The foreword to this book tell us that the author, Mr, Borsa is am Italian journalist, who sas for many, years the London correspondent, the Milanese newspaper "Il Sacolo/ Av novel it. certainly is not, The earlier chapters. can best Seribed asa landscape in words, We are enabled to form a good picture of life during the latec nineteenth century on the large. sell supporting farm on the fertile banks of the River Po, presided over by the aged Battista (called "colonel by the melghbours because he had been "promoted to lieutenant, Napoleon), with its dependant circles. of simple, superstitious and kindly, ants.
Unfortunately, just ax we foot that we are getting to know the: members of this lite community, catastrophe overtakes. the farm the form of an inundation by the Po, and young Giovannino Luni has to set out in poverty to make hhis way in the world, "TDhe rest of. the book is taken up with a description of his progres+ through the university at Milan, and subsequent visits to various forcigit cities, particularly London, where hho seems to spend most of his tims in the reading-room of the British, Museum. This part does not hol the attention 50 well, principally because it attempts to cover too mucit in too short @ length, with the result that ideas are started without being. followed up. We are never even told how Lundi is supe posed to support himself, much tosa 2 wife and. child, during these years, Of study of the social problem.
Although Fascism as such is not Gealt with, the book is of interes asa sidelight on the psychology of the nation which has produced sucic A distinctive contribution to-political Science. It should be added that th:
lation from the Italian by Me, htarshall makes pleasant
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.