John

Good Answers but Generates More Questions

Revisado: 07-31-22

I picked this up wanting to know more about the rise of fascism in Italy. The early disclaimers warned me I might not be getting bits in this book I'd be interested in, and be warned it pointedly avoids details of the 2nd Italo-Ethiopian War and the 2nd World War. With that said, it does go in on how the fluid boil of Italian politics pre-and post WW1 set the stage for Italian Fascism. The fascinating part is to see how quickly and easily many socialist radicals (including Mussolini himself) rapidly changed sides and became even ardent fascists. The two 'red years' followed by the two 'black years' is quite a ride indeed with many informative stories. Foot is blunt about the role violence and murder played in the rise of the fascists and their seizure of power in 1921. The fact they were aided by sympathetic actors within the Italian state (including the 'soldier king',Victor Emmanuel) helps explain things, but the rapidity of a country that elected socialists to power only to see fascists seize it in the streets a scant 2 years later is still astonishing. The fact that it happened because basically 20% of the electorate were utterly unwilling to accept the results of that election and openly engaged in violence and terrorism to overturn them is chilling indeed. Chilling still more so as it succeeded with the inaction of those who might have stopped it. Dispelled too are the myths of 'the good Italians' in the war, and the fact that Mussolini on!y enacted his racial laws under duress.
The frustrating part is that while we get a lot of details on theater bombings, failed assassins who tried for Il Duce, and the March on Rome, I find other key questions and issues unexplored. Like why did Mussolini lead it (from afar of course) and not Italo Balbo? Or Gabriele D'Annunzio? Both get time and space in the book but I'm not at all clear on why Mussolini became the leader of the movement (maybe because he had the newspaper?). Similarly, it seems an all too quick slide from the fascist racial laws in 1938 to suddenly its 1943 and the Fascist Grand Council is voting Mussolini out of power. 'Blood and Power's pace is a bit uneven, as is sometimes the scope.
Copious detail is given to Mussolini's execution, and to the aftermath. But that begins to make sense as Foot points out just how little reckoning Italy did with its fascist past for so long. As in many other places, it was easier to bury the past and rewrite (or entirely omit) history than undergo the painful cleansing and see justice done.
I did enjoy the book and it answered many questions, but I'm looking for other materials to fill in the gaps.

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Some food for thought

Revisado: 11-24-20

3.5 stars. While it at times devolves into a bit of a 'whodunit', this did expose me to some more recent research and avoids the traditional trap of lining up the dominos before an inevitable and irrevocable push into catastrophic war. Worth a read/listen if you liked Tuchman's "The Guns of August" but want to get caught up on the last 40 years of scholarship.

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Intersting Appetizer

Revisado: 09-14-20

As a casual fan of the Holmes stories, this was actually an engaging short biography of Conan Doyle that encourages me to investigate his other works.

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Thought Provoking

Revisado: 03-09-20

A short illuminating listen which shows us how caffeine helps us cope with the world that caffeine made.

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Damn. Serious. Sad. Uplifting. Depressing.

Revisado: 03-03-20

Well worth the run time but not for the faint of heart. Vance recounls a childhood no less harrowing for it's commonality in the rust belt. It's compelling both in it's familiarity and it's disarmingly straightforward narrative. There are frequent sidebars, but they provide the needed context to place a visceral story into the wider tragedy of a hollowed out middle America and Appalachia. Recommend.

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Amazing 1st Person Accounts

Revisado: 02-28-20

Engaging 1st person accounts of the last living veterans. No sweeping historical accounts of Jutland or Ypres - just the observations of the ordinary men on the ground and in the ships. The intervening century may have eroded some specifics, but not the humor, the cameraderie, the horror, and fear. Though there are bright spots, the abjectly sad sense of loss and the waste of it all is palpable throughout. These men have a greater sense than others just how much their comrades sacrificed - especially those who never came home. The various voice actors enhance the experience greatly - a real window opens on a bygone era especially as these men describe their pre-war lives. Fascinating! Highly recommend audiobook

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WW2 from the Japanese perspective

Revisado: 06-23-19

Seminal and oft cited work about the Pacific War from the Japanese point of view. Toland happily gives enough history, context, and culture to explain to a western audience the unexplainable: why Japan willingly embarked on a war they had not prepared for, a war which many of her own military men feared they couldn't win. "The Rising Sun" is of daunting length, but clear writing and engaging portraits make for a captivating read.

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Atomic Age Apocalypse Story That Holds Up Well

Revisado: 02-06-19

Plausible for the time, and a good tale. Captures the horrors of nuclear war and the collapse of civilization without the gore of more contemporary works. You might wince occasionally at the window on gender and race roles/views in 1959 presented, but ultimately positive and hopeful.

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Great Premise But A Bit Uneven

Revisado: 07-20-18

A pretty good listen, but not especially revelatory. As someone who reads a fair amount of military history, there wasn't much new info here. Some chapters are engaging and we'll organized, but some aren't. And it feels very much like the final lecture should have been the first. But it is still an inspired idea to analyze failures (especially unforced errors) as much as successes. Any fan of military history will find something to enjoy and those newer to the study would especially benefit.

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Decent But A Bit Distracted

Revisado: 11-27-17

An interesting course that highlighted several composers I was unaware of, and even one or two unknown (to me) works from composers that I had heard of. Having said that, I was disappointed that the course started in the Tudor period and raced quickly on. The good and bad thing about the course is that it assumes you know nothing about the period relevant to the lecture at hand. This sometimes unfortunately leads to some lectures that are 80% history, 20% music. Though delivered with an informed verve, a number of the lessons just seem to wander down off topic sidebars and lack a coherent narrative thread. It was great to get some context for some faves and to be introduced to some new compelling pieces and composers, I'd have to say the other 'great courses' by Professor Greenberg I've heard so far are more organized and enjoyable.

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