My Secret Diary. NEW YORK: Farrar, Strauss, and Cudahy; 1958. Copyright © Giovanni Guareschi, 1958. Translated by Frances Frenaye. Library of Congress catalog card number 58-10148.
Published Simultaneously in Canada by Ambassador Books, Ltd., Toronto.
[Sorry, but I don't have the British publication information at this time.]

Not a diary in the literal sense of a series of day-to-day journal entries about an author's thoughts and deeds, this volume is nevertheless a kind of account of Guareschi's days as a prisoner-of-war from 1943-1945. In the Introduction, which he calls "Instructions for use," he explains that he did keep a personal diary of his prison camp experience, and that he had intended to publish it; however, on reflection, he realized that the experience had not simply been his, but belonged to all of those who had suffered with him, even the dead. The only fair and true account of that time, then, would be one approved of by all of his prison comrades. Thus, the bulk of material in the eventually-published "Diario Clandestino" consists of pieces Guareschi wrote, while in the camp, for the entertainment and uplifting of his fellows. With the exception of the Epilogue, which describes a 1957 return visit he made to the camp with his son, all of the materials in the English version had been read aloud to and had "won general approval" from his prison-mates during their captivity.

Guareschi in the German prison-camp;
photo taken by a fellow prisoner, Vialli.

Despite the circumstances of their composition, many of the pieces in My Secret Diary are humorous. They include both wry observations on prison life and straightforward comic stories; some are based on real experiences, while others are pure fictions. And then, almost disconcertingly interspersed with these funny essays are the more serious bits, some of them stark and brief, that reveal the extent of the suffering of Guareschi and others.

Interesting: The dust jacket on the edition I have gives the author's name as "Giovanni (Don Camillo) Guareschi." On the back cover is the familiar photo of the author, with the caption "This is Giovanni Guareschi, who is known throughout the Western World for his handlebar mustache and his books about The Little World of Don Camillo ..." The blurb concludes, "My Secret Diary is the most unusual and important book that he has written to date."