Politics, murder and love in an Italian family : the Amendolas in the age of totalitarianisms

What did it mean to live with fascism, communism, and totalitarianism in modern Italy? And what should we learn from the experiences of a martyred liberal democrat father and his communist son?

Through the prism of a single, exceptional family, the Amendolas, R.J.B.

Bosworth reveals the heart of twentieth-century Italian politics.

Giovanni and Giorgio Amendola, father and son, were both highly capable and dedicated Anti-Fascists.

Each failed to make it to the top of the Italian political pyramid but nevertheless played a major part in Italy's history.

Both also had rich but contrasting private lives. Each married a foreign and accomplished woman: Giovanni, a woman from a distinguished German-Russian intellectual family; Giorgio, a Parisian working class girl, who, to him, embodied Revolution.

This vivid and engaging biographical study explores the highs and lows of a family that was at the centre of Italian politics over several generations.

Tracing the complex relationship between Anti-Fascist politics and the private lives of individuals and of the family, Politics, Murder and Love in an Italian Family offers a profound portrait of a century of Italian life.