David Ortiz

Fascism in Spain, 1923–1977: Payne, Stanley G.: Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 601 pp., Publication Date: January 2000

Italian archival material. Although Agarossi provides a balanced analysis of the complex Allied and Axis positions in the summer of 1943 and presents sufficient evidence to sustain a just condemnation of the actions of Badoglio and other incompetents, her conclusions are less convincing. She argues for a nonpartisan reconciliation of the Fascist and anti-Fascist views of the surrender: the former seeing it as a disgraceful national betrayal of their German ally, and the latter condemning it as a Fascist betrayal of the Italian people. She wonders what type of national resistance might have occurred had the ruling class not failed the people, and she debatably attributes responsibility for the collapse to the incompetence of an Italian political and military elite as opposed to a Fascist one. Agarossi’s proposal for inclusion of the patriotic element in historical studies and for a recapturing of Risorgimento ideals to unite the fractured Italian Republic seems odd in a study that attempts to go beyond “ideological bias” (7). The successful Allied invasion of Sicily in July of that year saw many Italian Army units surrender or desert en masse and presaged a larger collapse in the face of an Allied landing on the peninsula. Mussolini’s removal from power that same month produced a glimmer of hope that perhaps Italy could yet be saved. Yet Victor Emmanuel III’s appointment of Pietro Badoglio as prime minister, and Italy’s decision to continue the war while secretly negotiating for an armistice destroyed that hope. Without opposition from Badoglio’s regime the Germans had already begun reinforcing their southern positions by sending new army divisions across the Italian frontier. Agarossi shows the divergence of American and British views regarding prosecution of the war and terms for surrender; the compromise that was reached satisfied the British desire for a vigorous Italian campaign and the American commitment to “unconditional surrender.” Italy’s pledge to fight with the Allies against the Germans went unfulfilled. Fearful of provoking German aggression, Badoglio at the last moment cancelled plans for American paratroop divisions to bolster the already considerable Italian defense of Rome. Then he and the king both fled Rome a day after the announced armistice in which vague orders were given to the armed forces to surrender to the Allies but to resist attack from wherever else it came. Without clear instructions or the Allies’ military backing, the Italian army disintegrated. As feared, a brutal German occupation ensued, which included their disarming of the Italian army, both in Italy and in the occupied territories. It led to the eventual transport of 700,000 Italian soldiers to camps in Germany, German occupation of the “open city” of Rome, and the prolongation of the war in Italy until April 1945. Not for the uninitiated, this well-documented book lacks a bibliography that would

A New History of Spanish Writing, 1939 to the 1990s: Perriam Chris Michael Thompson Susan Frenk Vanessa Knights: New York: Oxford University Press, 241 pp., Publication Date: August 2000

Cold War” (2) . Reflecting “a general tone of cold war paranoia” (3 ) , the report admits there arc “no indications of unusual [Soviet] activity” ( 158) but pointedly notes that although the Soviets do not need Spitsbergen’s coal, they will continue to mine in order to maintain a Soviet presence. Lacking evidence, i t ix implied that the Soviets could clandestinely store equipment and material for less-benign purposes. Capelotti rightly asserts that the reports’ importance extends beyond their usefulness to military and diplomatic historians. The reports w v e the scientific community as a “cultural rcsource base for archaeologists studying exploration, warfare, aeronautics, and industry in the high Arctic.” Additionally, “eco-touring” businesses and the “adventuretouring public” can glean insight into the Arctic (5) . The book includes a very useful introduction t h a t sets the stage for the reports, original photographs, illustrations, and selected maps.