This memoir of being imprisoned in Italy for resistance activities during the waning days of World War II successfully explores the mental dimensions of imprisonment and everyday life. It provides a timeless perspective on perception and emotion that can be a guide for anyone, anytime. I recommend this book to those who fear that they lack the courage to perservere.

The worst threats, beatings, and uncertainty became meaningless to the author with their repetition. Dignity under pressure was simply the result, in part, of emotional and mental callouses.

At first, the smallest thing is terrifying, like the bed bugs in his last prison. Yet within a few days, he doesn't even react to their existence.

The greatest surprise is that with the release from prison, the author finds he regrets leaving. The nonprison world presents its own challenges and threats that seem daunting at this point. Yet we know from reading this book that these terrors will soon fade, as well.

We can learn from this book that our minds often find something new, whether actually threatening or simply a change, to be a reason to shy away. The accustomed, even if it is prison, becomes our friend. That should teach us to be careful of what we are habituated to, especially those habits may be "the mind-forged manacles I hear" (with credit to William Blake).

The book itself is understated and almost unemotional in its style. You won't be subjected to needless, unpleasant details of imprisonment. On the other hand, you'll have an almost-mythic sense of human conflict and redemption as the author recounts hearing the artillery in prison from the American invasion in the distance. These bursts accurately foretell his eventual release. The impetus to enjoy and explore our freedoms can be the same for you!