Action Man

Somewhat surprised at the extent to which I am enjoying Christopher Hibbert's biography Garibaldi And His Enemies. In truth I thought of reading it as a bit of a duty. It was one of those books I picked up (with a couple of Burgess's novels) cheaply at work last year. It concerned such an off-beat subject, about whom I know next to nothing, that I felt it was worth it at the price (just a couple of bucks.) I seem to remember something about Garibaldi in Conrad's Nostromo, I think, that made me think I really should find out a bit about him and Hibbert's book is perfect for doing so. Apart from anything else it's clear and engaging on the complexities of Italian politics of the period - a major achievement in itself.

It turns out that Garibaldi was one of those incredibly brave chaps without much of a brain. It's kind of relaxing to read about someone so fundamentally different from myself. Not that I'm claiming much in the way of brainpower - rather I'm thinking of my distinct lack of physical courage. Garibaldi had it in bucketfuls as Hibbert makes clear in what turn out to be rather gripping pages.

The other striking thing about the guy is that he was so modern in a number of ways, but most of all in his conscious manipulation of the cult of celebrity that emerged around him. He really cultivated and used a definite image of himself in an almost instinctive manner to become, as is pointed out in the preface, the most famous man of his time. How many of us, after all, have had our very own biscuit named after us? The curious thing is, I suppose, the extent to which his reputation has fallen since. Maybe that's simply the fate of all celebrities eventually.