Oriana Fallaci Dies...

If you haven't read her book, The Force of Reason, then go out immediately and buy a copy.

The 77-year-old journalist was in the news in recent years because of her bestselling book The Rage and the Pride, published two weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the U.S. The book was critical of Islam and argued Western culture was superior to Muslim culture.

The book struck a nerve and sold well in Italy and Europe. Fallaci was already one of Italy's most respected journalists and a well-known anti-fascist during the Second World War.

"A great Italian and brave writer has died who has led a life full of passion, full of love, with great civil courage," said Ferruccio De Bortoli, editor in chief of Il Sole 24 Ore newspaper.

The paper published the essay that would lead to Fallaci's contentious book, in which Muslim immigrants are described as dirty and multiplying "like rats."

She wrote a later book, The Force of Reason, accusing the Muslim faith of sowing hatred, and warned Europeans they would soon be overwhelmed by Muslims and the Islamic faith. The journalist was ordered to stand trial on charges of defaming the religion, but the case never reached the courts.