The Force of Destiny: A History of Italy Since 1796 [Hardcover]

Christopher Duggan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 28, 2008

A sweeping, first-of-its-kind history of the creation of modern Italy

The birth of modern Italy was a messy affair. Inspired by a small group of writers, intellectuals, and politicians, Italy struggled in the first half of the nineteenth century to unite all Italians under one rule, throwing aside a multitude of corrupt old rulers and foreign occupiers. In the midst of this turmoil, Italian politicians felt compelled by a “force of destiny” hideously at odds with Italian reality. After great sacrifice Italy was finally unified -- and turned out to be just as fragile, impoverished, and backward as it had been before. The resentments this created led to Italy’s destructive role in World War I, the subsequent rise of Mussolini and authoritarianism in the 1920s and ’30s, and the nation's humiliating defeat in World War II. This haunting legacy deeply informs the Italy of today.

Christopher Duggan skillfully interweaves Italy's art, music, literature, and architecture with its economic and social realities and political development to tell this extraordinary European story. The first English-language book to cover the full scope of modern Italy, from its origins more than two hundred years ago to the present, The Force of Destiny is a brilliant and comprehensive study -- and a frightening example of how easily nation-building and nationalism can slip toward authoritarianism and war.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. The Italian national project is a potent but erratic force, argues historian Duggan (A Concise History of Italy) in this thoughtful history of Italian politics from the Napoleonic Wars that jump-started the nationalist movement to the present-day rise of secessionist parties that want to bury it. The romantic patriots of the 19th-century risorgimento, Duggan contends, faced daunting challenges in unifying their homeland: a peninsula fractured into squabbling statelets speaking mutually incomprehensible dialects; citizens whose civic allegiance extended no further than the local church tower or mafia boss; Northern Italians' contempt for the corrupt and backward South; a militantly antinationalist Catholic Church. Making a virtue of necessity, he contends, patriots made nation building into a quasireligious moral reclamation that they hoped would infuse order, discipline and martial vigor into the allegedly degenerate Italian character, a vision that inspired liberal democrats but culminated in Mussolini's Fascist dictatorship (of which the author offers an especially insightful account). Duggan's lucid, wide-ranging but conceptually focused narrative examines the tension between exaggerated aspirations for a united Italy—in literature, art and opera, as well as political ideology—and the often disappointing, fractious reality. The result is an illuminating study not just of one nation but of nationalism itself. Photos. (Apr. 28)
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About the Author

CHRISTOPHER DUGGAN is a professor and director of the Center for Modern Italian History at the University of Reading, Great Britain. The author of several books on Italian history, his writing has appeared in the New York Times, American Historical Review, English Historical Review, and the Times Literary Supplement.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 688 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (April 28, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618353674
• ISBN-13: 978-0618353675
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.5 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #386,671 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At 600 pages, this book is too short, January 3, 2009

By 

J. Myers (Springfield, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Force of Destiny: A History of Italy Since 1796 (Hardcover)

Professor Duggan has quite the tale to tell--the Risorgimento, its antecedents and its results, but more broadly, the intellectual themes and practical problems of the Risorgimento and how those themes and problems have affected the course of Italian history since 1796. Professor Duggan is obviously a master of his subject, which by itself would be a sufficient recommendation for this book. But as a wonderful bonus, Professor Duggan is a talented writer with a brisk style, a dry sense of humor (e.g., "In life Victor Emmanuel had been a rather poor national symbol, in death he was to make amends." (p. 305)) and an instinct for the telling detail (e.g., "D'Annunzio had always craved a beautiful death in a noble cause; throughout his life he had been haunted by the martyrdom of St. Sebastian." (p. 418)). The book includes dozens of quotations from contemporaneous sources illustrating Duggan's main points, which I won't repeat here because they are pretty well covered in the editorial reviews. I had the sense while reading this book that Professor Duggan probably had another 500 pages of materials he wanted to include, but his editors said "basta--enough!" I, however, would gladly have read another 500 pages; the book was an absolute page-turner.

My only disappointment is that the book does not cover post-WWII Italy in much detail, although according to Professor Duggan, all the Risorgimento themes and problems are still very much present in contemporary Italian society. It doubtless makes sense to wind the story down in the mid-1990's, but only about 10% of the book is devoted to the 50 years following 1946, or 25% of the time covered by the book. One can only hope that Professor Duggan is planning another book devoted solely to post-WWII Italy.

That said, I cannot recommend this book highly enough for all English-speakers who have fallen in love with Italy and want better to understand the object of their affections--and especially, her family quarrels and secrets.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beyond Geographical Expression, August 2, 2010

By 

Stefanie Casey (The Cultural Sojourner) "Stef" (Southern California) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Force of Destiny: A History of Italy Since 1796 (Hardcover)

An insightful record of Italy's modern history and search for identity. Although the Italian peninsula dominated politics and culture during the Roman Empire and Etruscan periods and experienced a resurgence of art and intellectualism during the Renaissance, the entire region was subject to foreign invasion and subjugation. Italy as a concept, let alone a nation, did not exist until 1861, with the Risorgimento. Previously, the peninsula was more of a geographical expression, composed of city-states, largely under French or Austrian rulership at the time of Napoleon's invasion. The peoples identified with their area, which is clearly expressed by the use of dialect; a standardized usage of Italian was not determined until the Risorgimento. This book traces the difficulties and challenges of unification and nationhood: divisions between North and South, leadership, the Church, the monarchy, dictatorship, world and civil war, the mafia, and party divisions. Italy continues to struggle to this day with debt and corruption. If you want to deepen your understanding of a culture and its people, this is a rewarding and rich examination.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Comprehensive History, June 10, 2010

By 

Alan (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Force of Destiny: A History of Italy Since 1796 (Hardcover)

This is a well written, interesting and insightful effort. From the invasion by Napoleon that got the idea of a united country started even if just for administrative reasons to Garibaldi's impact in the 1860s which actually created Italy as a single if very fragmented nation to the the continuing struggles among numerous political and religions factions that to this day impact how Italians think of themselves, this is an excellent way to get an understanding of Italy. I found the impact of such things as the division of church vs state and how that impacted politics over the decades very insightful. The political differences among the communists, fascists, republicans and the church and how the power ebbed and flowed among them over the decades was very interesting and insightful. I knew a bit about the regional differences, especially those between north and south but did not realize that they have existed from the beginning and how many facets there are to this division, even now.

I do have one caveat. From about page 50 to about 150, the author repeatedly went off on a tangent with discussions of art and literature that got a bit abstract. For a time I wasn't sure I was reading a history of Italy or a history of Italian art. But that aside, I highly recommend this as a way to get an understanding of this complex and interesting country.