Football fascism and fandom provides a rare look beneath the surface of Italian neo-fascist hardcore football fandom. The book is the product of ethnographic dissertation research conducted by Alberto Testa on two of these fan groups (called UltraS) in Rome, Italy. Based on academic research, the book seems to have been adapted for a mass-market audience and so minimizes jargon and sociological theory. It features intriguing excerpts from interviews with leaders of these groups in which they espouse their radical political and social philosophies. Italian UltraS have gained global media notoriety for their scuffles, racism, and, as this title indicates, radical politics. Testa and Armstrong complicate the superficial medi-ated image of Italian UltraS to reveal the tensions and values present in the fans’ own words. While the two UltraS groups featured in this book present themselves publicly at the stadium every week, they seldom discuss their social and political philosophies with outsiders. The candid interviews excerpted by the authors paint a fascinating picture of a troubling social movement. This is a unique and important book that reveals some of the disenchantment and angst brewing within the E.U.’s third largest economy.
