenyear 1140, under the leadership ofnSomerled, the great progenitor of ClannDonald, the Celtic Gaels reemerged asna formidable power in the west. But,nlooking at events in a much broaderncontext, the sands of time clearly werenrunning out for the Celtic peoples. BynSomerled’s time a far more vigorousnrace—the Normans—were fast consolidatingntheir power in the land; andneven though the old Lordship continuednto survive late into the 15th century,nenjoying some periodic successes,nits strength inexorably waned.nFor those of Scots descent—and theynare a numerous body in these UnitednStates—Ronald Williams’ book providesna highly readable account of thenearly history of that interesting land.nThe interpretations Williams draws arensound ones based on a thorough apprehensionnof his subject.nAndrew Shaughnessy is assistant editornof The University Bookman.nSEPTEMBER 19861 39n