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"The members of what was politely termed the 'Italian Government' were no more than Mussolini's lackeys. Count Ciano himself was wholly subservient to him. Count Ciano was a man who lacked neither personal dignity nor physical courage, and yet I have seen him quail at an interview with Mussolini when the dictator showed irritation. I first knew of the existence of this Diary...from Count Ciano himself. He showed it to me and read me excerpts from it in my first conversation with him. There is no question of its authenticity.... I believe it to be one of the most valuable historical documents of our times."--Sumner Welles, from the introduction Galeazzo Ciano was Mussolini's confidant and advisor, and met with the foreign leaders with whom Mussolini had dealings. This is World War II seen from the inside. The only book of its kind that provides the key to many little-known episodes and operations that influenced the course of the war. This diary was, eventually, the cause of Ciano's death by firing squad, which the Nazis ordered to be carried out. This is the only complete edition.