This book investigates the factors behind the Italian Communist Party's (PCI) failed attempt to enter the national government and its subsequent decline during the late 1970s. Stephen Hellman, a long-term scholar of the PCI, utilizes his extensive field research and direct access to the Turinese Federation leadership to analyze the party's strategic failures. By grounding his analysis in the specific socio-political climate of Turin, Hellman provides a framework for understanding how local organizational crises mirrored broader national political shifts. The text synthesizes primary source interviews and observational data to document the party's struggle against terrorism and labor instability.

Experts recognize this work as a foundational study for understanding the internal mechanics and eventual decline of the Italian Communist Party during a volatile decade. Readers frequently note the depth of the author's primary research, which provides a rare, granular view of party operations that is often absent in broader historical surveys.