The inspiring true story of political resistance in Mussolini's Italy Plunging readers into Fascist Rome at the height of Mussolini's power, Possess the Air tells the story of three people who defied Italy's authoritarian despot by opposing the rising tide of populism and xenophobia. Two Canadian archeologists, Gilbert Bagnani and his wife Mary Stewart Houston, maddened the self-styled Caesar, determined to dispel his claims that Rome was--and always would be--rightful master of the Mediterranean, while poet and aviator Lauro de Bosis, firstborn of an Italian aristocrat and a New Englander, transformed himself into a modern Icarus, amazing the world as he risked his life in the skies bring the dictator down. An inspiring story of resistance, risk, and sacrifice, Taras Grescoe's portrait of heroes past is an essential biography for our time.