The Pope and Mussolini

This was an absolutely fantastic look at pre-WW2 Italy. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in current events. Undertanding the origins of fascism is really enlightening, especialy at this moment. You may learn a lot about the inner workings of the Vatican, too.

Note: you may wish to review the unification of Italy and general history of Italy from ~1840-1920 as a good foundation before reading this book but that is not at all necessary.

It was well researched and well written, but I felt a little duped. The book had an extensive and very detailed lead up to the start of the war, but the book ends abruptly with the beginning of the war. I was looking for more discussion on how the Vatican handled itself during the war, but it appears the documentation the author needed for that aspect of the book and the relationship between the fascist leaders and the Vatican must still be sealed.

Recommended only for historians (European on religious).