Paolo Palumbo
Ed. Il Maglio
pp. 273
Writing about an Italian excellence in our country is not a frequent occurrence. Writing about an Italian military excellence, always in our country, is an extremely uncommon fact. So Paul Palumbo's book, besides being a valuable work, is the fruit of two intense years of hard work, one can quite rightly consider a rare pearl in the editorial panorama of ours.
In this book Palumbo, a military historian, takes us on a journey over a century, starting with the creation of the first "daring" department during the First World War, passing through the period of the "saboteurs" and ending a few months ago at the "Raiders" of today. Three generations of soldiers well represented in the forewords of the president of the National Army Raiders Association, Colonel Passafiume, of the army corps general Bertolini (a soldier with an impressive curriculum) and of the commander of the 9th Regiment, which excite and further embellish the book.
Military history (that which is not taught in Italian schools), doctrine, direct evidence, weapons, vehicles, equipment and materials, unpublished photographs, selection, training and training of the raiders. In Palumbo's book there is really everything you would like to know about the "spearhead" of our Armed Forces, respecting the operational security and the confidentiality that distinguish the Department.
Written with a compelling style that never bores, the book is a real historical-military essay that boasts a very large bibliography and therefore constitutes a mine of information on a reality little known even among "insiders": the Italian Special Forces. A reality that reflects the spirit of the best Italy: born almost from nothing, it has evolved with the (few) resources available adapting itself to the changing national and international context, to become a reference for the entire sector of Special Forces and not only.
An applause, besides the author, goes to the independent publishing house "Il Maglio", which boldly seeks to offer an innovative approach to military history. This book is certainly a great contribution to this.
So, if during a fishing trip in the waters overlooking the Arno River, some men would have to swim to the shore, after being left at sea by the barges fast hundreds of yards off, after reading this book, you will know where they will be heading: the mythical "Base to the Sea", the "den" of the Incursori. An inaccessible place to the most, where Palumbo entices us to "tiptoe".
Happy reading.
Ciro Metuarata
