Italy at the Polls: The Parliamentary Elections of 1976

This readable and informative collection of essays by American scholars on the important aspects of Italian politics, both before and after the 1976 elections, provides a helpful background to the current discussion of Italy's political future. There is no single line that prevails in the book, although judgments are offered, such as the assertion that the "almost three decades of political hegemony [of the Christian Democrats] . . . have been irresponsibly squandered."