Only for lovers of ancient history and history in general.

Going back to Etruscan times and coming upto the present day a concise history of Italy. Rather prosaic in the telling this is nevertheless a wonderful story of the rich history behind Italy.

Goodreads and Amazon review posted on 26/3/2018. Review on my blog May 2018.

I was kindly given a copy of the book from NetGalley.

When I started to read the book, I realised that this book was going to be more entertaining than I thought. Sure, there were a few instances where it's age showed, some words that I wouldn't use now but overall, the author's work still stands well even after so many years. I am only giving it three stars because it could do with some updating, the occasional not-quite politically correct terms and sometimes, the language was a bit dry. Otherwise, a lovely book to read on a sunny day!

I have always been fascinated with Italy in general, mostly because of my love of Italian food to be honest. Somehow, I just never delved deeper than that of the unfortunate era of Mussolini, my bad, truly. I was so glad that I read the book because I now have a bit more information of this country that I have wished to travel to just for its food. Now, on top of that, there's this history and culture that I got to know. It could certainly do with some updating but in general, I really loved reading it. 

The author managed to capture my interest fairly quickly and was steady throughout. I would totally recommend it to someone who's interested in Italian history!

I am a big junkie when it comes to Italian history books and devour them whenever I can. The Italian Story is an epic look at centuries of very rich history, which isn't an easy thing to pull off in one volume. The book was published initially in the 60s so it reads in a much drier (and less politically correct) way than contemporary histories Plus, there have been fifty years of research since that a reader could benefit from with a more modern telling. Still, there is an endless amount of fascinating information to be found within The Italian Story.

I wanted to read this book as I have Italian heritage, and was interested in the history of Italy. Having spent a large chunk of my childhood listening to the stories about Italy from my parents grandparents and others, unfortunately this book was very dry, lots of information but lost a lot in the telling.

I am Italian and was really curious to read this book about Italian history. It was really interesting and a page turner. It was so good I even learned some historical fact I did not know before.
Even if the language is sometime obsolete it aged well and is really interesting.
Recommended!
Many thanks to Netgalley and Endeavour Press

This work’s original 1963 publication date can definitely show at times, most notably through its terms for various peoples. Trease’s use of words like Indian (in reference to Native Americans and First Nations), Saracen, and negro (used one or two very unfortunate times) can come across as incredibly jarring to a modern-day reader.

Despite these particular issues of outdated vocabulary, “The Italian Story” has actually managed to age quite well. Trease admittedly performed a first-class job of taking the long, complex history of the Italian peninsula and distilling it down into a work this is succinct but also still fairly detailed, yet never so much as to overwhelm or confuse. Readability and easy comprehensiveness rule this book from start to finish, and thanks to the author’s focus on keeping those his priority, “The Italian Story” to this day can still serve as a strong foundation to anyone who wants an introduction to Italy’s long and dazzlingly rich history.