Galli Mastrodonato's monograph is an extraordinary work, written with extraordinary passion and no less extraordinary competence, destined to remain a reference text for anyone dealing with Emilio Salgari and his role in Italian modern letters. It is also a work which conclusively proves that Emilio Salgari has not only been the major Italian author of adventure fiction, worth to be included in the Pantheon of “high literature”, but also an absolutely unique example of a counter-Orientalist fiction-writer in the age of triumphant imperialism.

Michelguglielmo Torri, University of Turin, Polish Journal of English Studies

If a writer like Emilio Salgari could offer us something beyond the prevailing worldview of his era, we should have confidence that our own epoch has-and will continue to produce-progressive, visionary writers. In this sense, the resisting tiger will always live on, as Galli Mastrodonato's lengthy labour of love compels us to believe.

Cha Journal

... it is easy to write entertaining stories in which the underdog wins when there is no real threat to imperialism; the latter still runs its course. But if today, we are still talking about Pigafetta and Salgari, it doesn't just mean that their reputations and relevance have resisted over the centuries. It means that there is still the need, more than ever, for the resistance to win.

CounterPunch.org