The Force of Destiny: A History of Italy Since 1796
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Product Description
Spectator, Books of the Year
'Brilliant'
Michael Burleigh, Literary Review
'Indispensable ... deserves to be the standard history of modern Italy for the foreseeable future'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A readable one-volume history of Italy since 1796. Duggan explains so well the poor constitutional decisions, made after Unification in 1860, as to give a sense of tragic inevitability by the time you get to the rise of Mussolinis Fascists. A major part of the problem is the attempted imposition, by a ruling elite, of the idea of nationhood on a population unwilling to share that vision, exacerbated by the repeated attempts to attain this by resort to force of arms, mostly with tragic consequences. Seldom does a history end with such a downbeat footnote, Duggan stating (p587)that the idea of "Italy" appears "...still too uncertain and contested an idea to provide the emotional core of a nation", uncannily echoing Metternichs 1847 description of Italy as only a geographical expression. The book is an excellent explanation of why Italy is as she is now. I also appreciate, as here, good maps in a history.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It's a good book. It all feels a little rushed though. I guess that's going to happen with a book that covers 200 years of history. I was really surprised to find out that I only had 50 pages or so to go and I was still reading about the Republic of Salo. I can;t give a really good review because I don't know enough about Italy to say if the Author is making stuff up.
It has left me amazed that Italy even became and is still a country. Only the middle class seemed to have a feeling of national identity but then that can probably be said of most populations.
It was a fascinating book, one that has left me with a feeling that it could have gone into much more detail in every aspect and it wouldn't have felt too long. And it has left me wanting to find out more, to fill all the gaps that had to have been left to make this history concise.
It has left me amazed that Italy even became and is still a country. Only the middle class seemed to have a feeling of national identity but then that can probably be said of most populations.
It was a fascinating book, one that has left me with a feeling that it could have gone into much more detail in every aspect and it wouldn't have felt too long. And it has left me wanting to find out more, to fill all the gaps that had to have been left to make this history concise.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Force of Destiny is both a wonderful and a depressing book for who (like me) loves Italy. It is very well written and once you start you cannot stop reading. The book tells the story of Italy from 1796 when Napoleon easily overran the divided country, starting with Piemont, until the present days. One of the main topics is the inglorious unification of the country, where Garibaldi is about the only honest and honourable hero [see also Il Cimetero di Praga by Umberto Eco for some dirty details]. The scenes in the Italian Parliament were as mean, corrupt and disgusting as they are now from day one. Berlusconi has many earlier examples (though he is probably ahead of all of them with the instruments of power at his disposal) and Christopher Duggan makes it clear that there is nothing new in Italian politics of today.
An extract in the book from a famous article by the Neapolitan historian Pasquale Villari, published immediately after the disastrous war of 1866 could be written today:
"In the heart of the nation there lies an enemy more powerful than Austria: our colossal ignorance, the illiterate masses, the dumb bureaucrats, the stupid professors, the infantile politicians, the insufferable diplomats, he incompetent generals, the unskilled worker, the authoritarian farmer, and the rhetoric that eats our bones."
You may wonder how this wonderful country is surviving for more than 150 years with governments, politicians and bureaucrats like this. Few other countries would be capable to accomplish this incredible fact.
An extract in the book from a famous article by the Neapolitan historian Pasquale Villari, published immediately after the disastrous war of 1866 could be written today:
"In the heart of the nation there lies an enemy more powerful than Austria: our colossal ignorance, the illiterate masses, the dumb bureaucrats, the stupid professors, the infantile politicians, the insufferable diplomats, he incompetent generals, the unskilled worker, the authoritarian farmer, and the rhetoric that eats our bones."
You may wonder how this wonderful country is surviving for more than 150 years with governments, politicians and bureaucrats like this. Few other countries would be capable to accomplish this incredible fact.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Call me dense but ...
.... I'm really struggling with this book. The critics comments on the front cover sold it to me ie "brilliant" etc. I've now read 200 pages and covered 50 years! Read more
Published 22 months ago by Mr. G. Craig
A readable and informative history of Italy
I have been searching for a book that provides a detailed history of Italy from 1860 independence to the current troubled present day. This book definitely meets that need. Read more
Published on 1 Aug 2009 by Mr. Ross Urquhart
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