Shout It Out!

From the author of the groundbreaking exposé Gomorrah comes a book that encourages and challenges the people to stand up for themselves and to not be fooled by the coercive nature of political power. Featuring short biographical sketches of a surprising mix of admired and deplored figures and works from history, this is a book that demands of readers to open one’s eyes and be outraged. The iconic Italian author Roberto Saviano’s latest work of nonfiction is an urgent cry for people to stand up for themselves and the things they believe in, featuring those who have most inspired him—Russian poet Anna Akhmatova, Martin Luther King Jr., the Calipygian Venus, immortalized in marble—alongside those whose actions were most deplorable—Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels and Rwandan radio host Kantano Habimana, who encouraged the 1993-’94 genocide there. Saviano quotes the Italian author and Auschwitz survivor Primo Levi: “I write what I wouldn’t be able to tell anyone.” Saviano, like Levi, embraces his readers within a similar protective halo of intimacy, taking us in his arms to warn us. Other lives and works that Saviano evokes in Shout It Out! are Hypatia, the murdered Alexandrian philosopher, mathematician and astronomer; political theorist Carl Schmitt; trailblazing Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya; Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi; NSA Whistleblower Edward Snowden; 16th century astrology and alchemist Giordano Bruno, burned at the stake by the Inquisition in 1600; Russian poet Anna Akhmatova who chose silence rather than collaboration; Émile Zola; the Brothers Grimm; Martin Luther King; murdered anti-corruption activist Daphne Caruana Galizia; the ancient roman statue of the Callipygian Venus; Terry Bollea (Hulk Hogan); American actress Jean Seberg; Italian filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini; Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels; Rwandan radio host Kantano Habimana; Settimia Spizzichino, one of 50 from the Rome ghetto sent to Auschwitz, and the only survivor; Chinese poet and factory worker Lizhi Xu; Italian-American saint Sister Francesca Saverio Cabrini; Italian architect and London fire victim Gloria Trevisan; George Floyd. Shout It Out dives into world history—and Roberto Saviano’s mind—in a way that constantly surprises.

ROBERTO SAVIANO is the author of Gomorrah, an investigative book about the economic and social reality of organized crime in Camorra, Italy. The book became an international bestseller and sold over 10 million copies worldwide. His other books include La bellezza e l’inferno (Beauty and the inferno) (2009); Vieni via con me (Come away with me) (2011), ZeroZeroZero (2013), La paranza dei bambini (The children’s boat) (2016), In mare non esistono taxi (There are no taxis at sea) (2019), and Solo è il coraggio (Only courage) (2022). He has written several screenplays and regularly contributes to newspapers and magazines. ANNE MILANO APPEL is an American translator. She has translated nearly four dozen books from Italian to English, including Giovanni Arpino’s Scent of a Woman, which won the 2024 John Florio Prize for Italian Translation, Pope Francis’s God is Young, and Claudio Magris’s Blindly, which won the inaugural Italian Prose in Translation Award.

Contents Preface: The Roadmap 1. Hypatia and the Taliban IDEA BUILDERS 2. Carl Schmitt’s Friend-Enemy 3. Nothing Is as It Seems: On Anna Politkovskaya’s Reportage 4. Jamal Khashoggi, the Accused Traitor 5. Edward Snowden’s Three Hundred Thousand Unlikes 6. The Eternal Sentinel JUST WORDS 7. The Authentic Word 8. Giordano Bruno, the Alleged Plagiarist 9. Out of Focus: On Robert Capa’s Vision 10. Half Nun, Half Whore: Anna Akhmatova’s Condemnation 11. Émile Zola Shouts I See You! EXPERIMENTS 12. The Words of the People and the Brothers Grimm 13. The FBI vs. Martin Luther King Jr 14. The Shards of Daphne Caruana Galizia A GOOD NAME 15. The Cursed Beauty of Venus Callipyge 16. Hulk Who Is Not Hulk Hogan 17. The Hotel Scandal of Karina Bolaños 18. Nina, the Child of Jean Seberg 19. Pier Paolo Pasolini Stops at a Gas Station DRUM ROLLS 20. Joseph Goebbels’s Second-Rate Tutorial 21. Kantano Habimana, the Divisive Radio Host 22. The Tam-tam of Settimia Spizzichino’s Spirit 23. Just a Screw Falling to the Ground: Xu Lizhi’s Poetry LONG LIVE ITALY! 24. The Dagos and Francesca Saviero Cabrini 25. Contradas 26. Gloria Trevisan and Marco Gottardi BREATH 27. The Tag Writer 28. The Air of George Floyd Consignment Shout Out Photo Credits Notes