War in Val D'Orcia: An Italian War Diary 1943-1944 - Hardcover

It is hard to belive that the popular Italian region of Tuscany, or Chiantishire as it is known these days, was, just 40 years ago, a no-man's land fought over by conflicting armies and ideologies. But British-born writer and wife of an Italian Marchese Iris Origo kept a diary during the Second World War, and has left behind her a compelling account of those turbulent times. Even while German troops were occupying her house, she wrote at night about her valiant attempts to shelter refugee children, burying her diary in the garden each morning. What makes this elegantly written testament so enduringly powerful is Origo's bravery in secretly taking in escaped Allied soldiers, and her modesty--she was too "busy" to be afraid. She also reveals a clear-sighted understanding of the peasants' desperate situation: "Profoundly disillusioned, cynical, tired, fully conscious that more suffering and privations still lie ahead, they are a defeated nation--and the only universal incentive still left is that of self-preservation." Origo is the exception--fearlessly involved in distributing illicit aid, she ran the gamut of German bullets. Essentially, though, hers was a personal war--that of compassion and humanity against politically motivated invaders. -- Lilian Pizzichini

'A remarkably moving document that, like the best of the elemental war stories, eventually becomes a statement about the unplanned nature and folly of war' -- New York Times

'A compelling story of heroism [and] compassion' -- Washington Post

'A remarkable war diary' -- Telegraph

'It is jolting to recall, through Origo's sober and self-effacing prose, the atrocious conditions of the summer of 1944' -- Financial Times

'Relates in vivid detail the experiences of civilians who had the terrible misfortune to find themselves pinned between battling armies... beyond doubt a minor masterpiece' -- Washington Post

'A welcome rediscovery - evoking a unique, strange moment in civilian/soldier wartime-history with spare, vital immediacy' -- Kirkus Reviews

'A masterpiece of reportage about the simultaneous world war and civil war that ravaged Italy 70 years ago' -- New York Times

'Superb' --Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post