Books like Confessions of a Yakuza by Junichi Saga

David E. Kaplan’s comprehensive study traces Japan’s Yakuza from medieval outlaws to powerful modern syndicates, detailing their culture, reach, and influence in business and society.

Unveiling the Shadows of Organized Crime: The Life of Clyde Smaldone

Investigative journalist Phoebe Eaton separates man from myth, journeying past cartel checkpoints up to El Chapo’s remote hometown hideout in the Sierra Madre. She meets Chapo's family and reveals the surprising telenovela details of his childhood, discovering exactly how this third-grade dropout, Mexico’s most controversial narcotrafficker, rappelled his way from the rock pile that is La Tuna, Sinaloa, onto Forbes magazine's big-time billionaire list, governing a $14-billion empire even as he was on the lam, living in simple pine shacks with plastic folding chairs where the phone service went down if it was raining. She discovers the Pentecostal faith his mother (and he) credit with keeping him alive all these years and helping him escape jail and the authorities numerous times, the gift his mother and sisters (and perhaps even he) have of speaking in tongues. Including many never-seen-before color pictures from Chapo's haunts in La Tuna in Badiraguato, the surprising seat of his empire, and also rare material from his 12-week Brooklyn court trial where he was convicted on ten felony counts before shipping off to a life term in Colorado's Supermax prison.

A hard‑pressed teen from a working‑class background in a borstal discovers long‑distance running as an escape, only to use his talent to confront the system that seeks to profane his dignity.