The Moro Affair [Hardcover]

Leonardo Sciascia (Author), S. Rabinovich (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1987

On March 16, 1978 Aldo Moro, a former Prime Minister of Italy, was ambushed in Rome. Within three minutes the gang killed his escort and bundled Moro into one of three getaway cars. An hour later the terrorist group the Red Brigades announced that Moro was in their hands; on March 18 they said he would be tried in a "people's court of justice." Seven weeks later Moro's body was discovered in the trunk of a car parked in the crowded center of Rome.

The Moro Affair presents a chilling picture of how a secretive government and a ruthless terrorist faction help to keep each other in business.

Also included in this book is "The Mystery of Majorana," Sciascia's fascinating investigation of the disappearance of a major Italian physicist during Mussolini's regime.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Italian (translation)

About the Author

LEONARDO SCIASCIA (1921–1989) was born in Racalmuto, Sicily. Starting in the 1950s, he made a name for himself in Italy and abroad as a novelist and essayist, and also as a controversial commentator on political affairs. Among his many other books are The Wine-Dark Sea, Equal Danger, and To Each His Own (all published by New York Review Books), works in a genre that Sciascia could be said to have invented: the metaphysical mystery. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: Carcanet Press Ltd; First edition. edition (January 1, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0856357006
• ISBN-13: 978-0856357008
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,505,218 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Give it a Bye, August 4, 2005

By 

Buce (Palookaville) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Moro Affair (New York Review Books Classics) (Paperback)

The NYRB deserves credit for retrieving several wonderful works by the Sicilian writer-politician Leonardo Sciascia: "Day of the Owl" surely; "Equal Danger" and "To Each His Own," probably. "Italian Hours" is a lesser work, but still good fun.

By contrast, "The Moro Affair" is (or ought to be) an embarrassment, to Sciascia and to the publisher as well. At the most forgiving, we can call it a nonce work, interesting as an exemplar of the kind of bitchiness and personalism that passes for journalism in Italy. But for the ordinary reader today, if it is to succeed at all, it needs a comprehensive introduction. But Peter Robb (who has written well about Sicily elsewhere) apparently wasn't willing to put in the time or the effort.

Some will say that the likely reader already knows about the Moro episode. Probably in outline, yes, but if he knows it in the kind of detail necessary to appreciate this work, he has probably read Sciascia's account long ago--and, chances are, in Italian.

On the other hand, if you really do want a decent overview of the Moro affair, there is a good one available, ironically, through the New York Review of Books. It's a review, by Adrian Lyttelton available (albeit as paid content) in the archives at the NYRB website. If you really need to master Sciascia on Morrow, Lyttelton is probably a ticket. But unless you are a fairly serious specialist, you can probably give it a bye.

2 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Second story in the book, February 24, 2008

By 

rs "RaviSankrit" (Baltimore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Moro Affair (New York Review Books Classics) (Paperback)

This book includes a shorter piece, "The Mystery of Majorana", which is a gem. It gives an explanation for the disappearance of the enigmatic and brilliant physicist Ettore Majorana. The story may or may not be the best researched explanation for what happened to Majorana, but the perspective brought to the life of a genius scientist by the author is compelling.

I have not read, "The Moro Affair" yet, but I assume it will rate at least zero stars, which makes this a five star book.