A Concise History of Italy (Cambridge Concise Histories) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "The history of Italy is tied up inseparably with its geographical position..." (more)
Key Phrases: Concise History, Christian Democrats, Victor Emmanuel (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

'... a detailed, well-structured guide to the problems that still dog the heels of this geographically booted country.' Teaching History

Product Description

Since its creation in 1861, Italy has struggled to develop an effective political system and a secure sense of national identity. This concise history covers the period from the fall of the Roman Empire in the west to the present day, but focuses on the difficulties Italy has faced in forging a nation state during the past two centuries. The opening chapters consider the geographical and cultural obstacles to unity, and survey the long centuries of political fragmentation in the peninsula since the sixth century. It was this legacy of fragmentation that Italy's new rulers had to strive to overcome when the country became united, more by accident than design, in 1859-61.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 334 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (May 27, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521408482
• ISBN-13: 978-0521408486
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #61,902 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars excellent analysis, August 26, 2000

By	Ganse, Alexander (KMLA, Republic of Korea) - See all my reviews

Christopher Duggan's Concise History of Italy (320 pp.) covers the period since the fall of Rome in 410 and the entire Italian peninsula. Yet the focus on the book is on the history of Italy as a whole; as Italy was not united before 1860 (1871), those who are interested in the history of Italy's individual states have to look elsewhere for further information. The focus on Italy as a whole also explains why the book's emphasis lies on the years after the French Revolution (pp.87-295). For readers who want to understand the development of Italy, the growth of nationalist sentiment, the overcoming of it's partition, the problems of unification, the different development of the industrial north, the administrative center and the agricultural south, of the antagonism between the liberal state and the catholic church, the failure of democracy and the establishment of the corporate state etc. the book provides an excellent, yet concise and easy-to-read analysis. It is at times short on historical data; the Historical Dictionary of Modern Italy ed. by K.R. Nilsson and M.F. Gilbert therefore is a useful addition.

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Renaissance to the Republic, March 12, 2001

By	Wallace V. French III (Boston MA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is great for the student or traveller wishing to get a quick overview of Italy, it's politics, and it's people. I read this on a plane from NYC to Rome and finished it. It is very easy to read. It really doesn't leave anything out either; the general history of Italy is covered. Also, the bibliography will point you in the right direction for additional reading.

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eminently readable and intereting outline!, September 2, 2000

By	J. Gillon (North Carolina) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The book is, as the title indicates, a "concise" history. Very concise, and incredibly well written! The authors cover a lot of ground, and so few words are devoted to character development or the broader context of historical events that one might expect the book to read like an almanac. But the Duggans do an amazing job of giving us an emminently readable, interesting, and cohesive outline of Italy's political history. Through an excellent (almost poetic) economy of words, they have fully realized the book's potential.