The Red Brigades
The Terrorists Who Brought Italy to its Knees
1st Edition
Published on 19. June 2025
464 pages
978-1-5266-4572-2 (ISBN)
Description
*A TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR*
'A compelling and sobering read' JOHN DICKIE, author of Mafia Republic
'Taut and gripping' TELEGRAPH, BEST BOOKS OF 2025
'Grimly absorbing' FINANCIAL TIMES
The explosive story of the terrorist group who brought Italy to a standstill in the 1970s.
In March 1978, the Red Brigades kidnapped former Italian prime minister Aldo Moro, murdering his bodyguards. For nearly two months, they held him hostage while a shocked world looked on, before eventually killing him and dumping his body in the middle of Rome.
But who were this terrorist group? What did they want? And how did they continue to operate for almost twenty years, terrifying a nation from 1970 to 1988? In John Foot's remarkable new book, we learn how they became the most formidable left-wing terrorist organisation in post-war Western Europe.
Drawing their support from the student protest movements of the 1960s, activists and workers radicalised by the 'hot autumn' of 1969, the Red Brigades were inspired by terrorist groups from across the world, especially in Latin America. They recognised no rules and authority other than their own, and launched a campaign of murder, kidnap, kneecapping and intimidation that paralysed Italy's justice system and reshaped the political landscape. For a time, they were admired as freedom fighters by the Italian left and commemorated as martyrs.
Through meticulous research, Foot uncovers the true story behind the myths that have grown around the Red Brigades, highlighting the human costs of their actions, as well as their impact on Italian society. He explains how the contradictions inherent in their actions eventually led to their downfall in a series of high-profile mass trials. The Red Brigades sheds new light on the shadowy world of the brigatisti, and highlights their legacy of conspiracy, distrust and bitterness that still lingers in Italy to this day.
'A compelling and sobering read' JOHN DICKIE, author of Mafia Republic
'Taut and gripping' TELEGRAPH, BEST BOOKS OF 2025
'Grimly absorbing' FINANCIAL TIMES
The explosive story of the terrorist group who brought Italy to a standstill in the 1970s.
In March 1978, the Red Brigades kidnapped former Italian prime minister Aldo Moro, murdering his bodyguards. For nearly two months, they held him hostage while a shocked world looked on, before eventually killing him and dumping his body in the middle of Rome.
But who were this terrorist group? What did they want? And how did they continue to operate for almost twenty years, terrifying a nation from 1970 to 1988? In John Foot's remarkable new book, we learn how they became the most formidable left-wing terrorist organisation in post-war Western Europe.
Drawing their support from the student protest movements of the 1960s, activists and workers radicalised by the 'hot autumn' of 1969, the Red Brigades were inspired by terrorist groups from across the world, especially in Latin America. They recognised no rules and authority other than their own, and launched a campaign of murder, kidnap, kneecapping and intimidation that paralysed Italy's justice system and reshaped the political landscape. For a time, they were admired as freedom fighters by the Italian left and commemorated as martyrs.
Through meticulous research, Foot uncovers the true story behind the myths that have grown around the Red Brigades, highlighting the human costs of their actions, as well as their impact on Italian society. He explains how the contradictions inherent in their actions eventually led to their downfall in a series of high-profile mass trials. The Red Brigades sheds new light on the shadowy world of the brigatisti, and highlights their legacy of conspiracy, distrust and bitterness that still lingers in Italy to this day.
More details
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
ISBN-13
978-1-5266-4572-2 (9781526645722)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
06/2025
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
€31.50
Shipment within 10-20 days
Person
John Foot is the author of nine books, including Blood and Power: The Rise and Fall of Italian Fascism and The Archipelago: Italy since 1945. Eight of his books have been translated into Italian. He has written for the Guardian, Independent on Sunday, London Review of Books and the TLS, and he is a regular contributor to the Italian magazine Internazionale. He has appeared in a number of TV documentaries and on national and local radio. He is Professor of Modern Italian History at the University of Bristol, and was awarded the British Academy's prestigious Serena Medal in 2019 for his 'path-breaking' work in Italian history. He lives in Bristol with his partner and daughter.
Content
- Cover
- HalfTitle
- Title
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- Introduction: Brigate Rosse
- Chapter 1. The World That Made the Red Brigades: Italy, 1968 - 1974
- Chapter 2. Formation and First Actions: Milan, 1969 - 1972
- Chapter 3. Kidnaps: 1972 - 1974
- Chapter 4 Upping the Ante: 1973 and the First Long Kidnap
- Chapter 5 Heart of the State: The Kidnap of Mario Sossi, 1974
- Chapter 6 Organisation, Rules, the Group
- Chapter 7 The State Gets Serious
- Chapter 8 Brigatisti Behind Bars : The First Kneecapping and the First Martyr
- Chapter 9 The Second Wave: Justice and Rearrests
- Chapter 10 Maxi-Trial : The State Against the Red Brigades , 1976
- Chapter 11 1977: A Second 1968?
- Chapter 12 Maxi-Trial: Back in Court in Turin, 1978
- Chapter 13 Heart of the State Again: Massacre and Kidnap in Rome
- Chapter 14 The Red Renault: Assassination and Aftermath
- Chapter 15 Killing Workers and Policemen
- Chapter 16 Arrests, Riots and Tragedies
- Chapter 17 'Supergrass' : The Breakthrough, 1980
- Chapter 18 Punishing the Traitors: The BR Turns Inward
- Chapter 19 Two Steps Forward: A New Age of Kidnaps and the Rise of Giovanni Senzani
- Chapter 20 End of an Illusion: The Edifice Collapses
- Chapter 21 The Final Kidnaps and the Intensification of State Torture
- Chapter 22 Revolution in the Dock : The First Moro Maxi-Trial, 1982 - 1983
- Chapter 23 Tying Up the Threads : The War is Over
- Chapter 24 Release and Afterlife : Living Ghosts
- Afterword and Acknowledgements
- Notes
- Introduction
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6
- Chapter 7
- Chapter 8
- Chapter 9
- Chapter 10
- Chapter 11
- Chapter 12
- Chapter 13
- Chapter 14
- Chapter 15
- Chapter 16
- Chapter 17
- Chapter 18
- Chapter 19
- Chapter 20
- Chapter 21
- Chapter 22
- Chapter 23
- Chapter 24
- Selected Bibliography
- Index
- A Note on the Author
- A Note on the Type
