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Winner of the 2011 Strega Prize, this blend of essay, social criticism, and memoir is a striking portrait of the effects of globalization on Italy’s declining economy. Starting from his family’s textile factory in Prato, Tuscany, Edoardo Nesi examines the recent shifts in Italy’s manufacturing industry. Only one generation ago, Prato was a thriving industrial center that prided itself on craftsmanship and quality. But during the last decade, cheaply made goods—produced overseas or in Italy by poorly paid immigrants—saturated the market, making it impossible for Italian companies to keep up. In 2004 his family was forced to sell the textile factory. How this could have happened? Nesi asks, and what are the wider repercussions of losing businesses like his family’s, especially for Italian culture? Story of My People is a denouncement of big business, corrupt politicians, the arrogance of economists, and cheap manufacturing. It’s a must-read for anyone seeking insight into the financial crisis that’s striking Europe today.
A novel set in Tuscany during the magical years when thousands of businesses blossomed, manufacturing objects for everyday life as well-made and beautiful as the Renaissance art that inspired them Infinite Summer brings the reader back to Italy in the 1970s, a time when growth and full employment propelled smart and industrious young men to create companies devoted to design, architecture, automobiles, and more. Three men share a dream of building a textile factory from scratch. Ivo Barrocciai, the enthusiastic son of a textile artisan, embarks on an elaborate project: to build a luxurious factory that will be “the envy of the Milanese.” He recruits Cesare Vezzosi, a small building contr...
This extended autobiographical essay explains in clear, engaging terms how the role of economics and finance in the Western world has shifted in the twenty-first century, from cultivating wellbeing in society to eroding the wealth of the middle class. Just a handful of years into the new millennium, globalization has had a profound impact on economies and societies throughout Europe and America. In this accessible yet literary work, Edoardo Nesi and Guido Maria Brera illustrate its effects in Italy through the changes that occurred in their own lives: while the former was forced to sell the textile company his grandfather founded before World War II, the latter became one of the key figures ...
A recent college graduate accompanies a reclusive middle-aged writer on a chaotic road trip to Milan in this hilarious, heartwarming novel about love, friendship, and the pitfalls of nostalgia In 1995 Vittorio Vezzosi rose to worldwide acclaim with his debut novel, The Wolves Inside. Unfortunately for his adoring fans—and his publisher—he wouldn’t write another word. Instead, the great author shut himself away in a farmhouse overlooking Florence. After twenty-five years of silence, however, a corporate takeover lights the fire under Vittorio to produce a new novel, and bright young classics graduate Emiliano De Vito is hired to assist him. Off to a rocky start, the odd couple embark on a madcap journey in a 1979 Jeep—without a roof or windshield or doors—to Milan, where Vittorio will speak to a crowd of thousands. As they travel across Italy, bonding over wine and women, and butting heads over the struggles Emiliano’s generation inherited from Vittorio’s, the two begin to see the world, and writing, in a different way.
In a warm, perceptive essay that touches on economics, fashion, literature, and politics, the Strega Prize–winning author of Story of My People reflects on the seismic shifts of 2020 and the diverse ways we’re adapting. Attempting to make sense of the incredible upheaval of 2020—from the devastating impact of COVID-19 to the sudden loss of his father—Edoardo Nesi considers the changing global economy and its effect on our lives. He shares the stories of Alberto Magelli, a small textile entrepreneur; Livia Firth, a prominent advocate for sustainability; Elisa Martelli, a young Sangiovese winemaker; Enrico Giovannini, a leading economist and statistician; Rino Pratesi, a proud butcher ...
This book investigates the success story of the fast fashion industry—mainly owned by Chinese migrants—in Prato, Italy. It outlines how Prato has become the center of a value chain stretching from suppliers in China and Turkey all the way to buyers in Europe. Despite this, a policy attacking Chinese entrepreneurship has been devised and implemented in Prato. This volume analyzes said policy against the crisis of Prato’s textile industry. Based on the author’s 15 years of fieldwork in Prato, the book sheds light on the entangled processes of city making and the restructuring processes linked to capital accumulation by tackling issues of governance, territory, migration, division of labor, labor mobility, housing, and human rights.
The history of Italian culture stems from multiple experiences of mobility and migration, which have produced a range of narratives, inside and outside Italy. This collection interrogates the dynamic nature of Italian identity and culture, focussing on the concepts and practices of mobility, memory and translation. It adopts a transnational perspective, offering a fresh approach to the study of Italy and of Modern Languages.
This is the inside story of a revolution in China policy, from Washington to Brussels, Berlin to New Delhi. The Rupture explains how many of the Western politicians, thinkers and business leaders closest to Beijing have become its sharpest opponents; how the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically accelerated this collective rethink; and why 5G represents the first test case as to whether China may win the battle for the future. Noted China expert Andrew Small offers a kaleidoscopic picture of a rivalry ranging far beyond ‘great power’ politics. He traces US efforts to recast relations with old allies, as Washington realises that it cannot confront China alone, charting Europe’s growing role in the technological and economic contest, and Beijing’s attempts to build a coalition of its own, from Moscow to Taliban-run Kabul. As competition grows between systems, the Western model itself is transforming—for China’s rise changes the balance of ideas as much as the balance of power.
Wendy Brown is one of the most prolific and influential political theorists of her generation. This collection of essays, designed for the undergraduate classroom, presents an introduction to and critical assessment of Brown’s substantial body of work, with a particular focus on her contributions to the tradition of critical theory. Coeditors Amy Allen and Eduardo Mendieta provide an overview of Brown’s work, situating her scholarship in relation to some of the major thinkers and methodologies of the Frankfurt School. Brown opens the discussion with a new essay expounding upon the meaning of freedom and the prospects for emancipation in our current political moment. Subsequent chapters a...
This paper highlights that one of the most dramatic developments in the 20th century was the entry of women into economic and political spheres previously occupied almost exclusively by men. Although women are making progress in eliminating gender disparities, they still lag men in the workplace and in the halls of government. These gaps are found throughout the world, but are particularly pronounced in developing economies. So far, the greatest success has been in reducing education and health disparities and the least in increasing women’s economic and political influence.