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

By Paul Ginsborg

Book Overview

In this long-awaited book (already a major bestseller in Italy) Ginsborg has created a fascinating, sophisticated and definitive account of how Italy has coped, or failed to cope, with the past two decades. Contemporary Italy strongly mirrors Britain - the countries have roughly the same extent, population size and GNP - and yet they are fantastically different. Ginsborg sees this difference as most fundamentally clear in the role of the family and it is the family which is at the heart of Italian politics and business. Anyone wishing to understand contemporary Italy will find it essential to have this enormously attractive and intelligent book.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140124969
• ISBN13: 9780140124965
• Release Date: January 1991
• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Length: 592 Pages
• Weight: 0.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.0" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

ginsborg contemporary italy

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.

A Fundamental Reading...

... 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.

An in-depth survey of Italy's social and political dynamics

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.