Customer Reviews

A History of Contemporary Italy: Society and Politics 1943-1988 (Penguin History)

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A History Of Contemporary Italy: Society And Politics 1943-1988 by Paul Ginsborg (Professor of Contemporary European History, University of Florence) is an in-depth survey of Italy's social and political dynamics that saw it evolve from a war-torn and poverty-stricken, primarily agrarian country, into a prosperous, politically stable member of the European community. Here ably and accessibly recounted are the events, personalities, and reforms that were critical to eventually overcoming endemic and persistence corruptions, shortages, and obstacles necessary before the tremendous achievements of contemporary Italy and its eventual entrance into the European Union. A History Of Contemporary Italy: Society And Politics 1943-1988 is a scholarly, meticulous history and a welcome and recommended contribution to European International Studies and 20th Century Italian History reference collections and reading lists.

... for anyone interested in an extremely rich and contradictory social environment such as Italy after WWII. It is a complete, clear, and deeply intriguing work that I strongly recommend.

As good as the critics say-- well-written, based on very extensive Italian sources. But written from a far-Left perspective. Ginsborg wants to see Italian capitalism destroyed but he doesn't tell us how this is to occur -- presumably not through the ballot box-- and he doesn't tell us what will be put in its place. This permits him to criticize everything and be held responsible for nothing.

Perhaps I underrate Paul Ginsborg. His books are well researched and informative but to my mind he can't keep his leftist sympathies from intruding into his works. I had the same problem with his later work "Italy and Its Discontents" HIs style is didactic in the extreme. Instead of letting the facts speak for themselves he usually tells the reader what conclusion he should reach beforehand. He is entirely too forgiving of the Italian Communist leader Togliatti, who as a Stalinist was complicit in mass murder on a vast scale, and while his criticism of the Christian Democrats is often justified, he never recognizes what a disaster a turn to the left would have been for Italy. The book is useful but deeply flawed.