Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #101024 in Books
• Published on: 1990-09-27
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 592 pages

About the Author
PAUL GINSBORG was born in London in 1945. He is currently Professor of Contemporary European History at the University of Florence and was formerly Reader in European Politics at Cambridge. His last book for Penguin was the now famous A HISTORY OFCONTEMPORARY ITALY, 1943-1988.

Customer Reviews

contemporary Italy - once a mystery
I have lived in Italy for over 25 years, but never found a reliable, unbiased contemporary history, essential to compehension of a country I love.
Ginsborg managed to produce a fair review and consideration of the complicated, turbulent development of a nation state.
Unfortunately the book is dated by almost 30 years and missing a significant period of socio-economic and political development.