{"title":"Books by John Foot","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781408897966","title":"Blood and Power","description":"\u003cp\u003e'Clear, cool, plainly written and devastating’ Lucy Hughes-Hallett, \u003ci\u003eTimes Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA major history of the rise and fall of Italian fascism: a dark tale of violence, ideals and a country at war.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the aftermath of the First World War, the seeds of fascism were sown in Italy. While the country reeled in shock, a new movement emerged from the chaos: one that preached hatred for politicians and love for the fatherland; one that promised to build a ‘New Roman Empire’, and make Italy a great power once again.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWearing black shirts and wielding guns, knives and truncheons, the proponents of fascism embraced a climate of violence and rampant masculinity. Led by Benito Mussolini, they would systematically destroy the organisations of the left, murdering and torturing anyone who got in their way.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eBlood and Power\u003c\/i\u003e, historian John Foot draws on decades of research to chart the turbulent years between 1915 and 1945, and beyond. Drawing widely from accounts of people across the political spectrum – fascists, anti-fascists, communists, anarchists, victims, perpetrators and bystanders – he tells the story of fascism and its legacy, which still, disturbingly, reverberates to this day.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43128719048882,"sku":"9781408897966","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781408897966.jpg?v=1786019577"},{"product_id":"9781526645715","title":"The Red Brigades","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e*A\u003ci\u003e TELEGRAPH\u003c\/i\u003e BOOK OF THE YEAR*\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A compelling and sobering read'\u003c\/b\u003e JOHN DICKIE\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Taut and gripping' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eTELEGRAPH\u003c\/i\u003e, BEST BOOKS OF 2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Grimly absorbing' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eFINANCIAL TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe explosive story of the terrorist group who brought Italy to a standstill in the 1970s.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn March 1978, the Red Brigades shocked the world by kidnapping former Italian prime minister Aldo Moro in the heart of Rome. They held him hostage for fifty-five days before killing him and dumping his body in the boot of a car. But who were they? And what did they want?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  In this gripping and explosive book, John Foot casts new light on the shadowy world of the Red Brigades\u003ci\u003e, \u003c\/i\u003erevealing how they became the most formidable left-wing terrorist organisation in post-war Western Europe. Through a campaign of murder, kidnap and intimidation, they brought Italy’s justice system to its knees and shook the nation’s political foundations – leaving behind a legacy of conspiracy and distrust that still lingers today.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":57682633720181,"sku":"9781526645739","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":55206172623221,"sku":"9781526645715","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781526645715.jpg?v=1792511574"},{"product_id":"9780007175758","title":"Calcio","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe first history of Italian football to be written in English, ‘Calcio’ is a mix of serious analysis and comic storytelling, with vivid descriptions of games, goals, dives, missed penalties, riots and scandals in the richest and toughest league in the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Calcio’ tells the story of Italian football from its origins in the 1890’s to the present day. It takes us through a history of great players and teams, of style, passion and success, but also of violence, cynicism, catenaccio tactics and corruption. We meet the personalities that have shaped this history – from the Italian heroes to the foreigners that failed, the model professionals to the mavericks. ‘Calcio’ evokes the triumphs (the 1982 World Cup victory) and the tragedies (Meroni, the 'Italian George Best', killed by his number one fan), set against a backdrop of paranoia and intrigue, in a country where the referee is seen as corrupt until proven otherwise.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCalcio is no longer a game. It is sometimes difficult to define it as a sport. It is certainly big business and a fanatical civic religion. There is no moral code here. Winners are always right, losers always wrong. This history of Italian football reveals all about the richest and toughest league in the world.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56219830911349,"sku":"9780007175758","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780007175758_7e19fe3f-d3f4-4518-9d4b-d95ad464c1c0.jpg?v=1786011013"},{"product_id":"9781859735459","title":"Milan Since the Miracle","description":"This book is the first comprehensive post-war history of one of Europe's most vibrant cities throughout an extraordinary period of social, cultural and economic change. The capital of Italy's economic miracle of the 1950s and 60s, Milan was a magnet for immigrants, as industry, design and culture created a heady mix of wealth, innovation and conflict. By the 1980s, heavy industry had all but disappeared and the city had reinvented itself as the world capital of fashion and a dynamic post-industrial metropolis. Meanwhile, the urban landscape was darkened by the bleak estates of the peripheries and the corruption scandals that exploded in what became known as 'Tangentopoli', or Bribesville. This fascinating book traces Milan's 'biography' through its buildings, design, fashion, cinema, families, immigrants and television. The city emerges as a potent economic power-house and laboratory for change, where art and culture converge in a modern but problematic urban space. Anyone interested in Italian history, urban studies or the future of Europe's cities will find this book an essential read.