Roberto Saviano is possibly the world’s bravest journalist. In his 2006 book, Gomorrah, he defied the omertà that had prevented anyone from telling the truth about the Mafia’s control over his native Naples for a century. Since then, Italy’s organized-crime syndicates have put out multiple contracts on his life. They have a record of killing anyone who exposes their inner workings, including judges.
Perhaps the greatest act of historical castration is of Jack London. This man was once the most-read revolutionary Socialist in American history—and he is remembered now for writing a cute story about a dog.
