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In the fiery political debates in and about Italy, silence reigns about the country?s colonial legacy. Reducing European colonial history to Britain and France has effectively concealed an enduring phenomenon in Italian history that lasted for 80 years (1882 to 1960). It also blots out the history of the countries it colonized in Northeastern Africa.
Francesco Filippi challenges the myth of Italians being “nice people” or “good” colonialists who simply built roads for Africans. Despite extensive historiography, the collective awareness of the nations conquered and the violence inflicted on them remains superficial, be it in Italy or internationally. He retraces Italy’s colonial history, focusing on how propaganda, literature and popular culture have warped our understanding of the past and thereby hampered our ability to deal with the present
Filippi’s unique approach in which he deftly pits historical facts against popular myths provides a model that could be adapted to countries everywhere.
“Francesco Filippi returns to confront the history of mentality. . . . And he does it with his usual style, both well documented and ironic, relying on a large amount of research re-interpreted in the light of some brilliant personal insights.” Eric Gobetti, L’indcie dei libri del mese
“Filippi brilliantly points out that the roots of a false consciousness grow out of a widespread stereotype of the Italians as ‘good people.’ . . . his book warns us against the ‘prejudice’ that results from believing we know when we don’t know?” Giovanni de Luna, La Stampa (Tutti Libri)
About Mussolini Also Did A Lot of Good
“We are indebted to Mr. Filippi for his skilled passion in establishing a proper analysis for those who seek to counter the supporters of Mussolini’s tyrannical reign.” Truby Chiaviello, Primo Magazine, Washington DC
“chapter by chapter, point by point, Filippi dislodges propaganda with fact, answers mirage with astringent sunlight, and dispels nostalgia with body-counts.” George Elliott Clarke
“an antidote to all the nonsense still circulating about fascism?. Filippi is almost surgical in the way he reestablishes the context.” La Repubblica Book of the Month
“In the existing climate, Francesco Filippi?s scalpel is of utmost importance.” Le Monde
“Francesco Filippi’s book is very timely and relevant ? a lesson on a past that simply doesn?t go away.” Corriere Della Sera
280 Pages
8.50in * 5.50in * .75in
240.00gr
April 15, 2024
9781771863414
eng