Writing a survey history is not easy. Every basic decision—periodization, geographic limits, thematic focus—is fraught with the linked dangers of overgeneralization and oversimplification. There are always experts looking over the author's shoulder, ready to cry foul if their areas or contributions are not accorded sufficient attention. And if the author is a good historian, she will realize how much she has had to omit, how tendentious she has had to be. Anna Foa is a good historian, and she is therefore especially to be congratulated for having taken on the arduous task of producing this highly readable survey, now in its third, updated Italian edition and at last available in an unfortunately flawed English translation.