Uncovering the Past: Pius XI, Mussolini, and the Rise of Fascism in Europe

TERRI HOBSON: Love history
This was great

United States on Nov 05, 2023

IGW: The book is a thoughtful review of the rise and fall of Mussolini - and sheds light on the disgraceful role of the Vatican and its failure to provide a moral compass when it was most needed.

Canada on Jun 12, 2022

Claudia Gasparrini Etheridge: Having grown up in Rome, with parents and grandparents who had lived during the Mussolini years, from the “March on Rome” to the end of WWII; having heard their many stories about “Il Duce“; and having watched various Italian movies about the war years; I was very interested in reading this recently published (2014) book.
Like most of the better educated Italians and, by the end by the war, like the vast majority of the Italian population, no one in my family appreciated Mussolini’s dictatorship, or his fascist ideas. Consequently, the stories that they told were not entirely objective or flattering towards “Il Duce“. I purchased the book for an unbiased description of the Mussolini character and of the times of his dictatorship.
I decided to write the review: perhaps the readers will appreciate the point of view of someone like myself who “almost” (that means through her closest older relatives) experienced the Mussolini times directly.
So let us start from the beginning.
First of all - before seeing the actual book, and based on the number of reviews by Amazon.com customers (209, as this review is being published) - I was pleasantly surprised to...

United States on Oct 02, 2015

Phillipwh: Interesting book which showed the strategy of Mussolini in his manipulation of the Vatican. Many of us great respect for the role of the Vatican, but the benefits the church gained from the association with Mussolini could not be justified. The book was well written, easily read and a great contribution and thankfully the author was given access to Vatican archives - though it reveals how they were duped. The world was in great mess with the financial collapse caused by the Great War and folk desperately and banefully looked to one other '..ism' for direction. It is interesting and wrong that Pius XI and the other pious turned their eyes from the Vatican Pedophilia, seemingly indifferent to the human anguish it caused. Horrible place the Vatican, where power and influence seeking thobbs. All praise for the impact of Pope Francis

Australia on May 30, 2015

Searcher: This is a revelation, even handed, academically sound, and compelling. The Vatican has a lot to answer for. Would Jesus have turned a blind eye to the mass executions to save the temple?

Not for one second, if we are to believe his Word. He would have sacrificed himself and everything he had. This book should be required reading in every school in the Christian world.

To do anything else would be to hide the sordid truth, for the sake of protecting those in power.

United Kingdom on Dec 28, 2014

Marv Givertz: Like other books by David Kertzer , this one was clearly written and the narrative was compelling.
It is a history that moves along with sufficient detail but does not become a quagmire that requires
pauses to try to interpret the story that the author is telling. A good , informative history.

Canada on Apr 16, 2014

Lynda Craig: David Kertzer wrote a book that was not only informative but readable, historically significant and thoroughly satisfying as one trusted his research that was extensive and I'm sure completel accurate. His analysis of that terrible time during the second world war regarding the relationship between the Italian government and the church, was truly amazing and horrifying in the treatment not only of the Italian Jews but the Italian people themselves. It is unbelievable that Pope Pius XI seemed to do very little to help the situation. This was truly a horrific time in history which seems to be repeating itself perhaps not with the Jews but with other ethnic groups. We need more books llike this one with the hopes that history will eventually stop repeating itself!

Canada on Mar 20, 2014

P. H.: I heard about this book when Terry Gross interviewed the author on NPR's "Fresh Air". While the interview sounded interesting, I was skeptical that I would learn anything useful from reading this book. Reluctantly, I ordered this book from Amazon as part of my winter reading. I'm glad I did.

This book is a page-turner and engaging. History teaches endlessly. In this book, Professor David Kertzer teaches us history like he's teaching us great classic Greek or Roman literature. This book reads like a compelling novel.

I'm delightfully pleased that I learned an exceptional amount of knowledge about Pope Pius XI (Achille Ratti of Milan), Benito Mussolini ("Duce") and the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, and gained much wisdom from reading this eloquently written and exhaustively researched book. This books reveals that pederasty infected the pinnacle of the Church hierarchy during Pius XI's papacy.

To the uninitiated like me, I gained a deeper appreciation for this book after watching PBS Frontline's program entitled "Secrets of the Vatican" that originally aired on February 25, 2014, and vice versa.

The ten years that the author and his dedicated,...

United States on Feb 18, 2014