The CIA has been accused of a massive intelligence failure in the run-up to the 9/11 attacks -- the result, it is said, of a moralistic and bureaucratic approach to information-gathering. But the CIA's spies had few qualms when it came to cultivating terrorist organisations and interfering in the internal politics of Cold War Italy. Puppetmasters reveals how US intelligence services exploited the P2 masonic lodge to prop up friendly Christian Democrat-dominated governments and cou...

'While the army of the Goths makes war, the Romans may live in peace.'AD 468. With the last Roman emperor of the West deposed, the Empire is in ruins - a plaything for the barbarian armies that rampage across it. This extraordinary story spans Europe, from the intrigues of Constantinople to the battlefields of the future France, North Africa and the Balkans, tracing the rise of Theoderic the Goth to a pinnacle of power and wealth.

Leonardo da Vinci, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Cesare Borgia—three iconic figures whose intersecting lives provide the basis for this astonishing work of narrative history. They could not have been more different, and they would meet only for a short time in 1502, but the events that transpired when they did would significantly alter each man’s perceptions—and the course of Western history.In 1502, Italy was riven by conflict, with the city of Florence as the ultimate prize. Machiavel...

Lawrence Grassi was a trailblazer in every sense of the word. A working-class man of humble Italian origins who worked as a labourer and a coal miner for most of his life, Grassi had a deep passion for the Rocky Mountains. He was famous in the region for his commitment as a guide, a mountain climber, and a builder of greatly admired hiking trails. Today, in or near Canmore, his name graces a mountain, two lakes, and a school, and he is commemorated at Lake O’Hara in Yoho National Park....

The social and linguistic history of medieval Sicily is both intriguing and complex. Before the Muslim invasion of 827, the islanders spoke dialects of either Greek or Latin or both. On the arrival of the Normans around 1060 Arabic was the dominant language, but by 1250 Sicily was an almost exclusively Christian island, with Romance dialects in evidence everywhere. Of particular importance to the development of Sicily was the formative period of Norman rule (1061 1194), when most of the ke...

The Mafia Files presents the rap sheets of key figures in the Italian-American underworld, featuring Lupo the Wolf, the Teflon Don, Joey 'the Clown' Lombardo, Tony 'Joe Batters' Accardo and many more.These case studies chart the mobsters' careers, showing how Mafia tentacles have delved into a host of new ventures over the past 100 years. Including portraits of victims and crime-busters, this full-colour book is perfect bedtime reading from the dark side of life - brutal, ...

Featuring full-colour artwork, this book examines the variation of equipment and uniforms between different military units, and in armies stationed in different regions of the Empire.Between the reigns of Augustus and Septimius Severus, the Eastern provinces of the Roman Empire frequently saw brutal fighting: most notably during the conquest of Dacia by Trajan, the suppression of the Great Revolt in Judea and intermittent clashes with Rome's great rival Parthia. In...

'Jeremy Black skilfully sketches social, cultural and political trends' - Christina Hardyment, Times audiobook of the week'A remarkable mixture of cold history, wide culture and personal experience'Ciro Paoletti, Secretary General of the Italian Commission of Military HistoryDespite the Roman Empire's famous 500-year reign over Europe, parts of Africa and the Middle East, Italy does not have the same long na...

This book is the first complete survey of the evolution of monetary institutions and practices in Western countries from the Middle Ages to today. It radically rethinks previous attempts at a history of monetary institutions by avoiding institutional approach and shifting the focus away from the Anglo-American experience. Previous histories have been hamstrung by the linear, teleological assessment of the evolution of central banks. Free from such assumptions, Ugolini’s work offers bankers...

This book reviews the period from the unification of Italy to the fascist era through significant Neapolitan performers such as Gilda Mignonette and Enrico Caruso. It traces the transformation of a popular tradition written in dialect into a popular tradition, written in Italian, that contributed to the production of "American" identity.

This groundbreaking collection explores the key roles that Mediterranean queens played as wives, as mothers, and above all as political actors. Ranging from Byzantine empresses to regnants and consorts in the Italian peninsula, they offer a bracing new perspective on queenship in the medieval and Early Modern eras.

Every year, Italy swells with millions of tourists who infuse the economy with billions of dollars and almost outnumber Italians themselves. In fact, Italy has been a model tourist destination for longer than it has been a modern state. The Beautiful Country explores the enduring popularity of “destination Italy,” and its role in the development of the global mass tourism industry. Stephanie Malia Hom tracks the evolution of this particular touristic imaginary through texts, pract...