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Bil Emmott
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Good Italy, Bad Italy: Why Italy Must Conquer Its Demons to Face the Future Hardcover – 29 Jun. 2012

by Bill Emmott (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 14 ratings
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Once Italy was Europe's own emerging economy, a society that blended dynamism and super-fast growth with a lifestyle that was the envy of all. Now it is a major threat to the future of the Euro, and of the European Union as a whole, as a political system shorn of credibility struggles to deal with huge public debts and anaemic levels of economic growth. Young people are leaving the country in droves, frustrated at the lack of opportunity. Older people cling on to their rights and privileges, fearful of what the future might hold. In this lively, up-to-the-minute book, former Economist editor Bill Emmott explains how Italy got to this point, what Italians feel about it, and what can be done to bring the country into better times. With the aid of numerous personal interviews, Emmott analyses 'bad Italy' - the land of Silvio Berlusconi, an inadequate justice system, an economy dominated by special interests and continuing corruption - but also 'good Italy', the home of countless enthusiastic entrepreneurs and of young people determined to open up Italy to the outside world and end mafia domination for good.
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  1. ISBN-10
    0300186304
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0300186307
  3. Edition
    Translation
  4. Publisher
    Yale University Press
  5. Publication date
    29 Jun. 2012
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    14.61 x 3.18 x 22.23 cm
  8. Print length
    304 pages
  9. See all details
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Product description

Review

“Travelers to Italy this summer may find economic catastrophe as omnipresent as monuments and sidewalk cafes, according to this former editor-in-chief of the Economist. Emmott’s breezy narrative provides a quick overview of the beleaguered Italian economy and sketches some background causes for its woes before offering glimpses of a brighter future.”―Publishers Weekly

― Publishers Weekly

“Display(s) rigorous research, clear-sighted analysis, and engaging, concise writing.”―Macleans ― Macleans

“Emmott writes clearly and succinctly.”―Foreign Affairs ― Foreign Affairs

About the Author

Bill Emmott was editor-in-chief of 'The Economist' in 1993-2006, and is now a freelance commentator on international affairs. He is a regular columnist for 'The Times' in London and 'La Stampa' in Italy, chairman of the trustees of the London Library and a trustee of the International Institute for Strategic Studies. He is the author of several books, including 'The Sun Also Sets: The Limits to Japan's Economic Power' (1989), '20:21 Vision: 20th-Century Lessons for the 21st Century' (2003), and 'Rivals: How the Power Struggle between China, India and Japan will Shape our Next Decade' (2008).

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Yale University Press; Translation edition (29 Jun. 2012)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0300186304
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0300186307
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 14.61 x 3.18 x 22.23 cm
  • Customer reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 14 ratings

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Bil Emmott

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Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • Fiona Quigley
    5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 March 2013
    Verified Purchase
    A great book providing us with an insight into the world of business and politics in Italy. Benefits /drawbacks to different business models are explained, giving us an understanding into current world of commerce .The historical reasons behind Italy's economic position in world trade today set the scene and are juxtaposed with examples of where the old mould is being broken to great effect
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  • Siriam
    4.0 out of 5 stars Why more bunga bunga is not good for Italy's future!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 31 December 2012
    I was given this book as a gift by an Italian lady friend who said it would help me understand Italy's current dilemmas (she is a regular reader of the Economist magazine to which the author Bill Emmott contributed for many years). The lady has lived and worked in the UK for a long time and like many other Italian expatriates still loves Italy and visits there regularly but has despaired over recent decades with no current desire to ever permanently live there again.

    So what does the book tell a UK reader? Firstly, while it is timely in terms of Berlusconi's recent resignation and the entry into power for a short period of the more technocratic and competent government of Monti to help address Italy's deep economic problems, many of the issues faced are older and largely post WWII in manifestation. One other reviewer has expounded these at length but the key message is that Italy despite its criminal economy image (especially in the South) was until the 1970s a real contender to match and overtake the UK economy. However the entrapments of an inefficient legal and political system; the self interests of labour and political cronyism; the failings of a higher eductaional system and poor investment in reserarch and development, have all conflated to deny the flexibility to make necessary changes and improvements versus other EU states and newer global competitors. The book has many examples and provides much data on the reasons but the history of Fiat mentioned throughout the book probably best typifies the main issue.

    The poor government policies exercised at different points by Berlusconi in recent years have manifested into the disastrous scenario Italy now faces. However the obstacles outlined in detail across the book require deeper change than simply the removal of his party from power and this is where this book's main strength lies. Unlike many such books which go into great detail of what is wrong and the history of why (the Bad Italy), this book also spends a large part looking at posssible answers and solutions from all over Italy (the Good Italy). The author accepts some are still very embryonic and at a formative or local stage but the need for a good ten years period (given how long real major national change and improvement takes) to get these embedded as required across the whole of Italy is pretty clear by the last chapter of the book.

    If the book has a major failing, it is that many of the solutions are covered in a very observational magazine writing style. While accepting full empirical evidence will not exist, this often leave the reader unclear on the full details on what is being done differently. The chapter on Turin and the many changes that have emanated there is the best case of this flaw.

    As I write this review (end of 2012), Berloscuni has announced recently his intent to re-enter to try and win the next elections due in 2013. Based on the evidence outlined in this book one fears that unless the new party and policies put forward by Monti in the last 18 months are not victorious enough with the electorate in that election, then Italy's future is very dark.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Anna
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good Italy bad Italy
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 September 2012
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    Good read. Book reads like a narrative as opposed to an economic text. Some interesting equations between past present and possible future.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Athan
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very informative, lovingly written
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 January 2013
    I bought the book expecting it to read like one of those pull-outs from the middle of the Economist.

    It doesn't.

