How would you put together the story of a political party that spans 125 years? A party whose history is closely tied to the many events that have coloured the island's last century?

If the proof of the pudding is in the eating, PIN-Publikazzjonijiet Indipendenza have proved this saying right by coming up with a visual bonanza in the form of a party history called Album Ta' L-Istorja: Partit Nazzjonalista 125 Sena Servizz 1880-2005.

The album is a treasure trove of party memorabilia that not only sheds light on how the party broadcast its beliefs by the means available in various stages of its development, and how it fought its tough political battles, initially against the colonial government, but also how it grew in stature to become one of the two main contenders in the political arena.

The album opens with a window, as it were, on what made its leaders tick, the mettle they were made of and, how, through their political intuition and ingenious ways, they obtained for the island the benefits that fitted their dream of putting the country among the main players in the political, economic and cultural map of Europe.

The accent, as the book's name implies, is on photographs and not on words which makes the publication easy to go through.

To say that looking at this lush album brings more than a touch of pride, as the eyes scan pictures showing how the people lived under colonial masters to the euphoria that gripped the island on gaining independence from Britain and on joining the EU, is to understate things. The book should interest not only those who have spent most of their lives toiling behind the wings to make the PN what it is today, but also those who are following in their footsteps.

For supporters of the party, the album will help them understand much better what deprivations and sacrifices the party leaders had to endure while fighting for their beliefs.

For the party leaders, it was far from their being on a pedestal enjoying the adulation of the supporters. And in coming to realise all this, the reader will understand even better how tough and demanding politics can be.

The album would make a great touchstone for the study of the history of communications and marketing on the island as one studies the various manifestos, flyers, posters and other propaganda material the party and its candidates used during various campaigns.

This is so both during the early years, when Italian was the lingua franca of the party, and later still, when Maltese was going through its birth pangs grappling to make its mark felt.

The brains behind this vibrating time machine are Michael Schiavone, who directs PIN, and the book's editor, Martin Camilleri.

The book, which is in Maltese and in English, starts with the short but seminal entry: Fortunato Mizzi organised his party as the Anti-Reformist Party and contested the elections for the Council of Government for the first time in 1880.

This seemingly meek entry will lead the reader on to get to know how the PN pushed ahead, at times against all odds, to achieve the milestones that have left an indelible mark on the face and soul of this island nation.

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