Since 1992, Italy has been wracked by what has been dubbed a 'revolution,' the destruction of the First Republic, and the launching of the Second Republic. The five parties that once governed Italy are gone; the leaders who guided Italy for forty years stand accused of corruption, many languishing in jail or exile; and numbers of politicians and businessmen committed suicide. All these dramatic events stemmed from the exposure of massive political corruption by a small group of Milan magistrates who became national heroes. Yet this controversial book argues instead that the actions of this group amounted to a coup d'etat, conceived by radicalized magistrates in the 1970s and carried out in the 1990s by these same magistrates for explicit political ends that were ultimately achieved in 1996. The authors examine the sources of the magistrates' political support and protection, the intended beneficiaries of their campaign, and their skillful management of the media. Along the way, they trace the magistrates' violation of the norms of due process and defendants' rights and the preferential treatment given to political and business allies. Indeed, the 'revolution' is becoming suspect to more and more Italians, and now this provocative study will bring the story to readers outside Italy.

"Few readers of these riveting pages will fail to understand how deep the threat to democracy is, now represented by the Clean Hands investigators themselves, not by corruption." - Political Science Quarterly

"In developing their thesis, Burnett and Mantovani have been very clear, almost mathematical. They explain it, they stick to the facts and the unrolling of the story, and they offer proof, citing the words and actions of the protagonists themselves." - Voltaire

"The best, in fact, that has yet been written on the subject in terms of documentation and explanations." - Il Mesaggero

"The authors argue a controversial point of view persuasively....[They] painstakingly document their case against the magistrates....[The book's] strength is the insights it provides into the motives and style of actors in contemporary Italian politics and media." - Foreign Service Journal

"The authors' great merit likes in the objectivity and meticulous documentation of their examination of the dramatic political and judicial facts that led to the destruction of a part of the Italian political class. ...The Italian Guillotine represents an important point of reference for public opinion, for politicians, and for historians." - The Silone Foundation

"The most interesting part is the analysis of the mechanisms and causes of corruption. They offer an economic explanation, the fragility of which explains the system's unraveling..." - Foreign Affairs, September/October 1998

". . . a novice to Italian politics will learn some useful things from this book." - Political Studies Review

"[the authors present a] wealth of journalistic detail . . ." - CHOICE