    This is a series of profiles of thriving Italian companies, institutions and initiatives. Large multinationals like Luxottica who sell every pair of premium sunglasses you've ever owned, less well-known successes such as Planeta wines who are transforming agriculture in Sicily, anti-mafia initiatives such as Addio Pizzo who are standing up to entrenched interests and the Egyptian museum in Turin that show us Italian institutions need not remain ossified. There are tens of institutions profiled here.

    The twist is that the profiles are there with a purpose: to prove that there is hope for a country that has been in political, social and economic decline. The author spends a good hundred pages going through what's wrong in Italy today. Not just the stuff we all read about in the papers such as the high debt, the corrupt politics or the mafia and the black economy, but more fundamental issues: a justice system that was designed to provide innocent people a fair hearing but gets twisted into allowing crooks to avoid punishment; an electoral system that was designed and re-designed to provide strong leadership but has only brought chaos; labor laws that were designed and re-designed to guarantee good working conditions but have limited the size of corporations and kept the young out of work in the past decade.

    It is within this context that all the companies are looked at, and it is all extremely convincing and lovingly written. Also, the author seems to have interviewed pretty much every Italian citizen who matters. The acknowledgment section reads like the who-is-who of Italy, with the one notable exception of Silvio Berlusconi, who apparently has two lawsuits pending against the author's previous employers at the Economist.

    The story that wants to come out of here is that we all know what the problems are and people on the ground are doing amazing things despite them, with many of them actually doing good work to stop the rot. With that said, the book also contains a stern warning. The time to act is now. Italy cannot afford another botched reform like the one that was undertaken ca. 1992. This time it has to stick.

    Fingers crossed, then!
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Athan
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very informative, lovingly written
    Reviewed in the United States on 6 August 2013
    Verified Purchase
    I bought the book expecting it to read like one of those pull-outs from the middle of the Economist.

    It doesn't.

    This is a series of profiles of thriving Italian companies, institutions and initiatives. Large multinationals like Luxottica who sell every pair of premium sunglasses you've ever owned, less well-known successes such as Planeta wines who are transforming agriculture in Sicily, anti-mafia initiatives such as Addio Pizzo who are standing up to entrenched interests and the Egyptian museum in Turin that show us Italian institutions need not remain ossified. There are tens of institutions profiled here.

    The twist is that the profiles are there with a purpose: to prove that there is hope for a country that has been in political, social and economic decline. The author spends a good hundred pages going through what's wrong in Italy today. Not just the stuff we all read about in the papers such as the high debt, the corrupt politics or the mafia and the black economy, but more fundamental issues: a justice system that was designed to provide innocent people a fair hearing but gets twisted into allowing crooks to avoid punishment; an electoral system that was designed and re-designed to provide strong leadership but has only brought chaos; labor laws that were designed and re-designed to guarantee good working conditions but have limited the size of corporations and kept the young out of work in the past decade.

    It is within this context that all the companies are looked at, and it is all extremely convincing and lovingly written. Also, the author seems to have interviewed pretty much every Italian citizen who matters. The acknowledgment section reads like the who-is-who of Italy, with the one notable exception of Silvio Berlusconi, who apparently has two lawsuits pending against the author's previous employers at the Economist.

    The story that wants to come out of here is that we all know what the problems are and people on the ground are doing amazing things despite them, with many of them actually doing good work to stop the rot. With that said, the book also contains a stern warning. The time to act is now. Italy cannot afford another botched reform like the one that was undertaken ca. 1992. This time it has to stick.

    Fingers crossed, then!
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  • Lou
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very insightful, revelant
    Reviewed in Canada on 29 November 2012
    Verified Purchase
    I enjoyed his analysis greatly, and I can see that the Monti government is implementing some of the reforms this book deemed essential
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  • Albert-amadeus
    5.0 out of 5 stars Un parere autorevole
    Reviewed in Italy on 19 March 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Una lettura amara sui guai irrisolti del nostro Paese nell'arco di oltre un ventennio di storia. L'autore, suggerisce anche delle possibili terapie ,ma purtroppo non c'è più sordo di chi non vuol sentire. un suo recente documentario realizzato con Annalisa Piras si chiama appunto :"girlfriend in a coma" un paese che deve essere sottoposto a terapia intensiva e subito.
    Il libro ,recentissimo, purtroppo non si occupa dell' orizzonte politico che andava delineandosi sul finire del 2012 soprattutto con riferimento al movimento 5 stelle .Ritengo comunque che sia un libro assai valido che offre ottimi spunti di riflessione e che spero possa generare un moto POSITIVA reazione!
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  • Ruth Pino
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on 7 June 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Excellent gift for an Italian grandfather.
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  • Michael V
    2.0 out of 5 stars some good content, but badly written and a chore to read
    Reviewed in the United States on 29 December 2012
    Verified Purchase
    I too was attracted by the author's role at The Economist, and by an interview with him on NPR. However, the book is disappointing. It was first written in Italian -- by the way, being able to write in Italian does not make one an expert on Italy -- and then translated into English. The translation is terrible -- for example, "The modern character of Italy's new democratic crisis is its mediatic nature ...". What the heck does "mediatic" mean? It's not in my dictionary. Apparently it means "media-centric" or something similar. But the sentence as a whole is poorly constructed; what does "modern character" refer to? Does the crisis have a character that is not modern? This may sound pedantic, but the reader is often required to do a lot of work to understand what the author is saying (and sometimes it's not really clear what that is). Many sentences are very long -- this is a feature of articles in Italian newspapers, but has no place in a book in English. By "long" I mean ten lines or more, phrase piled upon phrase, requiring much more effort to untangle than the content warrants. The author must be able to write clear, straightforward English -- he worked at a leading magazine for more than 25 years. It is a shame that he did not rewrite his own book in that straightforward way.
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