Translated by John Shepley 2,000 Italian partisans took the city of Alba on 10/10/44, and 200 lost it to the Fascists on 2/11/44. Among the bedraggled fighters in this historic siege was Beppe Fenoglio, who later made his writing debut with this collection of stories based on his experiences in the Italian resistance movement. Marking the 50th anniversary of the book's original publication, this translation celebrates Fenoglio's direct and intimate portrait of soldiers who bumbled their way into playing a crucial role in the Allied victory of WWII.