A downtrodden composition, rife with deep biases in its entries towards the modern era. The author does Italy and its Italians a grave disservice by denigrating its modern incarnation and only halfheartedly mentioning its most conspicuous accomplishments. In most cases the author fails to consider more peripheral yet key accomplishments of modern Italy and instead disparages even more peripheral aspects of Italy that failed. Any Italian reading this work be warned, this book may inspire deep disappointment.