This masterly, elegant account of who Italy's monarchs were and what they got up to (usually something not very edifying) demonstrates why Mack Smith is widely viewed as the leading authority on Italy writing in the English language. Post-unification Italy's development might well have been less turbulent, had it not been for the distressing tendency of successive kings to interfere in politics and indulge their taste for intrigue. Nurturing the tender plant of Italian democracy was usually the last thing on their minds. As in his other works, Mack Smith wastes little sympathy on the civilian politicians who were, if anything, even more culpable than their royal masters in contributing to Italy's failure to construct a stable, corruption-free democracy before the First World War. But his particular focus is the monarchy, from its crucial part in the wars of unification after 1860 to its inglorious association with Benito Mussolini's dictatorship in the inter-war years. After putting down Mack Smith's book - a gem of concise writing and lightly worn learning - one can only be glad that Italians eventually abolished the monarchy after the Second World War. Republicanism, though drenched in corruption and crime between 1946 and 1992, did at least do something to modernize public life in Italy.

This is a biography at once fascinating and charming: a source of fascination because one cannot help marvel at Mazzini's dogged refusal to give up hope of creating a brave new world in Italy, and charming because Mack Smith brings out the tension between Mazzini the somewhat desperate revolutionary in exile and Mazzini the courteous and likeable private individual. Of the three great men who created the Italian nation-state, Mazzini was both more honourable and less cynical than Cavour, and more humane and less hot-headed than Garibaldi. The contempt in which the new state held him after 1861 was little short of disgraceful, but this biography - well up to the standards of Mack Smith's other works on modern Italy - does a great deal to restore his reputation. If only Italy had had a Mazzini in the latter half of the 20th century.

I'm sorry but after having spent the last 6 years in Italy studying Italian politics and Mussolini circa 1910-1950 I am obligated after having read this book to denounce it as a poorly researched overly biased work and it is pitiful to see this attempt to present the Authors anti mussolini anti Italian views as an historically accurate look at Mussolini by claiming to be his official biographer.

I'm sorry but this book is a piece of garbage, if you really objectively want to find out the truth about Mussolini you won't find it here - but you will find the it in Anthony James book the title of which is simply called "Mussolini".

I agree this book is definitely one sided and skewed. Mussolini was not a saint, however this book fails to mention any other aspect of his life, other than that of disturbed Hitler sidekick. The fact remains that Benito Mussolini was a leader in his own right. Many other biographies show his ability to make people have pride, and the 'mighty' Adolph Hitler twitch. look elsewhere for facts.

Other, later scholars have added a little here and there, but D. Mack Smith's biography of Mussolini is still definitive. It's a very insightful study of Il Duce's personality and psychology, backed up by impressive research and written in a very incisive, pungent style. Its only flaw is that it neglects to investigate very deeply the ideology and political structures of Italian fascism; but since Smith had already discussed these matters in his earlier, equally masterly book "Mussolini's Roman Empire", this lapse is forgivable. In fact, one would do well to read this biography in conjunction with Smith's earlier study to get a complete view of fascist Italy.

One more point: Readers should be aware that the "James" book recommended by a previous reviewer (from Japan) in place of Mack Smith's is a negligible, pro-fascist work dismissed by all reputable scholars in the field (but lauded by the so-called Institute for Historical Review, a Holocaust-denying propaganda organization). Stick with Mack Smith.

I thought this was going to be an architectural overview and a long look at the history of a house, Casa Cuseni, in Sicily. What I found instead was a book about the people who came and went as visitors to this house, inherited by a proper British lady, and her interactions with the local populace.

There are descriptions of the beautiful country surrounding Taormina, captured between Mount Etna and the Ionian Sea, and its inhabitants, all caught in the forces that ebbed and flowed across Sicily for thousands of years: races and nationalities, soldiers and farmers, kings and peasants. This poignant memoir is particularly appealing to me, being a Sicilian. I loved the anecdotes and vignettes of the local citizens and the distinctive lives they lived.

For those doing genealogy research on Sicilians, Italian historians, and cultural studies, I would recommend this book. For those who enjoy a peek into the lives of another culture in another time (1940s forward), this is a quick and delightful book.

This is a charming tale of a part of Sicily as seen through the eyes of a woman in love with its land and people. Daphne Phelps is as warm-hearted and generous as the Sicilian men and women she writes about. Although her perspective at first is that of an outsider, she enlarges her view eventually to give us a number of interesting stories about both the Sicilians and the foreign visitors who arrive and quickly fall in love with Sicily. Phelps's modest and reticent nature sometimes prevents her from telling us all that she hints about in her stories, especially when she relates her friendship with the Mafia Don Ciccio. Was there more romance here than she lets on? There are a dozen tales in her book that she could have dwelt upon at length, but she give us enough fascinating details to stir our imagination. If you love or want to fall in love with Sicily and its open-hearted men and women, read this book.

I am a Sicilian American of 2nd generation. My father was born in Sicily and my mother's parents are both Sicilian. My entire family went to Sicily last July (2001) and we found Ms. Phelps book to be entertaining, respectful and delightful. In response to the critique by Antonina LiCastri-Boocock who is Sicilian: "Please leave the machismo at home." Ms. Phelps was very respectful of both the people and place of Sicily. My entire family is reading this book and has enjoyed it all the same. This book is a five star read. It is refreshing to see a dignified outside look at Sicily from an English perspective. (If Ms. Phelps supposedly had so much disdain for Sicily, why did she stay so long?) Antonina could not give insight other than from a Sicilian male perspective. I am very traditional, but I give credit where credit is do. If you are American, you will not like this book but love it. If you are Sicilian, I bet you will probably love all the more. The Sicilian people are a loving, lovely people and I believe that all of the characters that Ms. Phelps wrote about would be more than honored by her writings.

Salvatore

If this book had been written about Mexico it would be called racist. Unfortunatly it was written about the Italians, a proud people renowned for their food and women, if not for their military abilities. Unfortunatly mr. Smith is far to harsh in his criticism and almost purpously humorous accounts of Italy's role in political and military affairs. unfortunatly there are few books that document Italy's political history for such a long period 1860-present. Theirfore it is a worthwhile read to understand the long passage of Italian political history. The long veins if you will.

Unfortunatly I think Mr. SMith underestimates the great Italian politicians like Craxi and Mussulini and Crispi, the many faces of Italian politics, he makes fun of Italys military adventures(against the Ethiopians, Austrians, Americans, and Libyans among others). It is unfair to pretend that Italy was totally incompetant when in fact it played a major role in this centuries many wars.

In this book, I got exactly what I wanted: an understanding of the actors, events, and movements in Italian political history starting with unification in the mid-19th century. Cavour, Mazzini, Garibaldi, Crispi, Giolitti, Mussolini, De Gasperi. The author does a wonderful job of constructing these characters (and others) while conveying the changing political and societal backdrop in which they labored. A lack of tempocentrism and equal emphasis on the earlier periods were very positive in my view. Detailed explanations of the causes, mechanisms, and failures of Mussolini and fascism were especially well done.