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56308134248821,"sku":"9781859735459","price":90.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781859735459_9d5b76d4-12aa-439c-a24c-f493628a0bee.jpg?v=1786029405"},{"product_id":"9781784784164","title":"The Man Who Closed the Asylums","description":"\u003cb\u003eWhen the wind of the 1960s blew through the world of psychiatry\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In 1961, when Franco Basaglia arrived outside the grim walls of the Gorizia asylum, on the Italian border with Yugoslavia, it was a place of horror, a Bedlam for the mentally sick and excluded, redolent of Basaglia’s own wartime experience inside a fascist gaol. Patients were frequently restrained for long periods, and therapy was largely a matter of electric and insulin shocks. The corridors stank, and for many of the interned the doors were locked for life. This was a concentration camp, not a hospital.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBasaglia, the new Director, was expected to practise all the skills of oppression in which he had been schooled, but he would have none of this. The place had to be closed down by opening it up from the inside, bringing freedom and democracy to the patients, the nurses and the psychiatrists working in that “total institution.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eInspired by the writings of authors such as Primo Levi, R.D. Laing, Erving Goffman, Michel Foucault and Frantz Fanon, and the practices of experimental therapeutic communities in the UK, Basaglia’s seminal work as a psychiatrist and campaigner in Gorizia, Parma and Trieste fed into and substantially contributed to the national and international movement of 1968. In 1978 a law was passed (the “Basaglia law”) which sanctioned the closure of the entire Italian asylum system.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe first comprehensive study of this revolutionary approach to mental health care, \u003ci\u003eThe Man Who Closed the Asylums\u003c\/i\u003e is a gripping account of one of the most influential movements in twentieth-century psychiatry, which helped to transform the way we see mental illness. Basaglia’s work saved countless people from a miserable existence, and his legacy persists, as an object lesson in the struggle against the brutality and ignorance that the establishment peddles to the public as common sense.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56312840683893,"sku":"9781784784164","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781784784164_15bb5897-c2a8-4a8c-9d01-3b80d7c64dd5.jpg?v=1786026056"},{"product_id":"modern-italy","title":"Modern Italy","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJohn Foot’s 3rd Edition of \u003ci\u003eModern Italy\u003c\/i\u003e provides a comprehensive exploration of the key historical debates, events, and controversies in Italy over the last 150 years.\u003c\/b\u003e Using a thematic structure centred on the Nation, the State, the Economy and Politics, \u003ci\u003eModern Italy \u003c\/i\u003eskilfully draws out the many and far-reaching connections between Italy’s past and the country as it is today.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe book offers innovative interpretations of topics such as national identity, democratic politics, and modernization, and uses a wide range of primary sources, including contemporary documents and legislation, to explain Italian history and encourage further discussion. It also includes a wealth of ‘topic text boxes’ which introduce various key areas for analysis in an engaging way that aids both teaching and studying.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis 3rd edition includes for the first time:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e-        Considerable new material covering the dramatic events in Italy over the last decade\u003cbr\u003e-        Two sections on The Covid Pandemic and Italy that look at the political and the economic impact\u003cbr\u003e-        Enhanced content in critical areas like gender and the Church throughout\u003cbr\u003e-        An examination of the rise and fall of former prime minister, Matteo Renzi, and the rise to power of Giorgia Meloni\u003cbr\u003e-        Discussion of the transformation of the Lega Nord to the Lega\u003cbr\u003e-        New boxes on: Italy and terrorism; Italy and the Ukraine War; regionalist reforms; constitutional reforms; the death of Berlusconi; the environment and extreme weather events; and Italy and Israel\u003cbr\u003e- 30 new images which add a compelling visual dimension to the analysis\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":57503682625909,"sku":"9781350570214","price":32.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":57682590663029,"sku":"9781350570221","price":100.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781350570214.jpg?v=1792511526"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-john-foot.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}