Drawing from her dissertation, Belco (history, Portland State U.) details the experiences of the people of the Tuscan province of Arezzo, Italy, and its surrounding towns and villages during and after World War II, the problems they faced, from coping with Allied occupation, massacres, bombing campaigns, displacement, the economy, and unemployment, to reconstructing local administrations, institutions, and community life after Fascism, including Allied assistance, subsidies and reparations, and dealing with lack of food and water, no electricity or fuel, few means of transportation or communication, and destroyed roads, public services, schools, and other infrastructure, and returning to normal life and restoring the community and its politics. She focuses on the problems faced in everyday life during the transition from war to peace, and the nature and outcome of the transition, and why the society did not change more dramatically. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)