A Champion Cyclist Against the Nazis is the true story of cycling legend Gino Bartali's resistance work during WW2. Originally published in Italian in 2018, this English language translation from Pen & Sword is due out later this summer. It's 192 pages and will be available in hardcover format.

Looking around at so much of the behaviour of my fellow humans during the course of this pandemic, I've seen heroic and selfless actions as well as petty, racist, and violent ones. I've often found myself wondering what makes people react the way they do. From all the documentation of his life and according to interviews with his friends and family, Bartali was an exceptionally ethical man. He was well respected and decorated as an athlete, and yet decided to act on his conscience at the risk of imprisonment or worse and deliver falsified documents which likely saved the lives of 800 Italian Jews.

This book manages to discuss politics, racism, and sports without ever being strident or preachy. I found the details fascinating. My family are cycling enthusiasts and we never miss the summer cycling events (except this summer of course, and we are missing them keenly). I'd heard of Bartali but only in terms of his records and stunning career, never in terms of his wartime work for the resistance.

A lot of historical biographies have a tendency to concentrate overmuch on the dates and times and facts at the cost of the narrative flow and human-ness of the story. This author is quite gifted at emphasizing the personal story of Bartali and his family and colleagues whilst remaining true to the known facts and weaving them into historical context. I was also impressed at the quality of the translation work. It doesn't read like a work in translation and I didn't get yanked out of the story by awkwardly constructed writing.

There are black and white photographs sprinkled throughout the book which I also enjoyed seeing. Overall impression: quite interesting biography of a legendary athlete who stayed true to his conscience. He was a brilliant cyclist and a good human.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Thanks to Pen & Sword and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Although an historian, I only have a general layman's understanding of Italian history. This includes the period of WWII and its aftermath. Like many, I have a general understanding of the history of fascism in Italy, under the tutelage of Benito Mussolini, but this tends to be the limit of my knowledge. Non-specialists are often treated to popular histories that speak of the broad brushstrokes of history - the individual tends to be forgotten in the general appropriation of blame for cataclysmic events. Moreover history tended to be written by its winners. Witness the dearth, until recently, of vernacular German histories of WWII. Sometimes, but not always, these take the form of redemptive tales - the 'Good German' who eschews the dominant ideology of its genocidal Nazi masters, for instance. These might be treated cynically by some, an attempt to rewrite history that does not conform to the simplistic binaries of good and evil, but I tend to view these as a reminder that no ideology has complete hegemony over its population. In other words, a dominant ideology of a particular historical epoch or society, is often less dominant than we tend to think. Alberto Toscano's 'A Champion Cyclist Against the Nazis', is a prime exemplar of the value of studying the exception[s] rather than the rule. Combined with this is a tendency, which I champion, to look at history in its microcosmic, subjective terms, Toscano's narrative constitutes the fruition of this much needed turn to the individual in historical discourse. Indeed, the story of Gino Bartali, multiple winner of the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France and his heroic deeds, is a wonderful example of the alchemy that can be produced when meticulous historical research is fused with deep humanity and an uncanny understanding of the human condition. Bartali's actions did not exist in a vacuum, however, and Toscano richly contextualises the actions of the man within the turbulent, dangerous currents of fascist Italy. Moreover, Toscano's narrative is a reminder, if one were needed, that sport can never be the ideological free-zone of Olympian ideals that are mythologised by many. Sport is an intrinsic, inseparable part of the pollical sphere, but it need not always be a tool for propaganda by its ideological masters. As Toscano reminds us, the greatest ideological foe of dictators are the courageous men [and women] who refuse to inculcate the edicts of deep inhumanity of these [in]human monsters. Indeed, if the best of the human spirit was reflected in a human face, one would hope it would look something like Gino Bartali.

A tour-de-force of non-fiction.

"A Champion Cyclist Against the Nazis" is such an interesting book. As an Italian history lover and cycling fan, this was a very pleasant read. I had already done my research into Gino Bartali a few years ago and even wrote a University essay about him and his role in the fight against the Nazis, so I was very curious to see how the author would translate it into book format. I have to say, I was not disappointed.

I was a little surprised at how much Italian history is in this book and I think that anyone not Italian will find it extremely useful to understand the context in which Gino lived, how he grew up and why he made those choices.

This book was a good mixture of history, sport, the man and the legend Gino Bartali.

If you love history, unexpected heroes, or love to read about your favourite sports champions, this is the book for you!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley.
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