Biography of an Industrial Town

"This book is a masterpiece. First and foremost, it's a ground-breaking, exemplary work of oral history. As well, it's an extraordinary, highly readable micro-history of a single industrial town, and in many ways, of the industrial period itself. And this is a beautiful book about memory-how memory works, and how it interacts with politics, identity, and resistance. It should be recommended reading for anyone studying these topics." (John Foot, Professor of Modern Italian History, University of Bristol, UK)

A pioneering work in oral history, this book tells the story of the rise and fall of the industrial revolution and the apogee and crisis of the labor movement through an oral history of Terni, a steel town in Central Italy and the seat of the first large industrial enterprise in Italy.A pioneering work in oral history, this book tells the story of the rise and fall of the industrial revolution and the apogee and crisis of the labor movement through an oral history of Terni, a steel town in Central Italy and the seat of the first large industrial enterprise in Italy. This story is told through a combination of stories, songs, myths and memories from over 200 voices of five generations, woven with a wealth of archival material.