Donald Sassoon is Emeritus Professor of Comparative European History at Queen Mary University of London. A pupil of Eric J. Hobsbawn, he is considered a leading contemporary historian. Born in Cairo, of British nationality, he studied in Paris, Milan, London and the United States. He regularly writes for major newspapers worldwide, including Il Sole 24 Ore. He has profound knowledge of the European political, cultural and economic panorama and has published a number of books, including: Leonardo and the Mona Lisa Story (Rizzoli, 2006); Mussolini and the Rise of Fascism (Rizzoli, 2010); The culture of the Europeans (Rizzoli, 2011), a monumental comparative analysis of the works that have built European imagination and culture over recent centuries; Togliatti e il partito di massa. Il PCI dal 1944 al 1964 (2014, Castelvecchi); and Quo vadis Europa? (2016, Castelvecchi).