A History of Contemporary Italy 1943-1980

From a war-torn and poverty-stricken country, regional and predominantly rural, to its rebirth as one of the world's most economically powerful nations, from 1943 onwards Italy witnessed the most profoung transformation - economic, social and demographic - in its entire history.

This period also saw a succession of unstable governments and an overwhelming need for political reform - and the repeated failure to achive it. Ginsborg's authoritative work - the first to combine both social and political perspectives - is concerned with the tremendous acheivements of post-war Italy, but also with aspects of its history that are still problematic today.