Holy War

Reviews / Votes

'This stunning book explores the Catholic Church's support for and encouragement of Mussolini's campaign against the Ethiopian Orthodox Church during Italy's invasion and occupation of Ethiopia from 1935 to 1943. ... Eloquent and based on authoritative archival research in both Ethiopia and Italy, Campbell's book sheds new light on a key episode in African history.' -- Foreign Affairs 'Holy War is one of the most significant-and most chilling-books you are likely to read on global Christian history.' -- The Christian Century 'This is an immaculately researched book on the composite history of Ethio-Vatican relations in the 1930s. It will hopefully open doors to a desperately needed rapprochement between these two former antagonists!' -- Prince Asfa-Wossen Asserate, PhD, author of 'King of Kings: The Triumph and Tragedy of Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia' 'A devastating, persuasive read. Campbell's book exposes the Catholic Papacy's complicity in Fascist forces' unrestrained assault on Ethiopia, and its switch from cordial relations with the Ethiopian Orthodox Church to attempting to destroy it.' -- Mia Fuller, Gladyce Arata Terrill Distinguished Professor of Italian Studies, University of California, Berkeley 'This book shines a revealing light on the ecclesiastical thinking of the 1935-41 period, the murky compromises it encouraged, and the savagery it condoned. Original and ambitious, it will have a significant audience in Ethiopia, Italy and beyond.' -- Paul Gifford, Emeritus Professor of Religion, SOAS University of London, and author of 'Christianity, Development and Modernity in Africa' 'Exhaustively researched and eloquently written, Campbell's Holy War is a hugely important contribution to our understanding of the violence involved in the Italian invasion and occupation of Ethiopia in the 1930s. It is moving, shocking and scholarly in equal measure.' -- Richard Reid, Professor of African History, University of Oxford, and author of 'Shallow Graves: A Memoir of the Ethiopia-Eritrea War' 'Three cheers for Holy War [which] has turned the caring Italian Army myth upside down and inside out in what is the perfect antidote to Louis de Bernieres' Captain Corelli's Mandolin. [...] Holy War is the 'go for' book if you want to learn as much as you need to know about an invasion that helped shape the rest of the 1930s, a paving stone towards World War in 1939.' -- ColdType