I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all those who told me their life-stories; as the protagonists of the book they have not only made a vital contribution to this work but have made possible for me one of the most important experiences of the last few years.

A research project of this kind requires many and varied contributions. I owe thanks to Guido Quazza who, by asking me to take part in the research he headed for the Ministry of Education on ‘The daily life and material culture of the lower classes in Piedmont in the twentieth century’, allowed me to undertake the major part of the research used in this book. I owe thanks to Giovanni Levi for inviting me to participate in the research carried out under the aegis of the Assessorato alia Cultura of the city of Turin which prepared the section on Borgo San Paolo at the exhibition ‘Turin between the two wars’. I am also grateful to the officials of the Assessorato alia Cultura of the Region of Piedmont for entrusting me with the co-ordination of a part of the research on working-class cultures in Turin which provided me with another opportunity to collect and analyse oral material. My thanks also to the Istituto Ragionieri.

Friends and colleagues helped me through their encouragement and critical comment, which I hope I have succeeded, at least in part, in integrating in this final version of the book.