A wealthy and revolutionary editor named Feltrinelli

There are many children from more or less well-off families who embrace the ideals and rhetoric of the social-communist revolution but who then dedicate themselves to living, with perfect peace of mind, a life of privilege that clashes with their supposed ideological program. This is a reproach that cannot be made to Giangiacomo Feltrinelli (Milan, 1926-Segrate, 1972), who He was always aware of his privileges and always showed a consistent commitment to the cause of the radical left.This is clear from reading the loving and understanding (but not hagiographic) biography written by his son Carlo: Senior Service. Biography of an editor.

Born into one of Italy's wealthiest families, which had become wealthy through the timber and banking businesses, Feltrinelli had a neglected but wealthy childhood. This instilled in him a rebellious character, which took on a political and ideological dimension during the 1940s, in the fight against Nazism and Mussolini's fascism. Although his social background compelled him to join the Christian Democrats, his insurrectionist sense of history and his yearning for equality and justice led him to join the Italian Communist Party. Cultured and full of convictions, Feltrinelli quickly stood out among his comrades. He dedicated himself to the cause of communism and the party, dedicating time, money, and contacts. A businesslike Marxist-Leninist, he believed less in dogma than in "getting things done." He accomplished many things. The most important: founding the publishing house that still bears his name today.

The adventure of publishing Pasternak's 'Givago'

Feltrinelli's greatness—and this is perfectly explained in the biography written by his son, full of testimonies from people who knew him and private documents of all kinds—is that he was able to combine strong ideological convictions with an open and flexible conception of creativity and culture, as well as activism. In this sense, the chapters on the relationship between the editor and the Russian novelist Boris Pasternak for the publication in Italy of the uncensored version ofDoctor Givago It could be said that they record one of the noblest and most exciting cultural adventures of the entire 20th century. It's the late 1950s. Feltrinelli has already left the PCI (after the events in Hungary) but is still a communist, Pasternak feels that his end is near but knows he has written a masterpiece and wants it to see the light of day, and the two form an alliance (against the boycotts and threats from the CPSU and his books). It ends up being, and it's a success. It's the first great success for Feltrinelli, the publisher, who in turn publishes as many ideologically charged books as he can. The second great success, shortly after, will be The Leopard from Lampedusa.

The turbulent late 1960s and early 1970s—years of revolt and lead, the Vietnam War and the French May, authoritarianism and the devolution of democratic states, social tension and the maneuvers of power—brought everything to a head. If for three-quarters of Senior Service It reads like an imposing cultural and political adventure, like the moral, intellectual and ideological portrait of a man torn between where he comes from and where he wants to go; the final stretch is a chaotic and conspiratorial thriller. Friend of Fidel CastroFed up with the conservative immobility of the PCI and its ilk, and driven by anti-imperialism, Feltrinelli renounces everything—family, comfort, prestige—and goes underground, founding a terrorist group. His goal is to make the world more just. The terminal Feltrinelli—he died in 1972 when a bomb he was trying to plant on an electrical tower accidentally exploded—has that mixture of heroic courage and the sordid naiveté of desperate idealists. A tremendous character. And a book.