An autobiography of Italian publishing

Abstract

The paper analyzes the various themes addressed in Storia confidenziale dell’editoria italiana by Gian Arturo Ferrari, published by Marsilio in 2022. The author is one of the main protagonists of Italian publishing industry: he worked for almost fifty years in Mondadori and for other publishers, as well as presided over the Centro per il libro e la lettura. From this privileged observatory, he reconstructs atmospheres and anecdotes and provides a wealth of data and information on the events that have characterized the main Italian publishers’ life, extending his reflection to the development of Italian society in general. The work is not (only) an historiographical essay but also a story written by someone who was witness and protagonist of the narrated facts, representing, at the same time, a handbook for those who want to work in this world and learn the publisher’s profession: it is a book that was not there until now and that certainly fills a gap.