The Non-Existent Manuscript

The origins of the infamous forgery the Protocols of the Sages of Zion are the subject of much vigorous debate. In this meticulously researched and cogently argued study, Cesare G. De Michelis illuminates its authors and the circumstances of production by focusing on the text itself.

De Michelis examines in detail the earliest texts of the Protocols, looking in particular at the historical and structural relationships among them. His research unveils the differing texts of the Protocols and the presumed date of the first forgery. It also yields a greater understanding of the milieu in which the forgery was produced and the identity and motivations of its authors.

This volume is a revised and expanded edition of the original, which appeared in Italian. Featured is an arguably archetypal Russian text of the Protocols, which De Michelis pieced together from several publications, based on careful textual analysis.